LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Nebraska lawmakers have advanced an $83.6 million emergency funding package to help fight the new coronavirus as Gov. Pete Ricketts sought to assure the public that the state is “well ahead of the curve” compared to others in its response to the global pandemic.
The new funding bill sailed through a key procedural vote in the Legislature with no lawmakers dissenting.
The package includes millions of dollars for personal protective equipment for local governments, lab testing at the University of Nebraska Medical Center and an ultraviolet light box that would disinfect old face masks so health officials could reuse them.