Hello Friends and Neighbors,

Yesterday, the Legislature debated winner-take-all again—not for the second time, the third, or even the fourth. I've heard testimony on this idea in committee more times than I can count, and I am done pretending this bill is about fairness or representation. It’s not.

We closed out debate on LB3 last night with a simple question: Who is this bill ready for? Because it’s not the voters in Nebraska. It’s not for fairness. It’s for rigging the rules after one district didn’t vote the way some people liked. This was a power grab, plain and simple—and we stopped it. LB3 will not advance.

This victory ensures that every Nebraskan's voice in presidential elections still matters. Every voter. Every district. Every time. But we need to keep the pressure up, as LR24CA — another attempt to change how Nebraska awards its electoral votes — could still come up for debate. You can view more of my comments from yesterday's debate on my YouTube page here, and view the full vote on LB3 here. 

As we head deeper into full-day floor debate, the pace is only picking up. Beginning April 22nd, we’ll move into late-night debate, which means longer hours and higher stakes as we take up the most high-profile and consequential bills of the session. These include senators’ priority bills, both the good and the deeply concerning.

Among the most alarming are bills like LB89, Senator Kauth’s harmful continued attack on trans Nebraskans; LB632, which functions as a procedural abortion ban; and LB258, Senator Raybould's effort to undercut the minimum wage increase that voters overwhelmingly approved in 2022. We’re already seeing how this legislature’s conservative majority is eager to override the will of the voters—and that theme was front and center during last week’s debate over paid sick leave.

Despite a tense filibuster, LB415 narrowly advanced with 34 votes after it was amended by AM545, which strips away critical worker protections in the voter-approved Paid Sick Leave Act. The amendment excludes entire categories of workers—like teens, seasonal and agricultural employees, and those at small businesses—from earning paid sick leave, and it eliminates core legal protections for workers facing retaliation for using that leave. In plain terms, this amendment guts the teeth of the law, and it’s another example of lawmakers choosing corporate interests over the health and dignity of working people.

We should be asking ourselves a fundamental question: when Nebraskans speak through the ballot box, who gets the final say—the voters or the Legislature? It’s becoming increasingly clear that for some in the body, the answer is “the Legislature, so long as they disagree with the voters.” That’s unacceptable. I’ll continue to fight against efforts to weaken initiative laws, and I encourage you to contact your senator—whether it’s to thank them for protecting your rights or to hold them accountable for undermining them.

That said, there are also strong and hopeful priority bills moving forward. I support LR19CA from Senator Dover, which mirrors my own LR27CA to extend legislative term limits from two to three terms. LB192 continues to reduce the SNAP benefits cliff, LB215 would adopt the Clean Slate Act to help people with past convictions find stable jobs, and LB224 would ensure paid maternity leave for state employees. I’m especially proud to support LB319, which removes the lifetime ban on SNAP benefits for people with prior drug convictions—a policy I’ve worked to end for years. These are all steps in the right direction toward making our state more equitable and just. 

As always, I’ll keep you updated as the session continues. Please don't hesitate to reach out to my office with your questions or concerns. Thank you for being engaged and for holding power to account.

Best,

Meg

Ballot Measures Under Attack

The Fight Against Legislative Overreach

Lawmakers said they’d listen — now they’re trying to silence you. When Nebraska voters approve something at the ballot box, that should be the final word. But time and again this session, we see lawmakers who think they know better than the people they were elected to serve. Right now, that’s happening with the minimum wage, medical cannabis, and paid sick leave — policies Nebraskans overwhelmingly voted for, now under attack by bills in the Legislature.

