[{"_1":2,"_88":-5,"_89":-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",[32,76],{"_33":34,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":40,"_41":42,"_43":44,"_45":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,"_75":74},"mediaId",6246825,"mediaKeyId","3214723-a0a957616532838ab64e78788f622c7e","parentId",3214723,"title","Senators debate AM 12‑46 to fund Meals on Wheels as floor dispute erupts over bill‑attachment tactics","audioSeconds",4192,"startMs",1957000,"endMs",6149000,"viewUrl","/Search/View?dp=1&key=3214723-a0a957616532838ab64e78788f622c7e&start=1957&end=6149","thumbnailUrl","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/3214723-a0a957616532838ab64e78788f622c7e/thumbnail_1957000.jpg","articleUrl","/articles/6246825/Nebraska/Senators-debate-AM-1246-to-fund-Meals-on-Wheels-as-floor-dispute-erupts-over-billattachment-tactics","mediaUrl","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6246825-f5e27d1adea59f03dc333a2b2960ba9b/orig.mp4?Expires=1771112351&Signature=li58PUVJlp~WtFQPbaFuQB35Vfk-S6U9rvWzfw3Y-yKT~w0UmP6Bu59IEqomomX3iiFuw1QeB1hmyl-HTp3EzRkdipRXuuDt4jf3YOPj6Qz~Cnb8W0prs97sW2eBMi-GnFFvbh8g~Zl1ioVns8So4yL6TZluCmX~likLsCyoPLg1GI1mswgQdM8HNhIIKum7rJDPXvpmNYx6eUV0SPN9c5BGftogw6W3H3sVWHG9yBUS~YnozWV~XhE8ZRi3PHuKzGnCX~YrPGHYN9dCIi07BscGJRPIkg4zVJ8qwXFfWw24KAyPjNnVOH2oOjjqfOWDYE8sSOLgY4M-64ow3vhwFg__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","author","Nebraska Legislature","date","2025-05-06T00:00:00Z","article","Senator Meyer moved to amend the committee amendment to LB 261 with AM 12‑46, an amendment intended to address an estimated $4,000,000 shortfall in Meals on Wheels and senior‑center funding by using money from the Medicaid managed care excess profit fund.

Meyer and supporters described rising food and delivery costs, shrinking reimbursement rates, and an aging population as the rationale for the change. “Our average annual food total costs for 2024 to prepare a meal was $12.02 per meal,” Meyer read into the record, citing local program testimony. He noted a representative case in which the current reimbursement rate was $4.55 per meal and described volunteers and fuel costs that make current reimbursement levels unsustainable.

Opponents, led by Senator McKinney, said the amendment was inserted to circumvent floor consideration of his priority bill and that the parliamentary move would deny regular debate. “If this amendment gets attached, that means Terrell really just is here to be a disruptor,” McKinney said on the floor, warning he would use procedural time if the amendment advanced. He said his priority bill — a family resource/juvenile services measure that had committee support — had been derailed earlier in the process and that attaching it as an amendment was improper.

Other senators urged a narrower reading. Senator Kautz supported AM 12‑46 on senior services grounds, saying the eight area agencies on aging in the state faced large shortfalls and that $2,000,000 per year (the amendment's effect) would be only about $250,000 per agency. Senator Jacobson and others said they supported funding the Meals on Wheels shortfall and described the amendment as a pragmatic way to deliver needed dollars now. Senator Kavanaugh opposed AM 12‑46, saying it was unnecessary because the underlying language and fiscal changes exist in LB 3‑82 (the bill structure already being considered) and that adding the amendment to LB 261 did not carry the same enabling language.

Why it matters: The floor exchange highlights two separate issues: a programmatic shortfall affecting seniors and a procedural dispute over whether policy measures should be advanced via standalone bills or attached to large appropriations measures. Supporters framed the amendment as a work‑around to deliver urgent, cash‑funded aid to senior nutrition programs. Opponents framed it as rank‑and‑file process and warned of retaliation and extended floor time.

No final vote on AM 12‑46 was recorded in the transcript. Senators on both sides urged colleagues to consult committee materials or forthcoming fiscal notes; some members said the amendment used non‑general‑fund revenue (managed‑care excess profit funds) and would not add to the general‑fund total.

