$3.5 Million

Facing a sizeable budget gap, the Nebraska Legislature voted to retain a $3.5 million appropriation to the Department of Labor for private school scholarships this week on a 23-17 vote, with 9 legislators present, but declining to vote. AM 2500, introduced by Senator Tom Brandt, would have removed the appropriation from the General Fund budget for the fiscal year beginning July 1.

The Appropriations Committee limited eligibility for the program to 185% of the federal poverty level, or $40,034 for a family of two, or $61,050 for a family of four in 2026. Proponents argued that the funds are needed to bridge a gap between a Nebraska state program that voters repealed in 2024 and a federal program passed as part of H.R. 1, known as the One Big Beautiful Bill Act. Opponents argued that in several states, programs begin modestly and then expand rapidly. For instance, Indiana implemented a similar program in 2011 which cost $16 million, has been expanded multiple times and is now projected to cost more than $600 million annually. Indiana students who accepted a voucher saw no increase in academic achievement and in fact lost ground in many cases. The program also showed that just 33% of the students receiving vouchers ever attended public schools, indicating that the scholarships are being used to subsidize tuition for students who were already attending private schools or would have attended them notwithstanding a state-funded scholarship. 

Budget debate continues next week, though it remains unclear whether the Legislature will reconsider the provision on Select File. Senator Tom Brandt has filed another amendment, FA 1045, to strike the provision. 

To follow along with the next steps in the budget process, make sure to tune in to the Dan Parsons Podcast for OpenSky’s weekly Unicam Update. 

4 million 

In Congressional action last week, the House Committee on Agriculture advanced a 2026 Farm Bill for further consideration, which covers seven different areas of agriculture production, environmental stewardship and food security. Nebraska Congressman Don Bacon (NE-2) was among the committee members who voted to advance the measure. The Farm Bill is typically passed every 5 years, but the last iteration came in 2018 and has been extended several times. The Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry, which includes Nebraska Senator Deb Fischer, is working on their own version of the legislation but has acknowledged that many of the topics currently having significant impact on the agriculture industry fall outside their jurisdiction. For example, year-round access to E15, which may bolster domestic markets for corn growers, seems to have bipartisan support but falls to the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee. Labor availability for producers has been impacted by immigration enforcement changes, which fall under the purview of the Senate Judiciary Committee. 

Absent from the House markup was a response to significant cuts to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) implemented by H.R. 1. Approximately 4 million people, 1 million of them children, are projected to lose critical food assistance, not to mention the significant impacts on state budgets due to significant changes in cost-sharing structure. Nebraska, specifically, is expected to see a 50% increase in SNAP costs, or a rise from $24 million to more than $37 million, according to an analysis by Georgetown Law’s Center on Poverty and Inequality.  

$3.20

Nebraska’s average gas price increased to $3.20 a gallon this week, a response to the Iran conflict. A county-by-county analysis by AAA indicated highs of up to $3.74 in Wheeler County, located in north-central Nebraska, and neighboring Valley County at $3.63 as of March 11, both eclipsing the national average. Of that amount, 31.8 cents per gallon represents the state-level tax on gasoline, which goes to the State Highway Trust Fund for road maintenance. 

Some states are considering a temporary suspension of gas taxes to bolster personal and commercial travel and address household affordability issues. A parallel proposal has been introduced in the Senate by Senator Mark Kelly of Arizona, which would suspend the 18.3 cents per gallon federal gas tax until October 1. Research by the University of Pennsylvania indicates that gas tax holidays were mostly passed on to consumers in three states where they were enacted in 2022. 

As Nebraska approaches planting season, many agricultural producers are worried about the impact of higher gas and diesel prices, as well as the upward pressure the Iran conflict is putting on fertilizer costs. The Middle East accounts for 49% of global urea exports and about 30% of global ammonia exports, both critical components for nitrogen support used by corn growers.