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| Senator Tom Carlson |
On the 66th day of the 90 day long session, the bills predicted at the beginning of the session to be difficult have started first round debate. The budget must be placed on General File by the 70th legislative day, which is May 1.
We spent two days debating the Medicaid Expansion Bill. LB 577 would require the state department of Health and Human Services to add the adult population newly eligible under the federal Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act to the state’s Medicaid state plan amendment. Under that program, low income adults ages 19 to 64 with incomes of up to $15,856 would be eligible for Medicaid if a state chooses to extend benefits to them.
The federal government would cover that amount for three years, beginning in 2014. The federal money would then decrease and level off at 90% beginning in 2020. Part of the difficulty with LB 577 is that by 2020, when we assume 10% of the cost, we don’t know what that amount of money will be. It is hard to commit the state to something in seven years, and we don’t know what the cost will be. As expected, there were comments concerning both sides of this bill. In the end, the legislature moved on without taking a vote. The bill remains on General File.
Debate on another bill, LB 407, which we must pass in some form, sets school aid for the coming year. Funding for schools, nearly $1 billion, is the largest item in the state budget. State aid is designed to help schools make up the difference between what they need to educate students and how much they can raise through property taxes and other local sources.
Historically, this formula becomes a rural vs urban discussion. The large schools, with high tax levies, but low per student cost, want more money. In recent year the smaller schools, with high per student cost, have seen their state aid decrease as the value of farmland has skyrocketed and local property taxes follow the upward trend.
Approximately 100 of the state’s 249 school districts now receive no additional state aid. Under LB 407, the number of school receiving no aid would grow to 114. The day’s debate ended with an amendment, allowing a 7.4 % increase in school aid next year followed by 2.5% the following year, losing by 2 votes. A compromise amendment was being debated as I sent this letter.
A bill I introduced on behalf of the Department of Economic Development was advanced to Select File with a vote of 26-0. The bill modifies the Intern Nebraska Act to allow more flexibility for students and businesses. An amendment by the Business and Labor Committee encourages the department to recruit students from distressed areas and reimburse businesses more if the intern is a Pell Grant recipient.
Each June the Clerk of the Legislature’s office offers a four day youth experience with a mock legislative session. The deadline for applications is May 15th. More information can be found at the Nebraska Legislature web site: www.nebraskalegislature.gov/education/unicamyouth.php.
The federal government would cover that amount for three years, beginning in 2014. The federal money would then decrease and level off at 90% beginning in 2020. Part of the difficulty with LB 577 is that by 2020, when we assume 10% of the cost, we don’t know what that amount of money will be. It is hard to commit the state to something in seven years, and we don’t know what the cost will be. As expected, there were comments concerning both sides of this bill. In the end, the legislature moved on without taking a vote. The bill remains on General File.
Debate on another bill, LB 407, which we must pass in some form, sets school aid for the coming year. Funding for schools, nearly $1 billion, is the largest item in the state budget. State aid is designed to help schools make up the difference between what they need to educate students and how much they can raise through property taxes and other local sources.
Historically, this formula becomes a rural vs urban discussion. The large schools, with high tax levies, but low per student cost, want more money. In recent year the smaller schools, with high per student cost, have seen their state aid decrease as the value of farmland has skyrocketed and local property taxes follow the upward trend.
Approximately 100 of the state’s 249 school districts now receive no additional state aid. Under LB 407, the number of school receiving no aid would grow to 114. The day’s debate ended with an amendment, allowing a 7.4 % increase in school aid next year followed by 2.5% the following year, losing by 2 votes. A compromise amendment was being debated as I sent this letter.
A bill I introduced on behalf of the Department of Economic Development was advanced to Select File with a vote of 26-0. The bill modifies the Intern Nebraska Act to allow more flexibility for students and businesses. An amendment by the Business and Labor Committee encourages the department to recruit students from distressed areas and reimburse businesses more if the intern is a Pell Grant recipient.
Each June the Clerk of the Legislature’s office offers a four day youth experience with a mock legislative session. The deadline for applications is May 15th. More information can be found at the Nebraska Legislature web site: www.nebraskalegislature.gov/education/unicamyouth.php.
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