LB 956

LB956  LB956
2026  2026
                     LEGISLATIVE BILL 956
                    Approved by the Governor March 12, 2026
Introduced by Cavanaugh, J., 9.
A  BILL FOR AN ACT relating to postsecondary education; to require the
     collection and reporting of certain compensation data as prescribed; to
     define terms; to provide duties to Nebraska public postsecondary
     institutions; to provide duties to the Coordinating Commission for
     Postsecondary Education; to provide an operative date; and to declare an
     emergency.
Be it enacted by the people of the State of Nebraska,
     Section 1.     (1) It is the intent of the Legislature to improve
transparency,   accountability,   and    data-informed  policymaking   regarding
compensation practices at Nebraska public postsecondary institutions.
     (2) The Legislature finds that comprehensive, publicly available salary
and benefits data, including data for administrators, instructional faculty,
and adjunct faculty, is necessary to evaluate workforce competitiveness,
recruitment and retention challenges, compensation equity, and long-term fiscal
sustainability in higher education.
     Sec. 2. For purposes of sections 1 to 6 of this act:
     (1) Administrator means any employee of a Nebraska public postsecondary
institution whose primary duties include executive, managerial, or supervisory
responsibilities, including presidents, chancellors, vice presidents, provosts,
deans, associate or assistant deans, and other comparable positions;
     (2) Adjunct faculty means instructional personnel employed on a part-time,
temporary, or course-by-course basis, regardless of title, and who are not
employed on a full-time continuing contract;
     (3) Commission means the Coordinating Commission for Postsecondary
Education;
     (4) Employment classification means the category of employment under which
an employee is engaged by a postsecondary institution, including:
     (a) Full-time or part-time status;
     (b) Permanent, probationary, temporary, or contract status;
     (c) Tenured, tenure-track, nontenure-track, or nontenured status, when
applicable; and
     (d) Any other classification used by the institution to distinguish
categories of employment for compensation, workload, or benefit purposes;
     (5) Instructional faculty means employees whose primary responsibilities
include teaching, research, or public service, including professors, associate
professors, assistant professors, instructors, lecturers, and comparable
academic titles, whether tenured or nontenured;
     (6) Nebraska public postsecondary institution has the same meaning as in
section 85-2403;
     (7) Rank or position within each employee group means the title, level, or
designation assigned by a postsecondary institution to differentiate employees
within an employee group based on responsibility, experience, academic
standing, or administrative authority, including:
     (a) For instructional faculty, academic rank such as professor, associate
professor, assistant professor, instructor, lecturer, or comparable titles; and
     (b) For adjunct faculty, instructional designation or course-based title
used by the institution; and
     (8) Salary and benefits data means compensation information including
wages, salaries, and employer-paid benefits.
     Sec. 3. (1) Beginning July 1, 2026, the commission shall annually collect
salary and benefits data from each Nebraska public postsecondary institution.
     (2) Each Nebraska public postsecondary institution shall electronically
submit salary and benefits data for the following employee groups:
     (a) Administrators;
     (b) Instructional faculty employed on a full-time basis; and
     (c) Adjunct faculty and other part-time instructional staff.
     (3) The commission shall require data to be reported in a standardized
format prescribed by the commission to ensure statewide consistency and year-
to-year comparability.
     Sec. 4. The salary and benefits data collected pursuant to section 3 of
this act shall include, but not be limited to:
     (1) Average salary by employee group and employment classification;
     (2) Average salary by rank or position within each employee group;
     (3) Average salary by institution type, including two-year institutions
and four-year institutions;
     (4) Employer-paid benefits, including health insurance, retirement
contributions, and other fringe benefits, reported in aggregate and as an
average per employee;
     (5) Full-time versus part-time status;
     (6) Year-over-year percentage changes in salary and benefits; and
     (7) Any additional data elements the commission determines necessary to
facilitate meaningful comparison across institutions and academic years.
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LB956  LB956
2026  2026
     Sec. 5. (1) The commission shall:
     (a) Compile the data submitted pursuant to sections 3 and 4 of this act;
     (b) Make such data publicly available on its website in an aggregated,
searchable, and downloadable format; and
     (c) On or before December 31 of each year, publish an annual report.
     (2) Data reported publicly under this section shall not include the names
of individual employees or other personally identifiable information.
     Sec. 6. The commission may adopt and promulgate rules and regulations to
carry out sections 1 to 6 of this act.
     Sec. 7. This act becomes operative on July 1, 2026.
     Sec. 8. Since an emergency exists, this act takes effect when passed and
approved according to law.
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