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Up to 30 Lincoln children will have the opportunity to attend Prep Academy, a childcare center serving students birth through Kindergarten, at TMCO. The project was given a green light by the Lincoln City Council this week in a unanimous vote. TMCO, which has operated in Lincoln for more than 50 years, is a custom metal manufacturing company whose 250-member workforce includes 40% individuals who are immigrants or refugees, according to CEO Diane Temme Stinton. The company has built a reputation for investments in child care for its employees, including reimbursing employees up to 60% for the cost of child care via preloaded reimbursements to employees’ dependent care accounts, so families have immediate access and financial support for child care that fits their unique needs. 

Innovative solutions like the ones TMCO has implemented will be essential to navigating Nebraska’s workforce shortage. Studies have shown that a 10 percent reduction in the cost of child care can lead to up to an 11 percent increase in maternal employment. Affordable care also boosts economic security, with reduced reliance on safety net programs and a greater ability to save funds for a rainy day.

A child care center on site also helps employees navigate the lack of available child care, even in urban areas like Lincoln. According to the Buffett Early Childhood Institute, the gap between the potential need and the actual capacity is 17,568 spaces. In rural areas, the problem is deeply felt, with 10 Nebraska counties without a single licensed child care center.

57%

The Nebraska Legislature’s Government, Military and Veterans Affairs Committee voted 5-1 to advance LB 345 from committee, which would increase salaries for constitutional officers by 57%, effective January 7, 2027 or at the commencement of the next term of office. The bill also includes an increase in salary for elected members of the Public Service Commission. The proposal notably excludes a pay raise for the Governor, who indicated that he would veto any legislation if his salary were increased. The last increase for constitutional officers was in 2007. 

Senator Danielle Conrad introduced an amendment to limit the increase only to the Auditor of Public Accounts. However, the future of the amendment and underlying bill remains to be seen, as it was not given priority designation, a legislative maneuver that increases the probability that a bill will be scheduled for General File debate once it advances from committee. However, committee staff identified LB 346 as a potential path forward. That legislation, introduced by Speaker John Arch at the request of the governor, eliminates and adjusts various state commissions. 

Proposed increases for Constitutional officers have been historically unpopular with governors, with previous iterations having been vetoed, according to reporting from the Nebraska Examiner. Constitutional officer salaries are distinct from legislator salaries, which are prescribed in the state’s Constitution and therefore require an affirmative vote of the people to increase. Earlier this session, the Legislature debated LR 25CA, introduced by Senator Ben Hansen, which would have aligned senator salaries with the state’s minimum wage and expanded the offerings to include health care benefits. The bill stalled on General File, with several senators pointing to the state’s currently precarious fiscal picture as their rationale, suggesting that the state should not be increasing government salaries amid a $289 million budget shortfall. 

$500 Billion

With the federal income tax filing deadline looming, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is bracing for an estimated $500 billion loss in revenue as a result of would-be taxpayers simply opting not to file tax statements. Reporting by The Washington Post shared that recently-announced plans by the Department of Government Efficiency to downsize the IRS by approximately 20% has would-be taxpayers feeling confident that audits will not be forthcoming, based on online chatter monitored by the IRS.

The IRS has already dismissed 11,000 employees, although federal litigation may reverse that decision. The 20% reduction would result in dismissal of an additional 20,000 employees. The IRS has dropped investigations of high-value corporations and taxpayers, according to several agency employees involved in those inquiries, largely due capacity shortages. The most significant reductions are planned for the tax compliance department, with about 8,260 reductions, followed by taxpayer services and information technology, according to the Washington Post report. 

Another concern related to the significantly reduced IRS workforce is susceptibility for fraud and scams, which typically see an increase during tax season. The agency publishes an annual “Dirty Dozen” list each year to alert taxpayers to currently trending scams.