Inside the Rotunda

Week 21 – Sine Die (for now…) At last, we’ve completed the final week of the 2021 regular legislative session.  Sine Die, Latin for “without (additional) day” or the last official day of the year, was on Thursday.  Monday and Tuesday were recess days, leaving Wednesday as the only day

A flurry of activity unfolded last week as Senators tackled the last substantive week of this year’s session in a final series of late nights.  Meatpacking Protections bill killed in 2nd round upset In a surprise upset, opponents led by Senator John Lowe filed a motion to bracket LB 241

Inside the Rotunda 2021: Week 19 This week, Senators pressed on in the third consecutive week of late night debates.  Medical Cannabis (Barely) Fails to Advance Senators took a filibuster of Sen. Anna Wishart’s LB 474 a full 8 hours, and in a nail-biting vote, it fell two votes short

Week 18: Spending Bills Continue to Stir Controversy In a second consecutive week of a series of late-night debates, tensions continue to run high and this Fly senses that some legislators are getting weary of burning the candle at both ends.  Some good news is on the horizon, though, for

Spending and Taxation Week The past week, full of long debates over measures related to taxation and state spending, left Senators and staff very ready for a long weekend, with the Arbor Day state holiday on Friday and a recess day on Monday.  To start the week, Senators approved some

State biennial budget approved, sent to Governor Members of the Legislature gave the final round of approval to the state’s two-year budget this week unusually early, leaving more time for the body to debate priority bills in the remainder of the session.  The $9.7 billion budget appropriates funding for the

Budget Advances, Food Assistance Eligibility Expanded, and Student Journalist Protections Filibustered Believe it or not, Legislature Watchers, we are officially over two thirds of the way through the ninety-day session!  With a recess day for Senators on Monday, we’ll reconvene on Tuesday for the 63rd day of session.  Before Senators

Debate Drama, Budget Debate Begins and Priority Bills Advance After a long Easter weekend, Senators came back to Lincoln on Tuesday, kicking off the week with mostly “non-controversial” consent calendar priority bills while awaiting the release of the Appropriations Committee’s biennial budget proposal. A procedural note for you watchers: the