[{"_1":2,"_99":-5,"_100":-5},"loaderData",{"_3":4,"_26":27},"root",{"_5":6,"_17":10,"_18":19,"_20":21,"_22":10,"_23":-5,"_24":-5,"_25":10},"user",{"_7":8,"_9":10,"_11":10,"_12":-5,"_13":-5,"_14":15,"_16":-5},"roles",[],"isAuthenticated",false,"isPremium","planName","subscriptionStatus","featureFlags",{},"insightsBudget","isDevelopmentHost","userPreferences",{},"recaptchaSiteKey","6LcvOJcUAAAAAHsB-gPGfGktcRlKpH7OTIU_dMTD","isImpersonating","impersonation","affiliateStatus","isFreedomPortal","routes/v2/article/layout",{"_28":29,"_30":31},"notFound",true,"relatedArticles",[32,75,87],{"_33":34,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":40,"_41":42,"_43":44,"_45":44,"_46":47,"_48":49,"_50":51,"_52":53,"_54":55,"_56":57,"_58":59,"_60":61,"_62":63,"_64":65,"_66":67,"_68":69,"_70":71,"_72":73,"_74":73},"mediaId",6095804,"mediaKeyId","2836764-8eadad67b48fa1c9ab670d3669a3da01","parentId",2836764,"title","Heated floor debate over minimum-wage carve-outs; motion to indefinitely postpone filed","audioSeconds",0,"startMs",8268000,"endMs","viewUrl","/Search/View?dp=1&key=2836764-8eadad67b48fa1c9ab670d3669a3da01&start=8268&end=8268","thumbnailUrl","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2836764-8eadad67b48fa1c9ab670d3669a3da01/thumbnail_8268000.jpg","articleUrl","/articles/6095804/Nebraska/Heated-floor-debate-over-minimum-wage-carve-outs-motion-to-indefinitely-postpone-filed","mediaUrl","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6095804-acdfc3aa75928df0a7ada999bba1d9ac/orig.mp4?Expires=1775290936&Signature=oLyLmnkshW2R0lUHwtP~cGzqqkK6UAAY0Tbu2xbuKd8u5ZSUP4xeCKrU6vZ3AkJGbLwUy5Y3SIGRwMkxE0ugi6eIW90b3LdnnCwx2sXmrLBRWIw1WP4aTqXpC3ypk-lWkTGr5rEATYVvNJR1Jq~JfCmOmf3NI4Bj49c6YEQcZgyP13~FKuHbYpVPnmqh4a3d8g9tjG8suOFTiM-FmvSeO7cAAFEUjtY7MC3U5Q2pKKpr~VWg3XutsDiMYgYmuUTjEWVztzPXLylcVr4qc-qKMkrEJyXVb1C3DPMe3FPwnqW4R81EQsR8pOoMH7gfvHBk8BKPewY~Epv5A3vMGZURYg__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","author","Nebraska Legislature","date","2025-03-31T00:00:00Z","article","Senator Raybould opened discussion of LB258 with a three-part proposal she described as a balance between the voter-approved minimum-wage increase and small-business concerns. Raybould said the bill proposes a CPI cap (fixed at 1.5% annual adjustment), a youth wage set at $13.50 for 14–15-year-olds with a 1.5% increase every five years, and a training wage raised to $13.50 for 90 days (90% of state minimum) before moving to full minimum wage. “This is a fair-minded attempt to craft some centrist legislation,” Raybould said, and she cited letters from small-business owners, grocers and child-care providers urging flexibility.

Senator Conrad moved to indefinitely postpone LB258 (IPP motion), arguing the motion would protect the will of the voters and preserve indexing to the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) in the Midwest region as the ballot authors intended. \"The will of the voters said we're going to have modest yet meaningful increases in the minimum wage to keep pace with inflation,\" Conrad said; she and other opponents argued an IPP would stop what they described as a rollback.

Supporters of Raybould’s measure — including several small-business representatives and franchisees whose written testimony was read into the record — said the proposed carve-outs would preserve entry-level opportunities for teenagers, help small employers (notably grocery stores and child-care centers) that cited lost teen hires and families priced out of care, and give predictability to businesses. Raybould and supporters repeatedly cited local business letters describing lost teen hires and day-care families who could not afford higher fees.

