When the Legislature reconvenes on Monday, April 13, only 29 legislative days will remain in the 2015 legislative session. With a multitude of priority bills yet to be considered on first round debate, Speaker Galen Hadley (Kearney) has announced a schedule of late night sessions, in which floor debate will last until 8:30 p.m. or later to allow sufficient time for lawmakers to deal with the state budget and remaining priority bills. Late night sessions have been tentatively scheduled for the following dates:
- Tuesday, April 28
- Wednesday, April 29
- Thursday, April 30
- Monday, May 4
- Tuesday, May 5
- Wednesday, May 6
- Tuesday, May 12
- Wednesday, May 13
- Thursday, May 14
- Monday, May 18
- Tuesday, May 19
- Wednesday, May 20
- Tuesday, May 26
- Wednesday, May 27
- Thursday, May 28
Angel Investment Tax Credit
The Legislature has given first round approval to Legislative Bill 156, a measure introduced by Sen. John Stinner (Gering) that would increase from $3 million to $4 million, the amount of tax credits allowed annually under the Angel Investment Tax Credit Act. (NFIB Position – Support)
Minimum Wage
Among the bills that have surfaced on the legislative agenda for early this week are the following two measures that would make revisions to Nebraska’s minimum wage.
- Legislative Bill 599–Minimum Wage: Sen. Laura Ebke (Crete) is the sponsor of LB 599, which would authorize a lower minimum wage for younger workers. As amended, the bill would retain the current minimum wage at $8 per hour for people younger than 19 who attend school and don’t have dependent children, when the overall minimum wage increases to $9 an hour next year. (NFIB Position–Support)
- Legislative Bill 494–Minimum Wage: LB 494, introduced by Sen. Jeremy Nordquist (Omaha), would gradually increase the state minimum wage rate for tipped employees from the current rate of $2.13 per hour to $2.35 per hour in 2015 and to $2.64 per hour in 2016. (NFIB Position – Oppose)
Past Reports
