Stimulus dollars major issue for upcoming session

As 2021 draws to a close, I want to wish all of you a Happy New Year for 2022.

The next session of the Nebraska Legislature will begin next Wednesday, January 5th. This will be a “short” 60-day session that is scheduled to end on April 20, 2022. A number of bills from last year that did not pass will “carry over” to this next session, and senators will have ten legislative days to introduce new bills.

A big area of interest for the coming session will be the use of federal stimulus dollars provided to Nebraska under the “American Rescue Plan Act of 2021” (ARPA) through multiple funding streams. While the total money eligible to be awarded to all 93 counties, 4 metro cities, 525 localities and the state is approximately $1.7 billion, the state has already received $520 million, with a similar payment to be made in 2022. The federal government requires that the funds be used to meet one of the following eligible uses: to support the public health response to COVID-19; to respond to negative economic impacts; to provide additional support/pay for essential workers and to improve water, sewer and broadband infrastructure. There have been a lot of ideas floating around as to how to spend this money, and I anticipate much of the time and energy of the upcoming session will be devoted to this topic. My thinking is that we must be careful to spend this money wisely. Since this represents a one-time transfer of funds, we must also be careful to spend the money on one-time projects or programs that will sunset, rather than committing the state to fund various programs for years to come.

I will be honored to continue to serve on the Legislature’s Education and Health and Human Services Committees. Both of these committees do important work and face a multitude of challenges. With regard to the Education Committee, we need assurance that parents, as the primary stakeholders, have a strong say in their child’s education and are aware of what is being taught. The emphasis with the Health and Human Services Committee should be on children, the disabled, the elderly and veterans.

For Nebraska to succeed, a strong and growing workforce is essential. We need to incentivize everyone to work and provide opportunities for that to occur.

As always, I welcome any comments, questions or ideas you may have on this or any other issue. Please feel free to email me at dmurman@leg.ne.gov or call my office at 402-471-2732.