2021 Legislative Agenda

• While the Supreme Court Bostock v. Clayton County case held that Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 protects employees against this, it is still essential to pass this at the state level
• Good governance to harmonize federal and state laws
• Prevents employers and employees from wading through a patchwork of laws resulting in uncertainty and costly civil rights litigation

• Removes the lifetime SNAP ban for people with drug convictions who have either completed their sentence or are serving a term of parole, probation, or post-release supervision

• The tipped wage of $2.13/hour has not been updated since 1990, resulting in poverty rates 3 times higher for tipped workers than the general workforce. Eliminating the subminimum wage would put tipped workers at the standard state minimum wage of $9/hour.

• Require emergency rooms to provide information about emergency contraception to all victims of sexual assault, and to dispense emergency contraception upon request

• Places reasonable limits on late fees or penalties that may be charged by a landlord and requires accurate and sufficient information to be provided in termination notices
• Currently, there is no restriction on the amount of a late fee that can be charged for unpaid rent in Nebraska except that it cannot be “unconscionable.”  Data collected by the UNL Civil Clinic shows late fees often exceed the amount of rent due.

• Provide for enhanced penalties and civil action for crimes committed because of a victim's gender identity or association with a person of a certain gender identity.

• Prohibits discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity in public accommodations and under the Nebraska Fair Housing Act.

• Prohibits any person holding a credential under the Uniform Credentialing Act from advertising for and/or charging money for conversion therapy and prohibits performing conversion therapy on any individual under the age of 19.
• This would not prevent faith leaders from preaching what they believe regarding gender issues.

• Driver’s license applicant’s gender shall be indicated as female, male, or not specified through an indication of “X”
• Provides a simplified pathway for Nebraskans to amend their gender on official government documents, such as a driver's license

• Creates a voluntary registration to be administered by the Nebraska State Treasurer for those qualified interior designers in Nebraska to use the title “Registered Interior Designer”
• Gives those registered the ability to stamp and seal their interior design construction documents for permits in code-regulated spaces 
• Creates reciprocity for the Nebraska registration for those interior designers who may be registered, licensed, or certified in another state
• Establishes continuing education requirements for those who wish to become registered

• Allows people who have made every effort to preserve employment but who have to leave work for temporary family caregiving needs to be eligible for unemployment

• Allows for medical abortions, or abortions administered via medication, to be administered through telemedicine
• Eliminates the current statutory requirement that a physician be physically present in the same room when medical abortions are performed

• In 2019, LB 433 amended the Uniform Residential Landlord-Tenant Act but it did not update the Mobile Home Landlord and Tenant Act to match it
• This bill harmonizes the two acts to ensure uniformity in our state law with regard to the landlord-tenant issues addressed by LB 433

• Prevents SNAP benefits from being cut if an individual fails to meet any requirements under some other federal benefit program such as TANF
• This bill would opt the state out of this comparable disqualification option, meaning that if someone is to be disqualified from receiving SNAP benefits, it must be for reasons only related to failure to meet eligibility requirements for THAT program - not for some other public assistance program

• Ensures that youth in our foster system and YRTC system are given notice of their rights related to services, connection to family, and transition planning 
• Ensures that caseworkers are trained on the rights and regularly discuss these rights with young people, and strengthens youths’ awareness of the grievance process through DHHS if they believe their rights have been violated

• Prohibits a landlord from retaliating against a tenant if the tenant has made a good faith complaint to the landlord of a violation of the housing code or noncompliance with the lease agreement or if the tenant has exercised or attempted to exercise a right or remedy under the lease agreement or law

Co-Sponsored Legislation

• LR 10CA (Cavanaugh, M.) - Restore voting rights for felons, except if convicted of treason
• LR 2CA (Wayne) -  Legalize cannabis for persons twenty-one and older and to require legislation
• LB 20 (Blood) - Insurance coverage & Medicaid access to prescribed contraceptives 
• LB 56  (Lathrop) - Improve parole eligibility & accountability
• LB 72 (Geist) - Provide for sale of alcoholic liquor not in its original package 
• LB 83 (Flood) - Allow Videoconferencing in the Open Meetings Act
• LB 107 (McCollister) - Adopt the Redistricting Act to provide for fair redistricting 
• LB 109 (Pansing Brooks) - Provide that photographing or recording a peace officer is not an obstruction of justice  
• LB 110  (Pansing Brooks) - Change and provide duties relating to the use of force in law enforcement
• LB 114 (McCollister) - Seal criminal records by adopting the Clean Slate Act
• LB 125 (McCollister) - Ranked-Choice Voting
• LB 128 (McCollister) - Seal eviction records
• LB 134 (Brandt) - Require the posting and reporting of tax incentive information 
• LB 171 (Hansen, M.) - Increase unemployment benefits by 5% per dependant 
• LB 196 (Vargas) - Prohibit housing discrimination based on income source
• LB 241 (Vargas) - Adopt the Meatpacking Employees COVID-19 Protection Act 
• LB 258 (Vargas) - Adopt the Healthy & Safe Families and Workplaces Act for safe and sick leave
• LB 264 (Stinner) - Cultural district funding 
• LB 266 (McCollister) - Adopt the Renewable Energy Standards Act
• LB 278 (Wayne) - Change the penalty for having residue of a controlled substance from a felony to a misdemeanor 
• LB 306 (Brandt) -  DHHS must allocate at least 10% of funds for the low-income home energy assistance program 
• LB 321 (Cavanaugh, J.) - Prohibit defendant's discovery of victim's actual or perceived gender or sexual orientation as a defense to a crime 
• LB 396 (Brandt) - Adopt the Nebraska Farm-to-School Program Act 
• LB 419 (Cavanaugh, J.) - Right to counsel in evictions