OMAHA, Neb. (KMTV) — Founder of Sammy's Superheroes Erin Nahorney says it was a four-year effort to get a childhood cancer plate available for Nebraskans to put on their vehicle.
Once released last spring, Nahorney saw them popping up all over.
"A lot of people are seeing them and we're seeing them more everywhere we go," says Nahorney.
That was all good news, but then Nahorney had to break some bad news.
"We've had a lot of people ask us if the money goes to us, or goes to some kind of research and you know we hate to tell them the answer is no,” says Nahorney.
The $70 they spent on them wasn't going to pediatric cancer prevention, instead it went to fund the roads.
A bill in the legislature proposed by speaker Jim Scheer would change that. directing 85% of the money to be used for childhood cancer research at the University of Nebraska Medical Center.
Senator Scheer says he guesses many people just assumed the money was already going to research.
"They're wishing that those funds go to helping off-set the cost of additional studies so to doesn't happen to you or me or your child and my grandchildren,” says Scheer.
It's research that's needed. Nahorney says Nebraska ranks third in the country per-capita in childhood cancer diagnoses, and nationally, little research is being done at all.
"There's only four percent of federal cancer research funds that go to childhood cancer, so anyplace that the research dollars come in is important,” says Nahorney.
Speaker Scheer says he doesn't expect much opposition at the committee hearing next Tuesday.
It's almost impossible to know which specialty plates go to an organization and which ones don't. For example money from the popular mountain lion plates go to Nebraska Games and Parks, but the Henry Doorly Zoo license plate money goes towards roads.