Ending: The dispute left the amendment undecided in the transcript excerpt. Meyer and his supporters repeated testimony about service closures and wait lists for home‑delivered meals; McKinney repeatedly objected to the parliamentary tactic and warned of procedural consequences if the amendment were adopted.","mediaType","Video","parentTitle","Legislative Morning Session 5/6/2025","oneSentenceSummary","Senator Meyer moved to amend the LB 261 committee amendment with AM 12‑46, seeking $4,000,000 to shore up Meals on Wheels and senior‑center funding.","taxTitle","2025 Legislature NE, Nebraska","taxId",77675,"location","Nebraska","headline","","shortSummary",{"_33":77,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":78,"_41":79,"_43":80,"_45":81,"_47":82,"_49":83,"_51":84,"_53":85,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":86,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":87,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},6246829,"Appropriations Committee lays out $7+ billion biennial budget, flags $262 million shortfall and cash‑reserve transfers",762,1191000,1953000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=3214723-a0a957616532838ab64e78788f622c7e&start=1191&end=1953","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/3214723-a0a957616532838ab64e78788f622c7e/thumbnail_1191000.jpg","/articles/6246829/Nebraska/Appropriations-Committee-lays-out-7-billion-biennial-budget-flags-262-million-shortfall-and-cashreserve-transfers","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6246829-ccea58c26049361d1b09932d7ec03428/orig.mp4?Expires=1771112351&Signature=S6uyanTfRchGSYLPoF4bqth94w~NpMesmR-BFVgAMy-fhX5SGTJTqFpEoI1oNle3meKlleSxFb0k5OVtkuMIxKhASgGO5i5h46zey0YUY~foQJGN4bP7Lzecxm4kQPEiDqWzcRsUJuKvujTY6Qjn7dBmXBb5r0TwOwes7AbPta5jSG~NTrApgc16mnCPfOcvHUs51bUKyZ~L0nnAbCoOBkrjSLiClK3YxznF58N6Pu5T8julRlUgidoVsTeRskZmkLIUJExioLe6wCjtIkTYLLYa548I~PcTzKmfER4uP3WeQDr-coq9J4Fq9SFyU11bbNQBVHPburkw0qqXOf8e8g__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","Senator Clements, chair of the Legislature's Appropriations Committee, told the Senate on Tuesday that the committee advanced the governor's mainline biennial budget bill, LB 261, to general file with committee amendment AM832 on a 7‑1‑1 vote.

The committee amendment, Clements said, establishes the two‑year budget for fiscal years 2026 and 2027 and folds nine separate bills and other adjustments into the appropriations package. He said the changes include funding for higher education, developmental disabilities, biomedical research, county health and provider rates, and targeted one‑time grants for food banks and other programs.

Why it matters: The committee presented numbers showing a narrowing but still substantial deficit and described select‑file amendments that the panel says will close the remaining gap. That shortfall and the size of the state's cash reserve determine whether the budget meets the Legislature's constitutional duty to adopt a balanced plan.

The most immediate numbers in the blue budget book, Clements said, showed a projected general‑fund shortfall that had been reduced to about $262,000,000 after bills passed earlier in the session and after the committee identified additional revenues and savings. The economic forecasting board's April action, he said, reduced projected revenues earlier in the process; that change cut the previously projected ending balance from a negative $124,000,000 to a larger deficit before committee adjustments.

Committee members described the mix of steps planned to address the gap. The Appropriations report referenced 1) one‑time transfers and fund shifts that together total roughly $120,000,000 to the general fund, 2) a planned reduction in the cash reserve of about $132,000,000, and 3) other select‑file amendments that the committee said would restore the budget to near balance and leave the cash reserve at an estimated $690,000,000 (about 12.4 percent of recommended reserves in committee materials).

Several senators pressed and explained tradeoffs during floor debate. Senator Raybould and others urged preserving longer‑term investments such as the Perkins County Canal and a planned new penitentiary, arguing those projects protect Nebraska's future water and corrections capacity. Senator Von Gillard and others said the committee had faced shifting revenue forecasts but that the budget still projects revenue growth in coming years.

The committee amendment also incorporates nine bills summarized in the committee materials, including: increases for special education and K‑12 state aid, restored biomedical research funding ($15,000,000 per year), Project Health funding drawn from the tobacco settlement cash fund ($50,000,000 per year for two years), and several targeted appropriations (for example, support for nonprofit food banks from TANF and an appropriation tied to a federally qualified health center in Norfolk). The committee print and the blue budget book list these items and their sources.

Clements and other committee members stressed the absence of an across‑the‑board cut to agency salaries; the committee funded planned salary increases and health insurance increases for state employees. The budget materials show specific adjustments for the Supreme Court, the University of Nebraska system, and other large programs.

What remains: The committee said select‑file amendments will be introduced to reflect the April forecast and to implement specific transfers and savings; those amendments had not been adopted on the floor at the time of the session transcript. The bill remains on general file for further debate and amendment.

Ending: Senators on both sides thanked Appropriations staff and committee members for the work required to produce the package and said they would continue debating the bill and select‑file changes in the days ahead.","The Nebraska Legislature's Appropriations Committee advanced the governor's biennial budget (LB 261) to general file and described a plan of transfers and select‑file amendments intended to erase a roughly $262 million shortfall while preserving a reduced cash reserve.","actionData","errors"]

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Senators debate AM 12‑46 to fund Meals on Wheels as floor dispute erupts over bill‑attachment tactics

Appropriations Committee lays out $7+ billion biennial budget, flags $262 million shortfall and cash‑reserve transfers