Opponents said the people had already acted via Initiative 433 (2022) to raise the minimum wage to $15 by 2026 and index future increases to CPI-U, and that changing the formula now would undercut the ballot initiative and low-wage workers. Several senators urged honoring the ballot language and noted the state constitution requires a higher legislative threshold to alter voter-initiated statutes.

Senators debated multiple details on the floor: the current statutory rate ($13.50 at the time of debate), the initiative schedule to $15 in 2026, the existing federal training-wage baseline (75% of federal minimum or $5.44 under current federal standards), and the interplay of indexing versus a fixed 1.5% growth rate. The IPP motion was fully briefed and debated on the floor but no final disposition of the IPP motion appears in the record excerpt; debate continued for multiple hours with many senators weighing constituent contacts, small-business concerns and worker protections.","mediaType","Video","parentTitle","Legislative Afternoon Session 3/31/2025","oneSentenceSummary","Senator Raybould introduced LB258 proposing caps and carve-outs to the voter-approved minimum-wage increases (including a 1.5% CPI cap, a youth wage and a higher training wage). Senator Conrad filed a motion to indefinitely postpone the bill; senators debated whether the Legislature should alter voter-approved initiative language.","taxTitle","2025 Legislature NE, Nebraska","taxId",77675,"location","Nebraska","headline","","shortSummary",{"_33":76,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":77,"_41":78,"_43":79,"_45":80,"_46":81,"_48":82,"_50":83,"_52":84,"_54":55,"_56":57,"_58":85,"_60":61,"_62":63,"_64":86,"_66":67,"_68":69,"_70":71,"_72":73,"_74":73},6095808,"Senators approve measures to simplify licensure for out-of-state marriage and family therapists",498,7797000,8295000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=2836764-8eadad67b48fa1c9ab670d3669a3da01&start=7797&end=8295","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2836764-8eadad67b48fa1c9ab670d3669a3da01/thumbnail_7797000.jpg","/articles/6095808/Nebraska/Senators-approve-measures-to-simplify-licensure-for-out-of-state-marriage-and-family-therapists","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6095808-e46bcc7723c0aaeb4b364f40fcfc11fb/orig.mp4?Expires=1775290936&Signature=lZ5PnyGKSk5WM3P3Uum5EyY~nRbrg603XIwSwei9zbqCCKeRw0WEMCJBzFcFOOTd~NaXSLx8-wMu1sNA5aRYLOg-9ZGsQ-KeqIa-RWCbirD81U9Z3CH-7OYuFBiyDMvkHzrBNRpWENK4RKF67JYgl9TwMw0ukjLO~e~e-s~oo0lVpdQMtJ9mP2folByOdK-K1YCLGWP0M9rDNq8yx2xhuTo4jrfXpquixANt4~fO~i413PGY4gG8f6TIvGydwGdLQyxn0G2V5-yvfTuS-6XR3SguBm22ymye2FPjv7VGcwQS3eylvr4YxasYgsOhorZT9r-x9cQg~sPxFwsmMN~4oQ__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","Senator Quick introduced LB257 as a measure to improve licensure portability for licensed marriage and family therapists (MFTs), proposing that an applicant with a valid, unrestricted out-of-state MFT license be issued a Nebraska license after completing an application, paying fees and passing a Nebraska jurisprudence exam. \"If you are a licensed MFT in another state and in good standing, then you should be able to move to Nebraska without taking extra steps to get licensed,\" Quick said on the floor.

The Health and Human Services Committee reported the bill favorably (7–0), and Senator Quick brought two floor amendments that received unanimous support. AM 08:50 clarifies that an equivalent license will be issued to applicants already holding an out-of-state full and unrestricted license and streamlines the process; the sponsor said the amendment resulted from conversations with the Department of Health and Human Services. AM 8 66, brought by Senator Hansen with Quick’s approval, updates occupational therapy scope-language clarifications (the amendment was described as the introducer's LB630 language incorporated by request of the Nebraska Occupational Therapy Association) and also drew no opposition in committee.

Both amendments were adopted by voice and recorded votes (AM 08:50 recorded as 42 ayes, no nays; AM 8 66 recorded as 43 ayes, no nays), and the Legislature advanced LB257 to the next stage (recorded advancement vote 43–0). Sponsors said the change will help address workforce shortages by easing licensure portability for qualified therapists.

