Pillen vetoes five bills as Nebraska session concludes

Gov. Jim Pillen issued five vetoes April 16 of bills passed by lawmakers during the 2026 legislative session, rejecting measures addressing parental leave, affordable housing, university foreign funding requirements and Medicaid coverage.

LB839, sponsored by Bellevue Sen. Victor Rountree, would measure and seek ways to increase the number of accessible housing units in Nebraska. Pillen said the measure would force builders to opt out of affordable housing programs, calling it "counterintuitive" to add expensive regulatory requirements to a program designed to lower housing costs.

LB878, introduced by Sen. Dunixi Guereca of Omaha, would provide parental leave for permanent, full-time state employees who give birth or adopt. Pillen said such benefits should be negotiated through collective bargaining rather than mandated in state law, though he directed the Department of Administrative Services to negotiate six weeks of paid maternity leave with state employee organizations.

LB1256, sponsored by Omaha Sen. John Cavanaugh, would include flood management and snow and ice removal in the definition of emergency management functions. Pillen argued that adding these services would allow local governments to "circumvent" existing property tax caps, potentially costing the state $40 million annually. The bill passed unanimously, 49-0.

LB1029, introduced by Sen. Danielle Conrad of Lincoln, would redefine terms relating to reportable funding from foreign adversarial sources for Nebraska colleges and universities. Pillen contended that exempting employment contracts, salaries and wages from reporting requirements would make Nebraska an "outlier and a soft target" for foreign infiltration, specifically by the Chinese Communist Party.

LB929, sponsored by Sen. John Fredrickson of Omaha, would allow managed care organizations to cover deductibles and cost-sharing for Medicaid enrollees. Pillen called it "do-nothing legislation," saying the organizations already have that authority and the bill sends a wrong message that recipients should not have "skin in the game."

On the final day of the 2026 legislative session, lawmakers sustained all five vetoes after 30 senators reversed their votes from passage. Four of the five bills had passed with more than the 30 votes needed to override a veto, but the override attempts failed. Pillen also allowed LB1237, a Capitol security measure that passed 45-4, to become law without his signature.