LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — A new report says Nebraska’s net tax collections last month were nearly 10 percent higher than expected.

The Department of Revenue announced Tuesday that the state received about $284 million in February. The certified forecast for the month was roughly $260 million.

Net individual income tax receipts were nearly 12 percent higher than expected. Net corporate income tax receipts were 23 percent higher and net miscellaneous tax receipts nearly 71 percent higher.

Net tax receipts for the current fiscal year are so far more than 2 percent higher than the certified forecast of nearly $2.6 billion.

The comparisons are based on the report made by the Nebraska Economic Forecasting Advisory Board.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Nebraska’s corrections director is reviewing a plan that would concentrate more mental health services at a state prison in Lincoln.

Director Scott Frakes told lawmakers Tuesday that having mental health services scattered throughout the state isn’t an effective use of resources.

The plan would increase the number of residential mental health beds at the Lincoln Correctional Center, while reducing beds at the state prison in Tecumseh.

Frakes says the Department of Correctional Services needs to house offenders based on their treatment needs so it’s easier for them to access services. The state has struggled to fill mental-health specialist jobs outside of Lincoln and Omaha.

Frakes says it’s too early to know whether he needs money that was set aside for behavioral health services, an assertion that some lawmakers challenged.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — A new effort to expand Medicaid coverage in Nebraska is headed to a full debate in the Legislature.

The Health and Human Services Committee voted 5-2 on Tuesday to advance the Medicaid Redesign Act to the floor.

The lead sponsor, Sen. Kathy Campbell of Lincoln, has said this year’s version would help the state uncover more efficient ways to provide health care coverage.

The bill would require the state to apply for a federal waiver to develop its own Medicaid plan, as other states reluctant about the expansion have done.

Two previous efforts to expand Medicaid have failed due to opposition from conservative lawmakers. The bill is still likely to face resistance from those lawmakers as well as Republican Gov. Pete Ricketts.

A 40-year-old North Platte woman is facing a domestic violence charge after she allegedly punched her husband in front of a child.

At around 11:21 p.m., on Monday, officers with the North Platte Police Department responded to a residence in the 900 block of West 5th Street.

Upon arrival, officers met with Christy Amos, and her husband.

It was alleged that an argument took place when Christy, who was intoxicated, decided to leave the home in a vehicle to get more alcohol.

The husband told officers that when he tried to stop her from driving drunk, she punched him in the face.  Officers say the husband had bruising consistent with being punched in the face.

According to police, at least one child was in the room when the assault took place, but three children were present in the home.

As a result, Amos was placed under arrest and charged with domestic assault and child abuse.

She was transported to the Lincoln County Detention Center and jailed.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — A bill that would have imposed a sales tax on Nebraska farmland to pay for property tax relief has stalled in a legislative committee.

The Revenue Committee voted 5-1 against the measure on Monday, with two senators abstaining. Committee members are sorting through various proposals designed to lower property taxes.

The legislation by Sen. Paul Schumacher of Columbus would have generated nearly $82 million in the next fiscal year. Virtually all of that money would go into a property tax credit fund for owners of agricultural land.

The tax would only have applied when land is sold. Schumacher says it would have generated substantial property tax relief for farmers and ranchers, but several senators opposed the new sales tax.