Latest news with #LB258
Yahoo
21-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Lawmakers will try again Thursday to pass bill slowing Nebraska minimum wage increases
State Sen. Jane Raybould of Lincoln talks with State Sen. Tony Sorrentino of the Elkhorn area on May 14, 2025, after the defeat of a Raybould-led bill to slow down annual voter-approved increases to the state's minimum wage because Sorrentino missed the final vote. (Zach Wendling/Nebraska Examiner) LINCOLN — A week after the procedural failure of a proposal to slow down voter-approved minimum wage increases, Nebraska lawmakers on Thursday will reconsider the final vote. If the bill's previous supporters hold, the measure would have enough support to pass. State Sen. Tony Sorrentino of the Elkhorn area, a freshman lawmaker, missed the final vote to pass Legislative Bill 258, from State Sen. Jane Raybould of Lincoln. That's because the vote came up about two hours earlier than expected after lead opponent State Sen. Danielle Conrad of Lincoln realized Sorrentino's absence and changed tactics. The bill failed 31-17. Amending a law that voters enact requires at least 33 votes. LB 258 would make annual bumps to the minimum wage smaller and more predictable, supporters say, and create carveouts to pay teen workers less. One listed 'no' vote, State Sen. Beau Ballard of Lincoln, supported the bill originally but tried to sit out the vote to let lawmakers reconsider the vote. He was marked as a 'no' vote under a rule change in January. A reconsideration motion requires a senator on the 'prevailing' side to want to change a vote, or the requesting senator must have missed the vote. Sorrentino missed last Wednesday's vote, because he was escorting colleagues he met through business to a meeting across the street. Of opponents who consider the issue decided, Sorrentino said, 'We all have to learn the rules of the Legislature.' Multiple senators said such a reconsideration motion on a bill from final reading, while likely allowed under the legislative rules, hadn't been used since 1984. The effort could ignite a rules fight over whether the reconsideration should be allowed. Speaker John Arch of La Vista confirmed this week that a reconsideration motion would come Thursday, though he said he couldn't say when. The Legislature will take up either Ballard's motion or a new reconsideration motion Sorrentino filed Tuesday, the final day he could do so under the Legislature's rules. At least 30 senators must agree to reconsider. Asked to comment on the reconsideration, Raybould said, 'No.' She said a reporter should ask Conrad for comment, who Raybould said was already discussing the motion. Last week, she said she thought Democratic-aligned lawmakers were acting in 'goodwill,' because they knew Raybould had the votes. The fight has been personal for Raybould, a longtime grocery store executive, who views the legislation as creating a 'balance' that progressives, including Conrad, have rejected. 'I have never seen such a blatant, bald-faced, self-serving, self-dealing, selfish, unethical example of self-dealing as this bill in the Legislature,' State Sen. Megan Hunt of Omaha said during an April 1 debate. Sorrentino, a former business owner, said he's personally not in favor of a legislated minimum wage, describing himself as a 'true fan of supply and demand.' He said the market is a better indicator. Sorrentino said it's not a vote about 'putting people in poverty, because frankly, I've seen cases where minimum wage is never going to fly, it's way too low.' LB 258 is Raybould's 2025 priority bill. She is the lone Democrat in favor of LB 258 as well as a separate LB 415 to weaken a voter-approved paid sick leave framework that takes effect Oct. 1, after 2024 passage. Republican State Sen. Dave Wordekemper of Fremont opposes LB 258 and the current version of LB 415. There are 33 Republicans in the officially nonpartisan body. There were some initial conversations about attaching LB 258 to LB 415. That approach heightens the risk that voters could repeal the legislative changes and go back to the voter-approved language, which some advocates have discussed as a response to LB 415. Legislative Bill 258, related to the state minimum wage, would remove inflationary bumps after the base wage rises to $15 on Jan. 1, which voters approved in 2022. Future increases would be fixed at a 1.75% annual rate beginning in 2026. That was a deal struck between State Sens. Jane Raybould of Lincoln, the sponsor, and Stan Clouse of Kearney to provide 'certainty.' Average inflation, as calculated by the ballot measure's current language, was 2.6% last year and 4.18% for the past five years. Over the past 10 years, inflation was 2.63%. And over the past 25 years, it was 2.39%, according to data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics for the Midwest. LB 258 would also create a 'youth minimum wage' for workers aged 14 or 15. Beginning next year, those young workers could be paid $13.50 (the current minimum wage), which would increase by 1.5% every five years, beginning in 2030. The youth minimum wage would stay below $15 — the floor that voters created for all workers beginning Jan. 1 — until 2065 under LB 258, according to a Nebraska Examiner analysis. Teen workers aged 16 to 19 could still be paid a 'training wage,' which would no longer apply to 14 or 15 year olds with the creation of the 'youth minimum wage.' The training wage allows employers to pay teen workers a lower rate for up to the first 90 days of employment. Current law allows the training wage to be 75% of the federal minimum wage, so as low as $5.44. LB 258 would increase the training wage to $13.50 beginning in September. The amended training wage would rise by 1.5% annually beginning in 2027. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
