All Anti-Trans Bills Defeated in Deep-Red Nebraska

Republican State Senator Merv Riepe, often the deciding vote in the chamber, pledged to oppose this year's anti-trans legislation in Nebraska. He delivered.

The Nebraska State Capitol in Lincoln | Image: Wikimedia Commons

In early February, I had the opportunity to speak with Nebraska State Senator Merv Riepe about anti-trans legislation in his state. Riepe, a moderate Republican from the Omaha area, often finds himself as the deciding vote in breaking the Democratic-led filibuster—something that requires the support of all 34 Republicans in the chamber. In previous years, he’s only voted for two anti-trans bills, LB 574 in 2023 and LB 89 in 2025, but it wasn’t without forcing concessions from the bills’ sponsor, Kathleen Kauth.

LB 574, which originally entirely banned gender-affirming care for minors (in Nebraska, that’s anyone under 19) and imposed a 6-week abortion ban, was significantly watered down into a surgery ban with tighter restrictions—namely, a 40-hour talk therapy prerequisite—on hormone therapy and puberty blockers for trans youth and a 12-week abortion ban. Similarly, LB 89, a bathroom and sports ban that also imposed strict sex definitions across state law, had its bathroom provisions and sex definitions stripped away after Riepe insisted he “did not run for office to become part of the ‘Nebraska State Potty Patrol.’”

However, this time, he was unequivocal: no anti-trans legislation would pass in Nebraska this year.

And he kept his word.

Today, the Nebraska Legislature adjourned from its final day of the session, and as such, it means all bills that weren’t passed have officially failed. This includes 7 anti-trans bills—4 more than last year and a joint record in the state. These bills are:

• LB 552, which bans diversity, equity, and inclusion programs at Nebraska’s public universities.

• LB 655, a bill that allows medical providers to refuse to treat patients based on ‘conscience-based objections.’

• LB 730, Kauth’s latest attempt at a bathroom bill, which applies to schools, universities, and government buildings. Because the bill would also define sex as ‘biological’ in state law and regulations, it would’ve likely impacted Nebraska’s fairly progressive driver’s license gender change policy.

• LB 731, another Kauth bill, which would allow detransitioners to sue their doctors for malpractice up to twelve years after their medical transition while requiring any insurance company that has ever covered gender-affirming care to cover medical detransition.

• LB 732, Kauth’s third bill, which would repeal the regulations on care for trans youth and impose a total ban in the state.

• LR 301, Kauth’s final bill, which would commission a legislative study on whether or not allowing a child to medically or socially transition constitutes child abuse.

• LB 1071, a budget bill that contained a rider provision banning the state government and its public universities from promoting “allyship, transgender ideology…social justice…neopronouns, heteronormativity…gender theory…and any related formulation of these concepts.” Although the bill itself passed, this provision and some others were removed to win Riepe’s vote.

LB 730’s failure in particular presents a massive victory: it marks the fourth consecutive year that Kauth’s bathroom bill is defeated. Riepe, who initially supported the legislation in 2023 before changing his mind after speaking to trans constituents, has been the deciding vote on the measure for the past four years, and this year, Kauth doubled down on trying to win him over. Aside from making it her one ‘priority’ bill—which ensures it receives a debate on the floor—at the beginning of the year, she announced that she believed it now had Riepe’s support. However, Riepe disputed this characterization while speaking to Transitics in February, saying he “opposed it in 2025, and it makes even less sense in 2026.” When asked if his party could pressure him into changing his mind, Riepe replied:

“They have no leverage over me. The Nebraska Republican Party has already censured me, I have no aspirations to run for higher office, and I’m from a purple-ish district, so my constituents are better about these things.”

At least until next year, its failure means that Nebraska will remain one of the four GOP-controlled states without any bathroom restrictions. And among those four, Nebraska is by far the most conservative; in fact, the last time it voted to the left of any one of the other three in a presidential election was in 1936.

Thus, as it stands, here’s a map of current bathroom restrictions:

For sources, tables, and more maps, head to Transitics’ CATPALM 2.0 page.