Because the amendments drew no opposition and the bill was reported out of committee unanimously, proponents said the measure aims primarily to make Nebraska more competitive in recruiting licensed MFTs and to align state practice with the AMFT model portability approach adopted in other states.","Lawmakers adopted amendments to LB257 to create streamlined licensing for out-of-state licensed marriage and family therapists and clarify scope language for occupational therapy provisions added by amendment. Amendments were adopted unanimously and the bill advanced.",{"_33":88,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":89,"_41":90,"_43":91,"_45":92,"_46":93,"_48":94,"_50":95,"_52":96,"_54":55,"_56":57,"_58":97,"_60":61,"_62":63,"_64":98,"_66":67,"_68":69,"_70":71,"_72":73,"_74":73},6095813,"Legislature advances bill to ban sale and manufacture of cultivated protein products",5320,424000,5744000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=2836764-8eadad67b48fa1c9ab670d3669a3da01&start=424&end=5744","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2836764-8eadad67b48fa1c9ab670d3669a3da01/thumbnail_424000.jpg","/articles/6095813/Nebraska/Legislature-advances-bill-to-ban-sale-and-manufacture-of-cultivated-protein-products","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6095813-4e6afaae16d5baf0533760a1b1ef60dd/orig.mp4?Expires=1775290936&Signature=J6r-Z79k2VA7xNFk~FQdOVaBoTUl~70SMJR60~L2~ndMgcbKEJAPQRQVsCyyy12lQWiLJflE2h~qzjWnqeAYjsume42SHMAKPaWBKMZuRez0cbcsgK4wVpV~3jUda0uW48lIkRbZbm3h3IPybwUXkKH7~-aYR3R4~uEZEJ~nx0K1zOdrXIwEXbeaEDTigQKRN6nez-hWdQH44t0ZNiH4AfYvibWbCfqJlnLvQeCRDy7gwmGRDEhbEMYt6N3wNXRVal5OtgSsQ02W1Z29wdkczdJSghtPzROKscueqawwZ-SrTVEzvuCrxHgtRjtbWfLbSalqi2gpbeyeLl75ffGyeg__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","Senator DeKay, sponsor of LB246, told the Legislature the bill “would quite simply ban the manufacturer sale and distribution of what is referred to and defined in the bill as cultivated protein food products in the state.” The measure, introduced at the request of the governor, would amend state Pure Food Act provisions to declare products containing cultivated protein adulterated and add an enforcement path under deceptive trade practices law.

Supporters said the measure is a preemptive consumer-protection step and a defense of Nebraska’s livestock industry. “I share the governor's passion for the families and thousands of good people who worked tirelessly and make the investments necessary,” DeKay said, arguing the bill’s goal is “not to throw people in jail or impose heavy monetary penalties. It's just to keep the product off the shelves.”

Opponents said the bill overreaches. Senator Raybould said she viewed LB246 as “a solution in search of a problem,” argued labeling would be a more appropriate tool and questioned whether cultivated proteins are a present threat to Nebraska producers. Senator Hunt and others warned the ban could shut Nebraska out of future agricultural research and investment and urged reliance on federal regulators and labeling instead of a statewide prohibition.

The Ag Committee’s amendment narrowed the bill’s definition to avoid unintentionally sweeping in plant-based products; Senator DeKay said the amendment removed wording that could be read to ban plant-based meat alternatives and that the change came at the suggestion of the Plant Based Food Association. The floor adopted that committee amendment (AM 2 26) during Thursday’s session.

Lawmakers exchanged technical, safety and economic arguments: proponents cited potential contaminants and cited international actions; opponents cited federal oversight, free-market competition and the potential economic opportunity for Nebraska producers and researchers. Several senators urged preserving research at Nebraska universities while restricting commercial production and sale; Senator DeKay said the bill does not ban research.

Action on LB246: the Legislature adopted the committee amendment AM 2 26 and later voted to advance LB246 from general file; the clerk recorded 33 ayes and 4 nays on advancement.

The bill now moves forward to the next stages of debate and amendment on select file, where sponsors and opponents signaled plans for continued discussion on labeling, enforcement and the statute’s precise definitions.","Lawmakers advanced LB246 after hours of debate over safety, labeling and economic impacts for Nebraska agriculture. Sponsor Senator DeKay said the bill would prohibit sale and distribution of “cultivated protein food products”; opponents urged labeling and warned the ban could chill innovation.","actionData","errors"]

Article not found

Heated floor debate over minimum-wage carve-outs; motion to indefinitely postpone filed

Senators approve measures to simplify licensure for out-of-state marriage and family therapists

Legislature advances bill to ban sale and manufacture of cultivated protein products