75%
Nebraska voters sent a clear message in last month’s election on paid sick leave, approving ballot measure 436 by a staggering 50-point margin, with nearly 75% of Nebraskans voting to pass the measure. Similar successful initiatives in Alaska and Missouri could signal support for nationwide policies regarding paid sick leave, even in traditionally conservative states.
Paid sick leave policies differ by state, but typically allow for a set number of paid days off to be accrued by employees, often with a tiered structure for smaller vs. larger businesses, according to an analysis by the Women’s Bureau at the United States Department of Labor. Some states limit the benefit only to full time employees, and some limit eligibility to employees with certain lengths of service. Nebraska’s policy will apply to any employees working at least 80 hours per year in the state and leave is permitted to be used as soon as it is accrued.
Paid sick leave is distinct from paid family and medical leave, which is typically a long-term leave of absence to care for an ailing loved one or for recovering from the birth or adoption of a child. Thirteen states currently mandate some form of paid family leave policies.
20 million
According to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, over 20 million individuals are covered by a health insurance plan facilitated by a state-based Marketplace created by the Affordable Care Act (ACA) of 2010. The Marketplaces are designed to fill the gap for people who don’t qualify for Medicare or Medicaid, but don’t have access to affordable employer-based insurance coverage. Enhancements made by the 2021 American Rescue Plan and sustained by the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act created premium tax credits (PTCs), which cover a larger share of enrollees’ premiums than they did in prior years, according to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities (CBPP). In fact, PTCs cover the full cost of a silver “benchmark” plan for people with income at or below 150 percent of the federal poverty level ($22,590 for an individual in 2025). These enhanced PTCs make premiums very affordable, according to CBPP, who outlines that in states that use HealthCare.gov, nearly 3 in 4 people shopping for a marketplace plan can find one for less than $10 per month.
The enhanced PTC’s are available through the 2025 plan year, but Congressional action is needed to avoid sharp premium increases if the PTCs are not re-authorized, which the Congressional Budget Office estimates would put coverage out of financial reach for 3.8 million people.
Open enrollment began November 1 and will conclude on December 15 for Nebraska residents to have coverage starting on January 1, 2025.
3
A month ago, three states, including Nebraska, voted decisively against school privatization efforts, or deferring taxpayer investments from public schools to private ones. Kentucky and Colorado voters declined to amend their state Constitutions with language permitting private school funding with public dollars.
In Kentucky, 65% of voters declined to support the effort, which didn’t win a majority of support in a single county. This was the state’s 3rd attempt to enact privatization after courts struck down a 2021 law to award tax credits for donations to private school scholarship funds, and a 2022 law that would have created public funding for charter schools.
In Colorado, the Constitutional amendment would have created a right to attendance at neighborhood schools, charter schools, private schools, homeschools, open enrollment options and future innovations in education, which critics said opened the door for voucher programs that have been disastrous in other states. Like Nebraska, Colorado already guarantees public school choice, with 40% of Colorado students availing themselves of the option to attend a public school other than the one in their neighborhood. The Constitutional amendment failed with 52% voting against it.
Nebraska voters partially repealed LB 1402, which allocated $10 million for private school scholarships. Passed in the waning days of the last legislative session, the bill replaced LB 753, which created a scholarship tax credit program and was under direct threat of repeal after a successful ballot initiative. Supporters collected the required signatures to place the issue on the ballot for a second time, putting the issue before Nebraska voters, 57% of whom voted to repeal the measure.
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