$8 million

After deliberating for more than two months, the State Board of Education this week declined to approve the Community Achievement Plan (CAP) put forth by the 11 school districts included in the Learning Community of Douglas and Sarpy counties. Since the CAP will not be approved by the March 1 deadline for state aid certification, combined, the districts will see at least an $8 million decrease in state aid over last year as they begin the 2026-2027 school year budget process. The CAP is a mechanism to foster collaboration and share practices that increase student achievement and close opportunity gaps for students experiencing poverty. Programs outlined in the CAP included early literacy supports, efforts to reduce chronic absenteeism and pre-Kindergarden programs. CAP funding goes directly to school districts for implementation that aligns with their district population, goals and strategic plans. 

Funding is allocated based on enrollment and factors such as poverty. All 11 districts in the Learning Community receive some level of funding from the CAP, but Omaha Public Schools, the state’s largest district, will see the largest impact. OPS already faces a $50 million budget shortfall due to an error in calculating state aid. At a budget briefing earlier this week, the district signaled a need to increase their mill levy to $1.05, the maximum allowable by state law, in order to maintain staffing levels and operational expenses.  

120,000

Nebraska, like most other states, is experiencing an affordable housing crisis, with the Nebraska Legislative Research Office predicting a shortage of 120,000 housing units in 2024, the most recent year for which data was available. Their report outlines various factors impacting affordable housing availability in the state, including a higher-than-average percentage of residents who work in low wage occupations, increasing construction costs, a lack of ready-to-develop land and cumbersome regulations. Lawmakers at both the state and federal level have explored solutions to close the housing gap. 

Federally, Congress passed the Housing for the 21st Century Act, cosponsored by Rep. Mike Flood (NE-1), earlier this month, and the bill is currently under review in the Senate. The upper chamber has its own proposal, the ROAD to Housing Act, and will decide which provisions of each piece of legislation can be combined to have a high likelihood of passing in both chambers. The President has signaled unwillingness to sign any legislation that does not include a mechanism for curbing large investors’ ownership of single family homes. 

Locally, Nebraska legislators have prioritized three pieces of legislation designed to respond to the state’s housing crisis. LB 768, introduced and prioritized by Senator Rob Dover, intends to create more efficiency in the Nebraska Investment Financing Authority, which plans and finances affordable housing. LB 1067, introduced by Senator Bob Hallstrom and prioritized by Senator Ashlei Spivey, would increase the Nebraska Documentary Stamp Tax and allocate the increased funds in equal amounts to the Rural Workforce Housing Investment Fund and the Middle Income Workforce Housing Investment Fund. LB 819, also introduced by Hallstrom and made a Speaker priority bill by Speaker John Arch, amends the Rural Workforce Housing Investment Act by increasing the cost limitations and extending the sunset date to 2037, as well as extending the sunset of the Middle Income Workforce Housing Investment Act to 2037. Priority designation increases the likelihood that the bills will be scheduled for debate on General File. 

25

The Nebraska Legislature has 25 remaining days scheduled in the 2026 session, which is currently set to conclude on April 17. Still to come will be extensive debate on mid-biennium adjustments to the budget. The Appropriations Committee has a deadline of March 9 to advance their recommendations to the full body for consideration, and will have an unenviable task of filling a $472 million budget gap. This morning’s meeting of the Nebraska Economic Forecasting Advisory Board could adjust the projected shortfall in either direction. The meeting begins at 10:00 am and you can watch here. OpenSky will be offering ongoing analysis on the budget debate as events unfold.