High school students are invited to take on the role of state senators at the Unicameral Youth Legislature on June 12-15. At the State Capitol, student senators will sponsor bills, conduct committee hearings, debate legislation and discover the unique process of the nation's only Unicameral.
LB121 would remove the lifetime Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) ban that denies food assistance to Nebraskans that have had certain drug-related convictions. Under current statute, an individual with a drug-related conviction is ineligible to receive SNAP benefits for life. This ban is counterproductive to the reintegration of formerly incarcerated individuals.
Today Senator Megan Hunt, a small business owner, community leader, and mother, announced her re-election bid for the Nebraska Legislature to represent District 8, - a seat she has held since 2019 - by officially filing with the Nebraska Accountability Disclosure Commission. Senator Hunt represents midtown Omaha, including the neighborhoods of Benson, Dundee, Happy Hollow, and Keystone.
The Unicameral is back in session! Bill introduction is officially over and below you can find a brief overview of my 2022 legislative agenda, testifying procedure updates, bills I support, and proposals I oppose that have been introduced this session.
Lincoln, NE— 1.6.22 — State Senator Megan Hunt introduced LR 269CA today to amend the Nebraska Constitution to establish an independent redistricting commission, to be appointed by the Legislature. If passed, the proposal will be added to the November 2022 ballot for the voters of Nebraska to affirm. Recent redistricting efforts were overshadowed by partisan games and the process largely obscured from public view. Nebraskans deserve for this process to be placed in the hands of people who can take on this responsibility in a transparent and impartial manner.
Lincoln, NE— 1.6.22 — Today, Senator Megan Hunt introduced LB 834, which would eliminate the outdated statute that allows employers to pay disabled employees well below minimum wage. Under an 80-year-old federal provision, states can legally pay people with disabilities less than minimum wage based on their perceived productivity. While this law was initially well-intended to encourage differently-abled individuals to find work, today it keeps workers earning poverty wages and segregated from their communities. Dialogue around disability rights has changed since Nebraska passed the law allowing this, and we now know that “sheltered workshops” do not help move people with disabilities toward greater personal and financial independence.
Lincoln, NE— 1.6.22 — Today, Senator Megan Hunt introduced LB 835 to provide an option that could help relieve student debtors’ loan balances: the 529 NEST college saving plan. Currently, 529 plans allow families to contribute money to an account, which grows on a tax deferred basis and can be withdrawn tax-free if it’s used to pay for qualified education expenses, like tuition or textbooks. In 2019, the federal SECURE Act created new flexibilities for 529 college savings plans, including one that allows these plans to be used to make student loan payments. However, the state’s existing statute prohibits Nebraskans from utilizing the newly granted 529 options. LB 835 will permit 529 planholders to use account assets to pay up to $10,000 in student loans per beneficiary to help.
