Capitol Fly on the Wall

The 108th legislature has officially begun its business, and things look markedly different from last year. 16 new senators have been sworn in, along with a new Clerk (Brandon Metzler, former Assistant Clerk;), a new Speaker (Sen. John Arch of LaVista, formerly Chair of HHS;), and new Committee Chairs.  While

That’s a wrap!  As of last Wednesday, the second session of the 107th legislature has adjourned Sine Die. The term Sine Die translates to “without day” in Latin, and means that the governing body has concluded its business without any more days remaining in this session. With no additional vetoes

We’ve nearly reached the end of the 2022 legislative session. Last week was a short one, with recess days on Thursday and Friday for the Easter Holiday.  Within those three session days: A proposal to allow the concealed carry of firearms without a permit was killed in a heated filibuster

This week was action-packed as a series of late nights continued. It’s somewhat unusual for the Speaker to schedule so many late nights in a row at this point in the session, and it’s showing in the burned-out demeanor of the body. This has been necessary, the Speaker has said,

It was a jam-packed week in the Legislature as lawmakers scramble to squeeze in high-profile policy changes before the session concludes. The Governor vetoed the bill to force Nebraska to apply for Emergency Rental Assistance as expected; a whopping tax relief package was revived; and the fate of a key

The temperature remains high in the Unicameral as pressure mounts to move through competing priorities and budget items before the session concludes in just a few short weeks.  This week centered primarily on spending debates, with a few other highly consequential priority bills sprinkled in. All three bills comprising the

Budget proposals were the theme of the week. But before diving into spending debates, the legislature advanced a proposal from Senator Briese that would enable Nebraska to move to permanent Daylight Saving Time. Appropriately held just after we turned our clocks to “spring forward”, the debate on LB 283 was

This week the legislature transitioned to full-day debate, after committee hearings concluded last week. With all the time now being spent on the floor, more big bills are moving through debate. LB 1173 (Health and Human Services Committee) which includes several child welfare reforms, including ending the Eastern Service Area