OpenSky regularly shares blog posts with information on policy and research impacting all Nebraskans.
$130 million Amid several maneuvers used by the Appropriations Committee to send a balanced budget to the legislative floor for debate next week was a $130 million transfer from the state’s cash reserve. This will be in addition to the $152 million transfer from the reserve approved in 2025, set
$37 million In the January tax receipts report last week, Nebraska showed a net growth of 6.5% over the forecast put forward by the Nebraska Economic Forecasting Advisory Board (NEFAB) in October. This equates to just under $37 million in additional revenue. Fiscal year-to-date receipts are nearly on par with
$218 million As OpenSky Policy Institute previously reported, Nebraska was awarded $218 million from the federal government in the first year of the Rural Health Transformation Program, established as part of H.R. 1, known as the One Big Beautiful Bill Act. Nebraska’s application outlined seven different areas of focus for
650% The Nebraska Legislature’s Appropriations Committee began hearings on the mid-biennial budget adjustments this week. The mainline budget bills, LB 1071 and LB 1072, received significant pushback from Nebraskans. Among them was OpenSky Policy Institute’s Research Director, Craig Beck, who raised concerns about the growth of cash fund sweeps and
$152.4 million Governor Jim Pillen released his budget proposal last week, which includes a total of $495 million in spending cuts over the next two fiscal years. The largest share of the proposed cuts are from the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS), to which the Governor proposed $22
27% KFF, the health policy think tank, indicates that 27% of agricultural sector employees buy health care plans on state marketplaces established by the Affordable Care Act (ACA), compared with just 6% of the adult population with non-group coverage. As a result, agricultural workers are among the highest users of
$8 million The newly-combined Nebraska Department of Water, Energy and Environment (NDWEE) has requested an $8 million transfer from the Nebraska Environmental Trust in their mid-budget requests, which will be evaluated as the Legislature crafts an amendment package to the biennial budget. Of the total sum, $6 million would be
Watching our Pennies The Legislature will be navigating a $472 million budget shortfall that will eventually need to be closed in order to meet Constitutional obligations. While one more update of the forecast will occur in February, lawmakers can’t wait that long to begin examining options to balance the budget.
30,000 Governor Jim Pillen announced this week that Nebraska will opt to become the first state to conform to new federal regulations around work requirements for Medicaid recipients. The Governor noted during a press conference that he anticipates 30,000 adults will lose health care coverage as Nebraska voluntarily rolls out
OpenSky Policy Institute, a nonpartisan policy research think tank headquartered in Lincoln has welcomed four new members to its Board of Directors. Terms for John Levy of Omaha, Stephen Postier of York, Robin Stevens of Gothenberg and John Stinner of Gering began December 12. “We are honored to have such
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$130 million Amid several maneuvers used by the Appropriations Committee to send a balanced budget to the legislative floor for debate next week was a $130 million transfer from the state’s cash reserve. This will be in addition to the $152 million transfer from the reserve approved in 2025, set
