The Nebraska Legislature has begun its 2013 session, with an expected focus on the state budget, tax cuts and a proposal to expand Medicaid.

Lawmakers convened Wednesday morning for a 90-day session. They return to Lincoln with the state facing a projected $194 million two-year budget shortfall, far less than the $1 billion hole they had to fill when they last wrote a budget in 2011.

The new session will usher in 10 new members, plus Omaha Sen. Ernie Chambers. Chambers, the longest-serving and best-known state senator in Nebraska history, is returning after term limits forced him out of office four years ago.

Gov. Dave Heineman will deliver his State of the State address to lawmakers on Tuesday.