The Nebraska legislative session is underway, and Nebraska Cures is once again engaged in ensuring that public policy is rooted in science and driven by health research.

Our top priority is LB 1172, a bill we drafted and are working with Omaha State Senator Brad von Gillern to pass. LB 1172 requires the Department of Health and Human Services to reply to cancer registry data requests from researchers within 8 weeks. Currently, many requests are unanswered for over a year preventing cancer researchers from completing their work and preventing them from applying for research funding.

We’ve put together a fact sheet so you can learn more about this critical issue. The public hearing for LB 1172 is this Thursday, February 1. Please take a moment to show your support for cancer research by submitting a comment online here and clicking on the “Submit Comments” button found under “Detailed View.” It only takes a few minutes to fill out the information and leave a brief statement.

Cancer and public health researchers heavily rely on this data to discern trends, pinpoint causes, and gauge the effectiveness of prevention strategies and treatments. LB 1172 is a call to safeguard our researchers’ ability to conduct invaluable work and, in turn, reduce the burden of cancer within our state.

As Nebraska Cures drafts letters on each of these pieces of legislation, we will make them available on our website www.nebraskacures.com. For those with public hearing dates set, we’ve including the date and link to submit your support or opposition. Comments must be submitted by 8 a.m. the morning of the hearing.

LB 857 (Dungan) – Support – Creates the Nebraska Prenatal Plus Program – Read our letter of support here.

LB 913 (Hunt) – Support – Require a state plan amendment for postpartum coverage under the Children’s Health Insurance Program – Read our letter of support here.

LB 1023 (von Gillern) – Support – Provide income tax deductions for certain research or experimental expenditures – hearing completed

LB 1060 (Hansen) – Oppose – Exemption for newborn screenings – Read our letter of opposition here.

LB 1064 (Lippincott) – Oppose – Prohibit tenure at public institutions – Read our letter of opposition here.

LB 1184 (Bostar) – Support – Adopt the Reverse Osmosis System Tax Credit Act

LB 1330 (Murman) – Oppose – Prohibit public institutions from having certain diversity, equity, and inclusion programing – read our letter of opposition here.

LB 1368 (Ibach) – Support – Adopt the Nitrogen Reduction Incentive Act – Read out letter of support here.