The Nebraska nonprofit community is lucky to have OpenSky Policy Institute, a nonpartisan think tank providing expert fiscal research and analysis, to educate and advocate for our communities. “All roads somehow lead back to the budget,” OpenSky’s Communications Director, Lisa Schoenberger, explains. Great and transformational policy ideas must be funded, and OpenSky helps our nonprofit network, the public, and other stakeholders understand the fiscal implications and requirements of policy proposals.
OpenSky identifies policy that has fiscal benefit for both the state and individual Nebraskans. With their expertise, OpenSky focuses on advancing policies that ensure “that everybody has a fair shot at the good life and economic prosperity,” says Lisa. Their current priorities include: supporting revenue generation that is fair and equitable, an education community that serves all students, and smart and responsible budgeting that meets the needs of all Nebraskans, especially those that are most in need.
The legislative process can seem confusing and distant to a lot of Nebraskans, especially when it comes to fiscal policy, and this year’s special session was no different. Governor Pillen called the Nebraska Legislature to a sweeping special session over the summer, proposing massive changes to tax and budget policy in an incredibly short period of time. Despite the session’s breakneck speed, OpenSky’s skilled policy analysts provided up-to-date analysis that was “informed by a really strong background on the budget policy, revenue policy, [and] the appropriations process.” Sharing this information with the nonprofit network and other key stakeholders, organizations were able to get involved and make their voices heard, despite the rushed process. In addition to helping organizations digest the complicated policy proposals, OpenSky also worked to ensure that individual Nebraskans understood what was at stake during the special session and felt empowered to get involved. By taking complicated policy and distilling it, OpenSky helps both nonprofits and everyday Nebraskans alike answer the question: how does this affect me?
In addition to lending their expertise during the legislative process, OpenSky also educates the public on fiscal issues set to appear on the ballot. One of their key priorities, education, has been a focus of Nebraska policy makers for years. When the Nebraska Legislature passed legislation to appropriate public tax dollars to private schools, OpenSky mobilized quickly to help Nebraskans understand what is at stake. Supporting the referendums on school privatization legislation, OpenSky has sought to educate the public on the impact these policies could have on the state budget and Nebraska’s ability to fund other critical programs. In other states, tax credit scholarships and private school vouchers have become “budget-busters,” Lisa explains, causing the state to overspend and lack critical resources. “We are talking about really, really serious implications of these budget shortfalls.”
Ultimately, OpenSky believes that Nebraskans should have the opportunity to weigh in on fiscal issues with full awareness about their impacts and implications. Lisa explains:
“I think that's actually benefited a lot of people in our legislature over the last several years to advance policy that they know is unpopular, because they're anticipating that people may or may not be really engaged in paying attention. So we're just trying to shed some light on the work that's actually being done, and then people can make their own decision.”
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