Yahoo
15-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Nebraska Legislature: Personal devices, lab grown meat bans heading to governor's desk
LINCOLN, Neb. (KCAU) — Wednesday was a big day for Nebraska legislature. The fate of many bills were determined in the third and final round of voting. State senators voted 48 to 1 on LB 140 with an emergency clause, which means the measure will take effect immediately if the governor chooses to sign the bill. The bill would ban students from using their personal electronic devices, such as cell phones, on school grounds or while at school instructional functions like a field trip. The measure would allow cell phone use in situations such as cases of emergency or authorized for educational purposes. Story continues below Top Story: Unofficial results: Voters say 'no' to South Sioux City school bond Lights & Sirens: Sioux City firefighter taken to hospital following Mayday call during Morningside fire Sports: #7 South Sioux City boys soccer upsets #2 Millard North 2-1 in NSAA Class A State Quarterfinals Another bill that passed in the third round of voting was LB 246, the lab grown meat ban. The measure passed on a vote of 38 to 11. The bill now goes to Governor Pillen's desk, where he will decide whether or not to sign the legislation into law. It bans the production, import, distribution, or sale of any cultivated-protein food in Nebraska if it's made with animal cells. The bill does not prohibit alternative-meat products that are made from plants. A bill that failed to get pass the final round of voting is LB 258 on a vote of 31 to 17 with one person not voting. The measure would have change provisions in relation to the minimum wage under the wage and hour act. The legislation would have created a youth minimum wage and increase Nebraska's training wage along with setting a cap on the annual increases on minimum wage. Right now, the minimum wage in Nebraska is $13.50 per hour. Next year, the wage will increase to $15 an hour. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
15-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Proposal to cap Nebraska's minimum wage increases stalls in dramatic fashion
The legislative seat of State Sen. Tony Sorrentino of the Elkhorn area remains vacant on Wednesday, May 14, 2025. His absence led to the defeat of a bill seeking to weaken voter-approved minimum wage increasees, LB 258. (Zach Wendling/Nebraska Examiner) LINCOLN — Nebraska lawmakers expected to spend two hours Wednesday on a nearly inevitable proposal to slow voter-approved annual increases in the state's minimum wage to a fixed rate, rather than the faster inflation-based bumps passed in 2022. Lincoln State Sen. Jane Raybould's proposal faced a promised filibuster. Yet even her opponents knew the measure had the votes to be sent to the governor's desk. Wednesday was set to be the latest example in a trend of the officially nonpartisan but GOP-dominated Legislature pushing back against a handful of ballot measures passed by Nebraska voters on paid sick leave, minimum wage, school vouchers and medical marijuana. But instead of grinding things to a halt, State Sen. Danielle Conrad of Lincoln began withdrawing her delay-focused motions to force an unexpectedly quicker vote on the proposal. Conrad asked for a roll call in reverse order, as one of the 33 lawmakers needed to tweak voter-approved proposals that changed state law was absent. Under the Legislature's rules, the reverse order vote caused the missing lawmaker, State Sen. Tony Sorrentino of the Elkhorn area, to be considered 'excused not voting' as his name is lower than on the roll, and votes are typically done in alphabetical order. This caused the bill to fail 31-17. Raybould, the lone Democrat supporting a slower minimum wage increase, said she thought Conrad and other Democratic-aligned lawmakers were acting in good faith or 'goodwill' as she had the votes for passage. Instead, filibustering lawmakers celebrated a short-term political victory defending what they called 'the will of the people.' And Raybould and her Republican colleagues were left hunting for a backup plan — a broader bill to which they could attach the contents of her Legislative Bill 258. The move most likely delays but will not stop the passage of Raybould's proposal. Lawmakers were already discussing amending it onto State Sen. Beau Ballard's Legislative Bill 415, which is aimed at weakening voter-approved paid sick leave protections. Raybould's LB 258 had secured 33 votes with a 'compromise' from State Sen. Stan Clouse of Kearney. Currently, the state minimum wage is $9 an hour. If lawmakers do nothing, voters will increase it to $15 next year. Then it will increase each year based on a cost of living measurement, a calculation of inflation for the Midwest region from the previous August. Raybould's stalled proposal, in its current form, would shrink the voter-approved annual increases by capping the annual increase after next