Senator Raybould’s LB258 walks back the minimum wage increase you voted for, introducing a tiered system that lets young workers be paid less and capping future wage increases lower than what you approved. Senator Strommen’s LB698 (amended into LB415) weakens paid sick leave protections, making fewer businesses responsible for providing it and stripping away key worker protections. Senator Storm's LB483 would limit permissible cannabis forms to pills and liquid tinctures, despite that under the voter-approved laws, medical cannabis is legal in all forms. LB677 seeks to regulate medical cannabis more closely with the will of the voters, and yet Attorney General Mike Hilgers threatened legal action in his opposition testimony on the bill against the Medical Cannabis Commission if it licenses businesses. If we don’t act now, it'll set a dangerous precedent that your vote doesn’t matter and lawmakers can continue to subvert the will of the people with no repercussions. 

But these attacks on your voice don’t stop here. There is a coordinated effort to weaken and obstruct the ballot initiative process itself—because politicians who don’t like the results of citizen-led measures are trying to stop you from passing them in the first place.

Take LR23CA, a proposal that would force ballot initiative campaigns to turn in signatures 16 months before an election — long before most voters are even paying attention to a race. Or LB604, which would allow opponents to sue a ballot initiative before signature gathering even begins. Imagine a well-funded opposition group—backed by corporate interests—tying up a grassroots campaign in court for months, draining its resources before it ever gets off the ground. These bills aren’t about improving the process; they’re about deliberately making it harder for Nebraskans to have a say in our own laws.

This is a pattern. We’ve seen lawmakers try to block or water down voter-approved initiatives on medical cannabis, gambling, and now, worker protections. These attacks go hand in hand with efforts to make the process more difficult, confusing, and expensive, so fewer citizen-led measures ever make it to the ballot in the first place.

We cannot accept this. We must protest, rally, contact our representatives, and remind them who they work for. If we let them chip away at our rights now, they’ll keep going.

Budget Update

If you want to get really into the weeds on the specifics of the budget, I encourage you to reach out to members of the Appropriations and Revenue Committees. You can also stay up to date with local policy research organizations like OpenSky or the Legislature's fiscal/budget reports. 

I'll keep it short and sweet here. The state’s budget situation is complicated, but here’s the big picture: Nebraska is dealing with a shortfall; initially, we were looking at a $432 million gap, but that number has been revised down to around $262 million. 

One of the biggest contributors to this shortfall? Tax cuts. Specifically, recent corporate and top personal income tax cuts have significantly reduced state revenue. In response, Senator Brant introduced LB171, a bill to pause these tax cuts and help stabilize the budget.

On the other side of things, there’s a lot of pressure to lower property taxes. Governor Pillen’s proposal would have the state take on more responsibility for funding public education, shifting the burden off local property taxes. That plan includes a $2.5 billion investment in K-12 education through 2030.

That sounds good in theory—property tax relief is something most Nebraskans want—but we have to be careful. Public schools are already under strain, and with proposed federal cuts to school-related programs like special education, lunch programs, and Title I, we can’t afford to weaken our state’s investment in education now more than ever. Moving money around is one thing, but making sure schools actually have the resources they need is another.

Beyond that, the Legislature is also debating how to handle ongoing commitments like Medicaid, corrections spending, funding for the University of Nebraska, and public assistance programs — all of which face financial strain. Proposed federal budget cuts to Medicaid and other public programs could shift more costs onto the state, threatening access to care for thousands of Nebraskans. At the same time, Nebraska’s prison system remains one of the most overcrowded in the country. The state has already approved a $350 million prison, but ongoing costs for staffing, healthcare, and programming continue to grow. Without serious criminal justice reform, Nebraska will be forced to spend even more, despite evidence from OpenSky and other policy groups showing that investments in rehabilitation and reentry programs could reduce long-term costs and ease overcrowding. Meanwhile, funding for the University of Nebraska remains uncertain, with the Appropriations Committee weighing whether to reverse proposed heavy budget cuts. 

So where does this leave us? The budget is still being debated, and decisions made in the coming weeks will shape Nebraska’s fiscal outlook for years. There’s a lot of work to do to find the right balance—whether that means adjusting tax policies, rethinking spending priorities, or both.

