State Treasurer Touts New Legislation as He Readies Run for Full Term
by Matt Johnson
(Picture credit Matt Johnson)
OMAHA — Nebraska State Treasurer Joey Spellerberg spoke this week at a stop in Omaha, highlighting his duties in office and recently passed legislation as he campaigns for a full four-year term in this year’s election.
Spellerberg, a Nebraska native from Fremont, described himself as a “boomerang.” He left the state to attend college at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, married his wife, Ashley, and returned to Nebraska in 2013. He then took over his family’s travel agency, Moostash Joe Tours, which is celebrating its 50th year in 2026.
Spellerberg ran for mayor of Fremont at the outset of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. He served five years (2020–2025) before Gov. Jim Pillen appointed him state treasurer to fill the vacancy left by Tom Briese’s resignation.
As treasurer, Spellerberg oversees the state’s approximately $43 billion in investments and manages the flow of money into and out of state government. His office maintains a transparency website, statespending.nebraska.gov, where the public can view state expenditures.
He also highlighted the state’s unclaimed property program and encouraged Nebraskans to check the “missing money” website at NebraskaLostCash.gov.
“It’s a really easy process. We want to get that money back to you,” Spellerberg said. “We have had a $5 million claim. So if that’s not an incentive to go look and see if you have lost cash, I don’t know what that is.”
Spellerberg oversees the state-sponsored 529 college savings plan (NEST 529). This year, the program expanded to include trade schools, apprenticeships, and other qualifying postsecondary credentialing programs thanks to the passage of LB 748, introduced by Sen. Tony Sorrentino.
Spellerberg also helped introduce LB 938, the First-Time Home Buyer Savings Account Act. The bill, which passed the Legislature on Friday last week, creates tax-advantaged savings accounts for down payments and closing costs on a first home. It is set to begin January 1, 2027. Individuals may contribute up to $5,000 per year (with a lifetime limit of $25,000), and married couples up to $10,000 annually (lifetime limit $50,000). Contributions are deductible on state income taxes, and earnings grow tax-free when used for qualified homebuying expenses.
“When Ashley and I moved back to Fremont in 2013, the first thing we did was buy a home,” Spellerberg said. “We need that across Nebraska, and so this bill would allow Nebraskans to begin to save for a down payment and closing costs in a tax-advantaged account.”
During the Q&A session, one attendee asked how the state went from a roughly $2 billion surplus to a $646 million projected deficit in just a few years.
“That big surplus of money was mainly federal dollars that came in from COVID—that’s what drove that number up really high,” Spellerberg said.
Spellerberg attributed the shortfall in part to reduced tax revenue from income tax cuts, with the top rate dropping to 3.99% starting in January, along with spending on education through the Education Future Fund and property tax relief credit programs.
He expressed optimism, however, that the situation will stabilize.
“This deficit, which we took care of this year, I think it’s going to start to hopefully level off as our income rates stay stable,” Spellerberg said. “And then as we continue to grow the state, we’ll have more revenues come in.”
Spellerberg is unopposed in the Republican primary for state treasurer and will face Democrat Daniel Ebers in the general election on November 3, 2026.
— Matt Johnson is a freelance reporter with The Plains Sentinel.