A lawsuit over city ordinances imposed on home bakers and cottage food producers in Lincoln can move forward. Lancaster County District Court Judge John A. Colborn rejected the city’s motion to dismiss the lawsuit, which was filed by area home baker Cindy Harper earlier this year. The city had shut down Harper’s home-based baking operation,...
A typical zoning hearing in Grand Island shows some of the challenges Nebraska faces in addressing its housing shortage. People will acknowledge more housing is needed, but many current homeowners don’t want new housing to be located near their properties, particularly if it requires changes in zoning that alters the type or style of housing...
The Nebraska Department of Labor reports that September’s state unemployment rate remains the lowest in the country, at 3.5%. Last month’s rate is half a percentage point higher than the state unemployment rate was this time last year, but continues a trend back toward pre-pandemic employment levels. The department reports that education and health, professional...
Just as the Great Recession gave rise to a generation of food truck entrepreneurs, Jadomté Mobile Nail Bar is finding its niche during the COVID-19 pandemic. Instead of providing manicures and pedicures from a brick and mortar location, owner and nail artist Sabrina Mahupete built the Jadomté salon inside a trailer, allowing her to hitch...
Many states have undertaken a series of occupational licensing reforms across the country—some comprehensive and some piecemeal. From regular licensing reviews to expanding licensing opportunities, to eliminating licenses that no longer make sense in today’s context, to removing exclusions for those who have felonies in their backgrounds, many policymakers recognize that licensing requirements can limit...
The service industry makes up a large part of Nebraska’s economy, and as noted in a previous policy brief, was heavily impacted by COVID-19. During the early months of the COVID pandemic, both restaurants and bars suffered significant revenue losses. While Gov. Ricketts did not completely shut down the state, the Directed Health Measures (DHM’s)...
Introduction Much has changed since our 2018 review of Nebraska’s progress on occupational licensing policy and reform. The first year of licensing reviews growing out of LB299, Nebraska’s Occupational Board Reform Act, were completed in 2019. Committees of the Unicameral reviewed 26 individual licenses across eight of the standing committees. Several of the other committees—either...
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Since the start of the pandemic, Americans have wondered when the job market would return to normal. For Nebraska, that time may be now. The Nebraska Department of Labor announced Friday that the state’s unemployment rate currently sits at 4%. That figure is not only the lowest in Nebraska since the beginning of the pandemic...
Government and industry responses to the COVID-19 pandemic created a variety of unique situations for agriculture. The “stay-at-home” orders forced consumers to be homebound, which increased the demand for food in grocery stores while simultaneously reducing the demand for food in restaurants. Reduced consumer travel caused the demand for ethanol to fall, impacting distillers’ grains,...
Excessive regulations have harmful effects on prosperity and growth. In many cases, the compliance costs of these regulations constitute a hidden tax on businesses and citizens, costing valuable resources that could be contributing to Nebraska’s economic growth. Regulation is a necessity of our society, and we should not get rid of all regulations. But Nebraska...
An annual assessment of state manufacturing and logistics industries by the Ball State University Center for Business and Economic Research finds that Nebraska ranks average among its peers, though the scorecard also notes Nebraska’s people and strong finances are advantages for its manufacturing potential. While the 2020 Manufacturing Scorecard does not give Nebraska a single...