year to 1.75%. It also would create a youth minimum wage and amend a separate state training wage to limit it to workers aged 16 to 19 at 75% of the state minimum wage later this year, rather than at 75% of the federal wage. Training workers can earn that wage for up to the employee's first 90 days on the job. Under the voter-approved law, workers would see larger wage increases. But Raybould and supporters of her measure said her changes would protect small businesses that could not afford to pay more. Raybould told reporters she is not comfortable with suspending legislative rules to bring back her bill. She said she would look into whatever options are available to 'get something done this year.' She added that Sorrentino's absence during the vote was 'a rookie error on his part.' She didn't specify what options she is considering. Ballard told the Examiner he would be open to adding Raybould's proposal to his paid sick leave bill. He voted present, not voting during the vote, once he realized the votes weren't there, so he could possibly file a reconsideration motion. But statehouse rules don't allow that type of maneuver. He filed a motion anyway, according to the Legislature's website. That could hint at a possible rules suspension to retake the vote. 'There's always next year,' Raybould said. Or maybe sooner, if an alternative arises. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
Yahoo
05-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Food and finance in the Legislature's home stretch
The Nebraska State Capitol. (Paul Hammel/Nebraska Examiner) While the country's chattering class buzzed about 100 days in office, lawmakers in the Nebraska Legislature passed that apparently important milestone several weeks ago without a blip of notoriety. Nose to the grindstone … as it were. Its work continues until early June, so state senators are entering the home stretch. Whether their remaining days will be a slog, a sprint or something in between remains to be seen as an eclectic array of issues from food to finances still await them. A sampler platter of policies passed, passed over and proposed reveals the 'vibe' of the 108th Session, a 90-day variety. A trio of subjects are instructive: While a bill to certify the origins of your cheeseburger is working its way through the Unicameral — with some in that august body rightly wondering why — a recent, far more important discussion took place: Should Nebraska be using access to food as a behavior modification tool? To their credit, senators have moved forward State Sen. Victor Rountree's Legislative Bill 314, a proposal to lift the ban on access to Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits for certain former felons who have served time on drug convictions. To date, proponents have been on the money in support of LB 314, arguing that addiction is not a moral issue but rather a disease. Plus, using food as a cudgel would continue the punishment of a crime for which offenders had already paid their debt to society. Rountree's bill appears to be heading for final passage, a welcome turn for the 1,000 or so Nebraskans affected by the current ban. How all Nebraskans pay for the food they put on their tables has also been a topic of discussion as it relates to the Legislature's charge to carry out the will of the voting public who decided to increase the state's minimum wage a couple of years ago. The debate over State Sen. Jane Raybould's LB 258 has been wide-ranging, rife with weedy details and occasionally personal, the overarching question here is just because the Legislature has the authority to alter what was decided at the polls, should it? LB 258 changes the rate at which the minimum wage would rise starting in 2027 from the cost of living to a set percent each year. There are some exceptions for younger workers. The details are numerous and devilish, but the debate tone took an unfortunate turn last week. That's when several senators argued that the solution for those earning a minimum wage was to forego dependence on government largesse and instead work harder, improve themselves, get an education or start their own business. The implication was that minimum wage earners are not hard workers, uninterested in self-improvement, uneducated and somehow in a position to open their own businesses. 'Inexplicable' comes to mind when distilling such comments, but I'd question that. I think it explicable: Being woefully out of touch with all wage earners across the state dealing with high prices, stubborn inflation and the nation's chaotic economic future. State senators work hard and surely had Nebraskans' best interest at heart when they raised their right hands on January 8. While a serious and sometimes difficult task, all Nebraskans live by the Legislature's decisions. It is incumbent on them … indeed on all of us as voters, too … to have an understanding of not simply how legislation affects our lives, but also the lives of those with whom we have little or nothing in common, aside from geography. Speaking of economic futures, now is a good time to remind ourselves of the words of Martin Luther King Jr. who said, 'a budget is a moral document.' Debate begins this week to address the state economic forecasting board's recent revision that adds $190 million over two years to the budget deficit. For an excellent primer on the details, read the Nebraska Examiner's Zach Wendling's piece here. The sledding will be tough. That's because as we see on our nightly television news and in our morning papers, some are selling a rosy, tariff-driven future, but few economists and business leaders are buying. Chaos and doubt have replaced certitude, a priceless commodity when paying for today, investing in tomorrow or both. The result? Roiling markets, talk of recession and a vague economic malaise among buyers, sellers and, most importantly, consumers. All of which affects Nebraskans and those with whom we have entrusted the state's financial plan. To wit: Any budget discussion, debate and eventual decision seen through King's observation and ye shall know them by … how they spend our money. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
