Nebraska Update

The U.S. House is putting final touches on its budget reconciliation bill, also known as President Donald Trump's "Big Beautiful Bill." It includes sweeping changes to Medicaid funding, energy and tax policies. Nebraska Public Media's Kassidy Arena caught up with District 2 House Representative Don Bacon on the budget bill, which he says he'll support.

Senators gave first-round approval Wednesday to a proposed restructuring of how the Legislature watches over state agencies.

Medical marijuana will not be regulated by the Nebraska Legislature this year after a bill failed to overcome a filibuster Tuesday evening. Nebraska voters overwhelmingly approved two ballot initiatives legalizing and regulating medical marijuana last fall. However, the drug remains inaccessible in the state. The Nebraska Medical Cannabis Commission is tasked with drafting regulations and the group is unlikely to begin licensing dispensaries until October at the earliest.

University of Nebraska-Lincoln students and visitors will see changes to the dining options at the student union through the next year. Nearly all of the restaurants will be changed, moved or closed. University Communications said in a news release that the changes “will phase out third-party franchises and introduce campus-managed dining concepts designed to enhance food quality, improve service and increase the value of student meal plans.”

Each spring, Midwesterners head to the woods to find morel mushrooms. But some in the region are developing methods to reliably farm the delicacy.

A proposal to raise tobacco taxes, tax pop and energy drinks, and tax 18 services provoked pushback Monday in the Legislature.

Currently, Nebraska law prohibits anyone with three or more drug-related felony charges or any drug distribution charge from accessing federal SNAP benefits. A bill from Sen. Victor Rountree would have removed those restrictions, as long as the beneficiaries had completed their sentences and participated in a substance abuse treatment program. The bill passed last week, but Gov. Jim Pillen vetoed it, leading to a vote to override Monday.

Lincoln is now home to more than 300 thousand people after gaining an estimated 38 hundred new residents between July 1st of 2023 and 2024. Omaha also gained around 2500 residents over that time, reversing several years of flat or negative growth. Among the ten largest cities in the state, none are growing as fast proportionally as Columbus, however. While many smaller cities across the state have struggled to keep up with the demand for housing, Columbus mayor Jim Bulkley says his city is expected to have 600 new housing units completed within the next two years.

Gov. Jim Pillen announced Friday he intends to provide administrative support and resources to the Medical Cannabis Commission. “With support from the Policy Research Office, the Department of Administrative Services, and other agencies, as necessary, the Medical Cannabis Commission is fully enabled to meet and carry out its responsibilities under the Patient Protection Act and the Regulation Act to meet its milestone dates of July 1 and October 1,” a press release from the Governor’s Office said. The commission was created upon the passage of Initiative 438 by Nebraska voters in November 2024.

What started as a county-level program to fill a child care need has expanded to a region–wide effort in central Nebraska. The program connects mentors, called champions, with those wanting to be licensed for guidance through the process.