17

Nebraska Attorney General Mike Hilgers joined 16 other attorneys general in asking that Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 be declared unconstitutional, potentially causing severe consequences for children and adults with disabilities, particularly in educational settings. A 504 plan, as they are commonly known, facilitates accommodations necessary for students to participate as fully as possible in their education. They cover a variety of permanent and temporary disabilities, and are distinct from an individualized education program (IEP). Examples of conditions that may warrant protections under Section 504 could include: 

• A student with a severe peanut allergy being placed in a peanut-free classroom or assigned a dedicated space for lunch to avoid exposure. 
• A child undergoing cancer treatment who may need an additional set of books for home use during cold and flu season when it may be safer for them in their immunocompromised state to stay at home occasionally. 
• A child with diabetes who needs access to additional snacks or glucose tabs throughout the school day, or to be excused from class for insulin injections by a school nurse. 

Protections came under fire when Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton filed suit against then-Secretary of Health and Human Services Xavier Becerra for including students experiencing gender dysphoria. However, instead of asking to remove the amended language, the suit seeks to invalidate Section 504 completely, claiming it is “coercive, untethered to the federal interest in disability, and unfairly retroactive.” While several of the attorneys general have claimed that their intent was not to eliminate protections entirely, the suit asks the court to “Issue permanent injunctive relief against Defendants enjoining them from enforcing Section 504.”

Nebraska students who receive Section 504 accommodations are not counted as Special Education students in the TEEOSA formula, unless they also meet federal criteria and have an IEP established. Legislative Bill 598 from Senator Wendy DeBoer would expand special education funding reimbursements to include students with disabilities covered by Section 504. 

$27 Million

A recent proposal by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) would cost Nebraska research institutions about $27 million in funding, which would result in job losses as well as a reduction in potentially life saving research being done at the University of Nebraska Medical Center and the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, according to an analysis by the Flatwater Free Press. The proposal is meant to reduce overhead or indirect costs of such grants, which include building space, administrative staff, utilities, lab equipment, and more. Indirect costs are typically about 50% of the direct costs of projects according to University of Nebraska President Jeffrey Gold, but the NIH proposal would cap indirect costs at 15% of direct costs. The NIH proposal cites private philanthropic entities like the Rockefeller Foundation and the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, both of which limit grantees to 15% of administrative costs. Gold counters that private philanthropy often has broader scope than federal funds, so the line between direct and indirect costs is less clear. 

The NIH cuts are temporarily paused by a federal judge, but remain of great concern to the University system, especially in light of a proposed 2% cut to their funding outlined in Governor Pillen’s proposed budget and the proposed removal of all of the University’s $11 million share of the Nebraska Tobacco Settlement Biomedical Research Fund. The Legislature’s Appropriations Committee will hear testimony from the University on February 25.

Nebraskans can weigh in on the proposal by testifying in person, submitting an online comment, or emailing members of the Appropriations Committee to share their thoughts.

$92.8 million

A program designed to give tax credits for film and commercial production in Massachusetts gave out $92.8 million in credits in 2023 the largest sum since before the pandemic. Massachusetts launched the program in 2006 and provides tax credits of 25% of payroll costs and 25% of production costs, which can either be used to offset any taxes owed in the state or sold to entities like insurance companies and banks to reduce their own state taxes. Nonprofit news organization WBUR reports that 80-90% of the credits are typically sold in this manner. 

A report by the Massachusetts Department of Revenue showed that it added 6,341 jobs for residents of the state and had $615 million in economic impact, but ultimately cost taxpayers nearly $653 million. According to a study by University of Southern California researcher Michael Thom, who analyzed the efficacy of film and television production incentives nationwide, “transferable tax credits had a small, sustained effect on motion picture employment levels but no effect on wages. Refundable tax credits had no employment effect and only a temporary wage effect…Incentive spending also had no influence.”

Nebraska included a refundable tax credit for film production in a Revenue Committee package passed via LB 937 in 2024, but the program is targeted for elimination as part of the rollback of 46 recently-passed pieces of legislation included in Governor Jim Pillen’s proposed budget.