LB 608 Legislature · 109th Legislature (2025-2026)

Change insurance provisions relating to firefighters and include correctional officers, youth detention officers, certain disabled persons, and their children in the First Responder Recruitment and Retention Act

LB 608 expands Nebraska's First Responder Recruitment and Retention Act to include correctional officers, youth detention officers, certain disabled former first responders, and their children. The bill modifies insurance protections so employers cannot cancel health coverage for line-of-duty injuries or deaths affecting these new categories, mirroring existing rules for firefighters. It also requires the state to partially reimburse public colleges for tuition waivers provided to eligible dependents of qualifying first responders. These changes apply to state and local employers covered under the act, with specific definitions added for "eligible disabled person" and "qualifying child." The law amends multiple sections of Nebraska statutes to implement these updates.
Bill status signed all 5 stages cleared
Introduction
Jan 2025
Committee Review
Apr 2025
Legislature Passage
May 2025
Legislature Passage
Apr 2025
Signed into Law
Jun 2025
Introduced Jan 22, 2025 Signed Jun 6, 2025
Maddy AI version diff · 2 comparisons

What changed between versions

Introduced Enrollment and Review ER59 · 4 edits
MODERATE
The bill was amended to expand eligibility for First Responder Recruitment and Retention Act benefits to include correctional officers, youth detention officers, and certain disabled persons and their children. The amendment also corrects section numbering errors and removes repealed sections that were incorrectly retained in the original text.
Scope change
Expanded scope to include correctional officers, youth detention officers, and eligible disabled persons and their children as first responders eligible for recruitment and retention benefits under the Act.
ELIGIBILITY

Added correctional officers, youth detention officers, certain eligible disabled persons, and their children to the list of first responders eligible for recruitment and retention benefits.

DEFINITION

Modified the definition of first responders to include the newly added categories of correctional and youth detention officers.

TECHNICAL

Removed incorrect section references and repealed sections 85-2603 and 85-2603.01 that were erroneously included in the original bill text.

Corrected section numbering errors in the bill text where subsection numbers were misaligned.

Floor votes · Legislature Apr 24, 2025

How they voted

350
Passed · 14 other
Total votes 49
Apr 24, 2025
N Nonpartisan49
35 Yea 14
71% Yea
Vote distribution
All Yea All Nay Mixed No data
Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions
37
Key actions
7
Committee
2
Jun 6, 2025
Signed into law
Approved by Governor on June 4, 2025
executive
May 30, 2025
Legislature · Passed
President/Speaker signed
legislature
May 30, 2025
Legislature · Passed
Passed on Final Reading 36-12*-1
legislature
May 8, 2025
Legislature · Passed
Bostar AM1347 adopted
legislature
May 8, 2025
Legislature · Passed
Enrollment and Review ER59 adopted
legislature
Apr 24, 2025
Legislature · Passed
Revenue AM904 adopted
legislature
Apr 10, 2025
Legislature · Passed
Placed on General File with AM904
legislature
Jan 24, 2025
Committee
Referred to Revenue Committee
legislature
Jan 22, 2025
Introduced
Date of introduction
legislature
1 primary · 0 co-sponsors

Sponsors

Role
Legislator
Party
State
District
P
Photo of Eliot Bostar
Eliot Bostar
NNonpartisan
NE
29