Get Nebraska Growing
Governor Pete Ricketts announced he will distribute $387 million in grants from the federal Cares Act for Get Nebraska Growing initiatives as part of the $7.8 billion in federal assistance that has come to Nebraska to aid the state’s coronavirus response.
- $100 million. Livestock Producer Stabilization Grant Program to help small livestock producers with 1-10 employees.
- $230 million. Small Business Stabilization Grant Program for businesses that employ 5-49 people. The application period for both programs opens June 15, with applications due June 26.nebraska.gov.
- $16 million. The Workforce Retraining Initiative at state community colleges for scholarships and workforce training. The community colleges will award scholarships (averaging $1,100) to individuals who are unemployed or underemployed due to coronavirus to prepare them for employment in high-demand career fields. Student scholarship applications will be available on each community college website beginning July 10 through July 31.
- $40 million. The Nebraska Broadband Grant Program intends to improve internet connectivity in small population communities (1,000 to 5,000) with limited work-from-home, tele-education, and telehealth services due to inadequate high-speed internet service. Broadband providers, with the support of local community officials, may apply for grants June 22 through July 2.
- $1 million. The Gallup Business Leadership Training Grant Program provides Nebraska business leaders with training to achieve organizational goals and drive growth through human development. Management teams will participate in a 30-week online course to learn techniques for leading teams through unprecedented challenges.
- Additionally, the Coronavirus Food Assistance Program(CFAP) provides $16 billion in direct payments to farmers and ranchers for compensation due to coronavirus-related price drops and market disruptions. The program already disbursed about $100 million to Nebraska agricultural producers. USDA will accept applications through August 28, 2020. gov/cfap.
For more information, go to getnebraskagrowing.nebraska.gov or call the Nebraska Department of Economic Development hotline at 855-264-6858.
Tracking
GENERAL FILE
LB187 SUPPORT (Hilkeman)
- Adds two new definitions to an eligible sports arena facility to the Sports Arena Facility Financing Assistance Act.
- Any sports complex which includes concession areas, parking facilities and onsite administrative offices connected with operating the sports complex.
- A multipurpose field meaning a rectangular field of grass or synthetic turf which is primarily used for competitive field sports, that may include soccer, football, flag football, lacrosse or rugby.
- The bill repeals the occupancy requirement to receive a turn back of sales tax and replaces occupancy with project completion date.
LB1084 (Kolterman) MONITOR
- The Nebraska Transformational Project Act would provide $300 million in state funding to the University of Nebraska Medical Center for their NExT Project.
- NExT Project has two components: a state of the art academic medical center facility and a federal all-hazard disaster response military and civilian partnership.
- UNMC must show an economic impact to Nebraska of at least $2.7 billion during the planning and construction period and at least $4.9 billion over ten years.
FAILED TO ADVANCE
LB974 MONITOR (Linehan) REVENUE COMMITTEE PRIORITY BILL
- This is a complex property tax and school funding bill. As amended by AM2433, the bill would reduce property taxes as a major source of funding for K-12 education.
- Real property would be valued at 95% of actual value for tax year 2020.
- In tax year 2021, real property would be valued at 91%of actual value.
- In tax year 2022, and thereafter, real property would be valued at 86% of actual value