Senator Ibach hopeful of getting legislation through in short session, despite deficit
By Becky Uehling
Republican Correspondent
Senator Teresa Ibach of District 44, which represents Chase County, has hit the ground running with the state’s other 48 senators during the second year of the 109th Legislature Biennium, which encompasses both the 2025 long session and the 2026 short session. The 2026 session is scheduled to conclude on April 17.
Nebraska is facing a multimillion-dollar budget deficit going into 2026, which will encompass most of the energy this session, according to the Senator. However, Senator Ibach is hopeful she will have some of her own personal bills heard and acted upon.
More than 250 new bills have been proposed this year, with a total of 715 being carried over from last year, and 35 new Legislative Resolutions (LR) have been proposed, with 282 being carried over from last year. Of these, Senator Ibach carries 26 bills and four Legislative Resolutions.
Senator Ibach’s New Bills
The following is an overview of some of the new legislation Senators Ibach have proposed. This information has been taken from her page on the Nebraska Legislature website. To access a complete list of her bills, logon to https://nebraskalegislature.gov/bills/search_by_introducer.php?Introduce...
LB 806- Would allow cities of the first class located in a county of fewer than 50,000 to apply for a grant through the Site and Building Development Act to help deal with the economic impact of a sudden and significant private-sector entity closure for the purposes of improving buildings or infrastructure related to the assets of the private-sector entity.
LB 807- Change the administration of the Noxious Weed Control Act from the Department of Agriculture to the Department of Water, Energy, and Environment and change provisions of the Noxious Weed Control Act and the Water Resources Cash Fund.
LB 808- To create a pilot project with any number of childcare licensees to increase the availability or capacity of day care facilities.
LB 1199- Expand the population threshold to qualify for funds under Legal Education for Public Service and Rural Practice Loan Repayment Assistance Act and appropriates funds to the program.
Any bill not passed this year will be indefinitely postponed at the end of the session, and the Legislature will start new in the new biennium. Senators will need to reintroduce any bills they wish to revisit when the 110th Legislative Session convenes.
Elections
Senator Ibach’s seat is up for reelection in 2026, and she has filed to run, so far unopposed. To help keep their constitutes informed, Senator Ibach has a scheduled video/audio conferencing call weekly on Thursdays at 7 a.m Mountain Time. Everyone is invited to participate. To access the call, constituents can request the link from Jayson Bishop by emailing him at jbishop@midwestecc.com.