OpenSkyLIGHTS: Focus on Nebraska fiscal policy (2/23/24)

117,000

With voters set to decide on LB 753 at the ballot box in November, the Legislature’s Appropriations Committee advanced another bill (LB 1402) that would direct state funds to pay for students to attend private schools in Nebraska.

Unlike LB 753, which provides dollar-for-dollar state tax credits for donations to organizations granting private school scholarships, LB 1402 appropriates state funds to be awarded as grants to the organizations awarding scholarships. LB 1402 would cost $25 million in its first year and could grow by 25% annually until reaching $100 million.

Last summer, 117,000 Nebraskans signed petitions to put LB 753 before voters this year. If the new bill passes, LB 753 could be repealed by senators seeking to avoid a campaign leading up to the November general election.

Resources on education funding from Partnership for the Future of Learning

$25,278

Newly arriving immigrants can expect to earn a median annual income of $25,278 in Nebraska within the first two years. In modeling done by the Immigration Research Initiative, only new immigrants working in Delaware could expect to earn more. The expected median wage across the U.S. for newly arriving immigrants is $22,000.

Within five years, the aggregate wages of 1,000 New Americans working in Nebraska would approach $30 million a year, generating $3 million in annual state and local tax revenue.

26th

To make ends meet, the average two-earner family with one child requires an annual income of $78,101 in Nebraska after taxes, according to analysis by Forbes Advisor. With average two-earner household income at $110,359, Nebraska ranks 26th among states in what Forbes defines as “ability to live comfortably.” Connecticut, New Hampshire and Maryland lead the list, with Hawaii, Nevada and Florida ranking lowest.