$401,538 The Nebraska Department of Education (NDE) was granted an extension in October 2024 allowing additional time to spend down federal funds allocated during the COVID-19 pandemic, specifically those granted under the American Rescue Plan Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief – Homeless Children and Youth (ARP-HCY) program. Of the
30 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
$136.3 Billion The Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy (ITEP) recently released their analysis on the Educational Choice for Children Act, (ECCA) federal legislation introduced by Rep. Adrian Smith of Nebraska to offer dollar-for-dollar income tax credits for charitable donations to nonprofits that distribute vouchers to K-12 private schools. ITEP
Is Nebraska going bankrupt? KETV investigates several viral TikTok posts claiming the state is on the verge of bankruptcy. Dr. Rebecca Firestone outlines the current budget situation. Watch the story here.
It’s another busy week for OpenSky in front of several committees. Hearings will conclude on March 28, and we will move into full-day floor debate. We were given some strong indicators of how floor debate will progress as senators selected their personal priority bills last week and Speaker John Arch
$1 Billion About $660 million in federal funds allocated by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) to states for schools and child care programs to purchase food from local agricultural producers has recently been canceled. The Local Food for Schools Cooperative Agreement Program was created to provide nutritious, minimally-processed
$289 million Nebraska will be looking to find additional Medicaid funding in the coming biennium, totaling $90.3 million, which will make balancing the state’s budget shortfall more difficult. The news comes after positive developments from last week’s forecasting board meeting. The additional funding needed for the coming budget cycle is
OpenSky offered insight on 13 different bills in 5 committees last week, weighing in on everything from property taxes to school vouchers to term limits. We were also in attendance at the meeting of the Nebraska Economic Forecasting Advisory Board, an important step in the development of the state’s biennium
OpenSky followed along with the Nebraska Economic Forecasting Advisory Board’s February meeting, and while we are pleased with positive developments reflected during the meeting, we advise caution as the budget process continues since we can’t rely on economic growth alone to resolve the state’s budget challenges. Nebraska still faces a
$262 million Last week, the Appropriations Committee released its Preliminary Budget report for the upcoming biennium, Fiscal Years 2026 and 2027 (July 1, 2025-June 30, 2027). The report, a milestone in the budget process, is the Legislature’s starting point for budget actions to be taken during the 2025 session. The
OpenSky Policy Institute is committed to protecting your privacy when visiting our site.
When you use our site, we collect aggregate data – group data with no personal identifiers – which we use to help us understand how our site is being used and to enhance its quality.
OpenSky does not automatically collect personal information. In cases when such information is requested to provide a service or respond to an inquiry, visitors only need to provide the minimal information necessary. Typically personal information is required to register for events, to make online donations, to subscribe to our electronic updates or to allow us to respond to inquiries.
Our email list addresses are never sold or traded to outside organizations. If at any time you would like to unsubscribe from receiving OpenSky emails, we include instructions at the bottom of each email.
OpenSky’s site occasionally contains links to third-party sites which have separate and independent privacy policies. OpenSky encourages visitors to review the privacy policies of all externally-linked sites.
By using our site, you consent to our privacy policy.
State Budget & Taxes Ensuring the state has the revenue for critical investments and to support its changing economy is vital to Nebraska’s future. Key Resources State Budget Overview “Looking for Clarity,” updated in 2023, offers an unbiased look at Nebraska’s budget process, state spending, state revenue and tax expenditures.
