News Release: 62% of Nebraska Voters Support Job Licensing Review

Contact: Adam Weinberg
(402) 452-3737
aweinberg@platteinstitute.org

 LB299 Info
 Poll Results
 Polling Methodology
 Polling Script

Poll Shows 62% of Nebraska Voters Support Job Licensing Review
Agreement with LB299 Policy Strong Across Party Lines  

OMAHA, NE – A new series of Platte Institute polls taken across eight state legislative districts show strong support for the Nebraska Legislature to regularly review the state’s job licensing laws. 1 in 4 Nebraska workers are affected by licensing laws.

In total, 62 percent of likely voters expressed support for the Legislature conducting a regular review of the state’s job licensing laws. Only 19 percent of voters opposed the policy, and 19 percent were unsure.

A solid majority of voters supported the licensing review across party lines. 67 percent of Republicans, 64 percent of Democrats, and 60 percent of Independents favored the Legislature regularly reviewing licensing requirements.

State senators will have the opportunity to vote on this policy in the coming days when Sen. Laura Ebke’s Legislative Bill 299 reaches the floor of the Legislature in Lincoln. A flyer with poll results and a summary of LB299, along with complete poll data, questions, and methodology, provided by the polling firms Cor Strategies and Victory Geek, are attached.

The legislative districts of senators on the Legislature’s Government, Military and Veterans Affairs Committee were selected for the polls. That committee advanced LB299 in January with 5 votes to approve the bill and 3 not voting.

The polls also asked voters whether a state senator’s support of a job licensing review would make them more or less likely to support their representative in the Unicameral. Respondents showed they are nearly three times more likely to support their senator for voting for a job licensing review than they are to turn away from them.

50 percent of the voters polled said they would be more likely to support their state senator if they favored the Legislature reviewing Nebraska’s job licensing laws, including 55 percent of Republicans, 52 percent of Democrats and 44 percent of Independents.

Only 17 percent of voters said it would make them less likely to support their senator, while 33 percent were unsure.

“Job licensing reform is sometimes a bitter fight in state legislatures, but these new poll results show that voters are in strong support of lawmakers taking a closer look at the state requirements Nebraskans need to follow to get a job or start a business,” said Jim Vokal, Chief Executive Officer of the Platte Institute.

“In addition to creating more pathways to a paycheck for hardworking Nebraskans, job licensing reform is a winning policy across party lines,” Vokal said.
 

To schedule an interview on this story, please contact Adam Weinberg at (402) 452-3737 or aweinberg@platteinstitute.org.

The Platte Institute advances policies that remove barriers to growth and opportunity in Nebraska. Learn more at PlatteInstitute.org.