One important reminder: Nebraska is constitutionally required to pass a balanced budget by Day 80 of the legislative session—this year, that’s May 15. Until that happens, any bills that would cost money from the General Fund will have to wait to be considered. And here’s a fun quirk of the rules: if the Legislature doesn’t report a balanced budget to the floor by Day 70, then we are required to consider the Governor’s introduced budget instead. (I don’t believe this has ever actually happened.) It’s a short window for the body to know how much money we’re working with, so the next few weeks will be crucial.

Legislating isn’t just about what happens in the chamber—it’s about standing up for Nebraskans in every way we can. Right now, we’re working to protect privacy, workers’ rights, and access to healthcare, but we can’t do it alone.

Your donation directly fuels our efforts to stop harmful legislation and advance policies that reflect our shared values. If you believe in this fight, please give today.

District 8 Events

Opera in Conversation: If It Ain't Baroque...

• April 22nd from 6-7pm
• Joslyn Castle (3902 Davenport St.)
• FREE series of three sessions surrounding Opera Omaha mainstage productions that features creatives, scholars, and other public figures.

SHARE Omaha Do Good Days

• April 23-26
• Discover and contribute to nonprofits that are building the community you want to live in. 
• Explore volunteer opportunities

Earth Day Omaha

• April 26th from 11am-4pm at Elmwood Park
• NE State Arboretum hosts a day of tree climbing, educational activities, a children's tent, and donation drives.

Thinx & Drink

• Hosted by Access Period - help process two pallets of donations; cocktails and mocktails provided. (Register)
• April 23rd from 3-5pm at Elevator Co Warehouse (1402 Jones St.)

Benson Film Festival

• April 25-27 (all-access & day passes available)
• Held at Benson Theatre

Benson Neighborhood Assoc. Meeting 

• Held on the last Monday in April, June, August, and October
• 7pm at Benson Baptist Church (6319 Maple St.) 

Dundee-Memorial Park Assoc. Meeting 

• Brownell Talbot School (400 N. Happy Hollow Blvd.) at 7 p.m.
• Held quarterly on the 2nd Monday of the month
• April 14th: candidate forum for city elections

Joslyn Castle Neighborhood Assoc. Meeting

• Held monthly on the 2nd Monday
• Social time 6:30pm, Meeting from 7-8pm at Cali Commons (40th & California St.)

Benson First Friday

• First Friday of the month in Benson Creative District from 5pm-2am
• View a map of participating locations here
• Enjoy a night filled with art, live performances/music, local vendors, food, & community.

Benson Spring Clean-Up

• May 3rd from 9am-2pm
• Omaha Home for Boys (4343 N. 52nd St.)

Joslyn Castle Neighborhood Clean-Up

• 1st Saturday of the month 
• 11am-12pm in front of Cali Commons (40th & California St.)
• Gloves, buckets, & trash grabbers will be provided.

Dundee Memorial Park Spring Clean-Up

• May 10th at Elmwood Park (swimming pool parking lot)

Benson Community Center Open Skate

• Free Youth Open Skate: Every Thurs.-Sat. 3-8 p.m., skateboards & helmets provided (waiver required)
• Adult Open Skate: Every Sunday 3-8 p.m.

Dundee-Memorial Park Assoc. Garage Sale

• Friday, May 9th - Sunday May 11th 
• Sign up online or call Mickey Harrington at 402-553-3143

Our Office in the News

KSNB Local 4 - Nebraska lawmakers hear public comment on Conversion Therapy Bill

Uncameral Update - Ban on conversion therapy for minors proposed

News Channel Nebraska - Nebraska lawmakers advance bill to change voter-approved paid sick leave

KETV - Senators advance bill to ban lab-grown meat

1011 Now - Bill banning sale and production of lab-grown meat advances in Nebraska Legislature

Connect with Me

• Please follow me on Facebook, X, YouTube, or Instagram to stay up to date with my latest activities.
• I invite you to visit my office (room 2102) in Lincoln at the Nebraska State Capitol. Call my office to coordinate. (402) 471-2722
• You can watch the Legislature live on NET TV or find NET's live stream here.