Neighbors,
As you may know, Nebraska is one of just two states that did not apply for the second round of federal Emergency Rental Assistance, or ERA 2. That amounts to over $120 million for Nebraska renters and landlords if we choose to apply. The spend-down date for this second round is Sept. 30, 2025, and the state has until March 30 to apply.
We are pursuing a legislative option to require the state to apply for the funds. An amendment to LB446, the Nebraska Housing Index and Financing Investment System Act, will have a hearing in the Urban Affairs Committee of the Nebraska Legislature at noon next Friday, Feb. 11.
We need to show widespread support for this amendment. Our failure to apply for ERA 2 will directly affect communities across Nebraska. Organizations providing financial assistance to struggling Nebraskans will lose a critical line of funding. The current statewide ERA program will end this September, and a valuable lifeline for renters, rental housing providers, and communities will be gone.
Here’s what you can do:
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Contact your state senator directly and let them know about the continued need in your community for rental and utility assistance. Any outreach at this point is valuable. If your organization has information on the use of ERA 1 funding in your community and/or any projections for future needs, that would be good information to share. There are serious technical issues with the statewide program, making it difficult to access the funds. You can share this fact, as well, and suggest that none of those problems can be fixed if we don’t apply for the next round.
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Testify at the committee hearing, noon on Feb. 11, in Room 1525 at the Nebraska State Capitol. You can use similar information as what we’ve shared, but keep in mind – you only get three minutes to testify.
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Submit a comment in support of the amendment, officially known as AM1737, to the Urban Affairs Committee. You can email comments to the committee clerk at apierre-louis@leg.ne.gov. Please note: You must submit your comments by noon on Thursday, Feb. 10, to make them part of the public record.
Questions? Contact Erin Feichtinger at efeichtinger@togetheromaha.org.
Thanks for all that you do,
Alicia Phillips
Collective Impact Lincoln
Program Manager