Yahoo
30-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Bill advances to slow annual increases to Nebraska minimum wage
State Sen. Jane Raybould of Lincoln. March 31, 2025. (Zach Wendling/Nebraska Examiner) LINCOLN — State lawmakers advanced an amended proposal Wednesday to slow annual increases to Nebraska's minimum wage down to a fixed rate, rather than using the inflationary bumps that voters approved in 2022. Legislative Bill 258, from State Sen. Jane Raybould of Lincoln, advanced 33-16 with a 'compromise' from State Sen. Stan Clouse of Kearney setting annual increases to the state minimum wage at 1.75%. Voters in 2022 approved permanent cost-of-living increases each Jan. 1, starting in 2027, based on a calculation of inflation for the Midwest region from the prior August. Nebraska's minimum wage will rise to $15 on Jan. 1 regardless of LB 258. LB 258 would increase the state's training wage for teen workers and limit it to workers aged 16 to 19 at 75% of the state minimum wage this September, rather than 75% of the federal wage (which is $7.25 and hasn't changed since 2009). That wage can be paid for up to the first 90 days of employment. As a result, workers aged 14 or 15 would get a new youth minimum wage beginning at $13.50 next January and increasing every five years by 1.5%. The training wage would rise by 1.5% each year. Under LB 258, the new youth wage would not get above $15 until 2065, according to a Nebraska Examiner analysis. LB 258 heads to a third and final round of debate. It advanced again with Raybould, a Democrat, joining 32 of 33 Republicans to advance the bill. State Sen. Dave Wordekemper of Fremont, a Republican, again opposed the measure. Raybould said her bill provides predictability and that Clouse's suggestion was a 'reasonable compromise.' Average inflation for the past five years, as provided under the voter-approved language, was 4.18%, according to data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics for the Midwest. Over the past 10 years, it was 2.63%. And over the past 25 years, it was 2.39%. Of those 25 years, inflation was less than 1.75% a total of 11 times. The Midwest region faced deflation twice, in 2009 and 2015. Clouse said the amended LB 258 would give wage earners and businesses 'certainty,' rather than 'rolling the dice' on whether there would be a wage adjustment. State Sen. Danielle Conrad of Lincoln again led opposition to the measure she said would 'undercut the will of the people' and prevent hard working Nebraskans, particularly those who would be subject to the new 'youth minimum wage,' from fully realizing the 'intent' of voters just a few years ago. Conrad said the 'heart' of the debate is economic justice and that senators needed to 'see the poor' who help keep the economy abuzz and 'not look down our nose at them.' 'This isn't a few kids working for bubble gum,' Conrad said. 'These are our neighbors who deserve us to hear them and see them, to provide them with an opportunity to keep their head above water.' State Sen. Paul Strommen of Sidney, who supported Raybould's measure, said lawmakers and workers faced a 'never-ending chase' between mandated cost increases on businesses and increased prices on consumers. He predicted more lost jobs and automation. Strommen also is lead sponsor of a bill amended into LB 415, from State Sen. Beau Ballard of Lincoln, to weaken paid sick leave protections that voters approved just last fall. 'We're never going to be satisfied,' Strommen said of the minimum wage cycle. 'We have to come up with a better way to handle this.' State Sens. Mike Moser of Columbus and Kathleen Kauth of the Millard area said that if workers wanted a higher wage, they needed to work for it. Moser said the debate surrounded 'class warfare' when he said the minimum wage was not a 'living' wage. Kauth said it was a 'safeguard against people being abused too much.' 'If you're struggling in your family, do your best to get a different job, get an education,' Moser said. 'See what you can do to improve your outlook.' Kauth agreed, adding: 'Change yourself rather than asking the government to do it for you.' State Sens. Dan Quick of Grand Island and Ashlei Spivey of Omaha said that inflation affected all Nebraskans and that the best way to support youths is to invest in them and their families. State Sen. John Fredrickson of Omaha said Raybould's bill was a 'setback,' not a 'stepping stone' to getting more young workers hired, as Raybould has suggested. Fredrickson said young people aren't working just for a 'slush fund' or 'extra cash' but instead work to help with household expenses, college savings, gas, food and to 'make ends meet.' 