WELCOME!

Save Our Schools Nebraska coalition collects 117,000 signatures
Repeal of LB753 will appear on 2024 ballot

The LWVNE was part of the SOSNE coalition that worked to gather signatures to repeal
LB753 – the opportunity scholarships vouchers

Public school supporters submitted more than 117,000 petition signatures to the Nebraska Secretary of State – nearly double the number needed to give voters a say on LB753’s voucher system that diverts public tax dollars to private schools – on August 30. The Support Our Schools Nebraska effort also handily exceeded the 30-county requirement with 5% of voters signing the petition in two-thirds of the state’s 93 counties.

Support Our Schools Nebraska launched the petition drive on June 6, a week after Gov. Jim Pillen signed LB753 into law. The sprint to gather signatures was a grassroots effort involving a broad base of nonprofits supporting public schools working alongside more than 2,100 circulators, event coordinators and other volunteers. Nearly 1,000 individuals offered their financial support.

The Secretary of State will forward the petitions to local election officials, who have 40 days to verify the petitions and the signers’ information. Once all petitions have been reviewed and requirements met, the Secretary of State will certify the measure for the November 2024 general election ballot.

“LB 753 does one thing only: it diverts public dollars to private and parochial schools through tax credits,” said Cynthia Peterson, president of the League of Women Voters of Lincoln and Lancaster County. “Because it is important for Nebraskans to be truly heard on this matter, League members all over the state invested their time and efforts into circulating the referendum petition and gathering signatures to get it on the ballot. The thousands of Nebraskans who have affixed their signatures to the petition agree that voters should have the final say on this matter.”

Legislative Summary

With the Legislature adjourned sine die until next January, the League of Women Voters of Nebraska has analyzed the outcome of the areas and bills we set out to influence.

At the beginning of the 108th Nebraska Legislature’s long session, the LWVNE’s six volunteer action teams–Education Policy, Health Care, Government, Mental and Behavioral Health, Natural Resources and Energy, and Social Policy–identified areas of focus to select specific bills for action through letters and in-person testimony. The 49 volunteers serving on these teams wrote an impressive 70 letters, testifying in person on 27, hand delivering 2 to state senators, and submitting 41 via the Legislature’s online portal for committee hearings.

More than 140 people signed up for LWVNE “Action Alerts,” which were sent 22 times to encourage action on over 40 bills. Individually, LWVNE members showed up to testify as citizens, participated in coalition rallies, monitored debate and contacted their legislators.

Below is the summary of the LWVNE’s original list of bills grouped by their final outcome with the League’s stance marked in parentheses.

4 signed into law (1 support; 3 oppose)
15 amended in some form into another bill
- 8 signed into law (6 support, 2 oppose)
- 7 passed the Legislature but were line item vetoed by the governor (7 support)
34 hearing completed and still in committee (21 support, 13 oppose)
7 on general file carrying over to the 2024 short session (4 support, 3 oppose)
2 indefinitely postponed with no further action possible (2 support)

“This session was incredibly difficult and at first glance the results may look disheartening,” said Rachel Gibson, action vice president for the LWVNE, who prepared the analysis. “However, digging into the details shows the importance and impact of the informed, thoughtful and long-term advocacy by the League. Whatever the challenges, we will not give up in our efforts to educate, advocate and work toward a better Nebraska for all who live here.”

Read the detailed 7-page summary here.

Read Our Latest Posts!

Why is the Office of Inspector General so Important?

Nebraska Attorney General Mike Hilgers has ruled the Office of Inspector General (OIG) unconstitutional. This affects both the OIG for Nebraska Child Welfare

Who are the Leaders of Nebraska’s Departments and Pillen’s Cabinet?

The Nebraska Examiner put together a comprehensive list of the public servants tapped by Gov. Jim Pillen to lead Nebraska state departments and

Summer Nebraska Voter Now Available

The summer 2023 edition of the League of Women Voters of Nebraska’s quarterly newsletter – the Nebraska Voter – is now available The

Join LWVNE as a Member at Large

A member at large is part of the state League instead of one of our four local leagues in Hastings, Lincoln, Omaha or Seward.

Becoming a LWVNE member at large provides you with a community that spans the state and enables you to take action on issues that affect all Nebraskans.

In a rural state like ours, a member at large can spread the mission and vision of the League’s non-partisan commitment to strengthen democracy by empowering and educating voters through grassroots advocacy in their communities with the support of the state League’s resources.

Members at large can attend state board meetings and participate in all programs offered through the state League.

CONTACT YOUR
NEBRASKA SENATOR

Contact your Nebraska state legislator to voice your opinion about an issue or bill.

Let your voice be heard!

Redistricting may have changed your Senator. You can check at Find Your Senator below.

Contact Information for Nebraska Congressional Delegation

Senator Pete Ricketts: (202) 224-4224, D.C.; (308) 233-3677, Kearney; (402) 550-8040, Omaha; (308) 632-6032, Scottsbluff; Twitter @SenatorRicketts

Senator Deb Fischer: (202) 224-6551, D.C.; (402) 441-4600, Lincoln; Twitter @SenatorFischer

Rep. Mike Flood CD1: (202) 225-4806 D.C.; (402) 438-1598, Lincoln; @USRepMikeFlood

Rep. Don Bacon CD2: (202) 225-4155, D.C.; (402) 938-0300, Omaha; Twitter @RepDonBacon

Rep. Adrian Smith CD3: (202) 225-6435, D.C,; (308) 384-3900, Grand Island; Twitter @RepAdrianSmith

REGISTER TO VOTE ONLINE

Exercise your constitutional right to vote.
Register today!

VOTE EARLY BY MAIL

You can request an early vote by mail ballot.

>Tweets by lwvne

contact info

Phone

(402) 982-1572

Email Adress

office@lwvnebraska.org

Office Address