LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Nebraska lawmakers are setting the groundwork for a plan to get as many residents as possible to participate in the 2020 Census.
Lawmakers gave first-round approval Thursday to a bill that would allow a special committee that would develop the plan on the state’s behalf.
The bill by Sen. Matt Hansen, of Lincoln, would place Nebraska among the vast majority of states that have already created a committee. South Dakota is the only other state that has not.
The committee would operate under the Nebraska State Data Center and would rely on private money. It would terminate on Jan. 1, 2021.
The measure advanced 39-2 through the first of three required votes. Two senators argued the committee would be duplicative of the federal government’s outreach efforts.