'We cannot tell them that their efforts are less valuable or that fairness and equality of wages can wait another year until they're a year older,' said Fredrickson, asking if industry-specific wages were next. State Sen. Victor Rountree of Bellevue said that when he was young, and before he went into the U.S. Air Force, he saved wages he earned as a teen to help his mother, including from a low-wage construction job. 'I put a lot of money up in the left back corner of my top drawer in the dresser,' Rountree said, telling his mom that if she ever needed it, it was there. Federal minimum wage: Created in 1938, now $7.25. Nebraska minimum wage: Created in 1967, now $13.50. Nebraska tipped employees minimum wage: Created in 1970, now $2.13. Wages plus gratuities must equal or exceed the Nebraska minimum wage under state law. Nebraska training wage: Created in 1991, now $5.44 (75% of the federal minimum wage) for up to the first 90 days of employment for a worker younger than 20 years old. Nebraska student-learners minimum wage: Created in 1987, now $11.25 (75% of the Nebraska minimum wage) for workers who are part of a vocational training program. Nebraska youth minimum wage: Does not currently exist. Much of the debate surrounded the 'will of the voters' that opponents said Raybould and supporters of the changes were undercutting. 'If we pass this bill, we are telling Nebraskans that their vote only counts when it's convenient for us,' said State Sen. Megan Hunt of Omaha. 'That's not a democracy. It's not a public service, and it's not the role of a citizen's Legislature.' State Sen. Bob Hallstrom of Syracuse said that was flat wrong and that supporters were 'free and well within our authority' to amend the language, so long as they had at least 33 votes under the Nebraska Constitution. 'I guess if you say things long enough, you might begin to believe it yourself,' Hallstrom said. 'Maybe some other people will believe you, but that doesn't make it any more true.' This round of debate was less personal than the first for Raybould, a longtime grocery store executive whose family owns and operates Super Saver and Russ's Market. Raybould continues to serve as vice chair of the company's board. She filed a conflict of interest statement on LB 258. The change came in part because Raybould urged lawmakers Wednesday to move away from 'personal attacks.' 'Even when it's couched with words like 'my dear friend,' it gives permission for others to direct their anger and their hatred toward that person, and that can have very unfortunate consequences,' Raybould said, citing recent political violence in Pennsylvania. During the debate, Raybould and Hallstrom walked through LB 31 of 2007, from Conrad during her first year as a lawmaker. As introduced, Conrad's bill, her first in 11 years of legislative service so far, would have increased the minimum wage over time for all workers 17 years old or older, while younger workers would have been subject to the federal minimum wage. Hallstrom, as a paid lobbyist 18 years ago, opposed LB 31. Raybould asked Hallstrom if the Conrad of 2025 would have supported LB 31 of 2007, which Raybould and Hallstrom said seemed an odd position. 'I don't think I'm qualified to speculate or define as to what now Senator Conrad, formerly Senator Nantkes, might have done differently,' Hallstrom said. 'What I do know is that I do not criticize her for having a change of heart or a change of mind on the issue.' A version of Conrad's bill passed later in 2007, in line with federal minimum wage bumps. Conrad helped lead the successful 2014 ballot initiative that raised the state wage. State Sen. John Cavanaugh of Omaha called out the 'tone deafness' of LB 258's debate, such as the exchange on the floor of the Legislature between Raybould and Hallstrom, a former paid lobbyist, being used as justification for the measure's necessity. Conrad said the heart of her work has always been to put more money in people's pockets. 'If you'd like to ask me about my intentions,' Conrad responded, 'I'm happy to yield for questions so that other senators don't have to guess as to my intentions from 15 years ago.' The federal minimum wage did not apply to most workers until 1978: In October 1938, the wage went into effect for employees engaged in interstate commerce or in producing goods for interstate commerce. Beginning September 1961, at a slightly lower rate than interstate commerce employees, the wage extended to workers of large retail or service enterprises, as well as those in local transit, construction or gas stations. By February 1967, state or local government employees in hospitals, nursing homes and schools, as well as workers in laundries, dry cleaners and large hotels, motels, restaurants or farms were covered. Between 1970 and 1978, farm workers were paid at a lower rate. Beginning January 1978, the federal minimum wage extended to most nonexempt workers at one minimum wage, $2.65 at the time. Nebraska created a state minimum wage in 1967, applying in that case to workers not covered by the federal minimum wage until 1978. The Nebraska minimum wage has now surpassed the federal minimum wage and must be paid to all workers in businesses employing four or more employees. For smaller businesses, the federal minimum wage must be paid. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
