Nebraska Legislature

"The Unicameral" redirects here. For the general concept, see Unicameralism. For other uses, see Unicameral (disambiguation).

Nebraska State Legislature

Type
Type	Unicameral
Term limits	2 consecutive terms
History
New session started	January 7, 2015
Leadership
Speaker of the Legislature	Galen Hadley Since January 7, 2015
Structure
Seats	49
Political groups	Nonpartisan (49)
Length of term	4 years
Authority	Article III, Nebraska Constitution
Salary	$12,000/year + per diem
Elections
Last election	November 4, 2014 (24 seats)
Next election	November 8, 2016 (25 seats)
Redistricting	Legislative control
Website
Nebraska State Legislature

The legislature convenes at the Nebraska State Capitol.

The Nebraska Legislature (also called "the Unicameral")^[1] is the supreme legislative body of the state of Nebraska. Its members are "senators." The legislature is officially unicameral and nonpartisan, making Nebraska unique among U.S. states; no other state has either a unicameral or a nonpartisan legislative body. With 49 members, it is also the smallest legislature of any U.S. state.

History

The First Nebraska Territorial Legislature met in Omaha in 1855, staying there until statehood was granted in 1867.^[2] Nebraska originally operated under a bicameral legislature, but over time dissatisfaction with the bicameral system grew. Bills were lost because the two houses could not agree on a single version. Conference committees that formed to merge the two bills coming out of each chamber often met in secret, and thus were unaccountable for their actions. Campaigns to consolidate the Nebraska Legislature into a single chamber date back as early as 1913, meeting with mixed success.^[3]

After a trip to Australia in 1931, George Norris, then U.S. Senator for Nebraska, campaigned for reform, arguing that the bicameral system was based on the non-democratic British House of Lords, and that it was pointless to have two bodies of people doing the same thing and hence wasting money. He specifically pointed to the example of the Australian state of Queensland, which had adopted a unicameral parliament nearly ten years before. In 1934, voters approved a constitutional amendment to take effect with the 1936 elections, abolishing the House of Representatives and granting its powers to the Senate. The amendment was based on a bill to establish a unicameral legislature that had been introduced years earlier by Nebraska legislator and later U.S. Congressman John Nathaniel Norton.

Many possible reasons for the 1934 amendment's victory have been advanced: the popularity of George Norris; the Depression-era desire to cut costs; public dissatisfaction with the previous year's legislature; or even the fact that, by chance, it was on the ballot in the same year as an amendment to legalize parimutuel betting on horse races.^[4] This latter coincidence may have aided the measure's passage in Omaha, where the unicameral issue was not a pressing one but horse racing was. (Gambling interests campaigned for "yes" votes on all amendments in hopes of assuring the horse-racing amendment's passage.)

The new unicameral Legislature met for the first time in 1937. Though the name of the body is formally the "Nebraska Legislature", its members are commonly referred to as "senators". In Nebraska, the Legislature is also often known as "the Unicameral".

Selection, composition and operation

The Legislature is composed of forty-nine members, chosen by a single-member district or constituency. Senators are chosen for four-year terms, with one-half of the seats up for election every second year. In effect, this results in half the chamber being elected at the same time as the President of the United States, and the other half elected at the same time as other statewide elections. Senators must be qualified voters who are at least 21 years old and have lived in the district they wish to represent for at least one year. A constitutional amendment passed in 2000 limits senators to two consecutive terms. However, a former senator is re-eligible for election after four years. Senators receive $12,000 a year.

Members are selected in nonpartisan elections. Rather than separate primaries held to choose Republican, Democratic, and other partisan contenders for a seat, Nebraska uses a single nonpartisan primary election, in which the top two vote-getters are entitled to run in the general election. There are no formal party alignments or groups within the Legislature. Coalitions tend to form issue by issue based on a member's philosophy of government, geographic background, and constituency. However, almost all the members of the legislature are known to be either Democrats or Republicans, and the state branches of both parties explicitly endorse candidates for legislative seats.^[5] As an illustration of how partisanship can intrude upon the officially nonpartisan chamber, in January 2010 it was reported that the Legislature debated whether or not there was partisanship in Legislature, and "then finished the talk with a vote that followed party lines."^[6]

Sessions of the Nebraska Legislature last for 90 working days in odd-numbered years and 60 working days in even-numbered years.

Chair

The Lieutenant Governor is the official presiding officer. However, the highest position among the actual members is the Speaker, who presides over the Legislature in the absence of the Lieutenant Governor.

Executive Board

The day-to-day matters of the body are dealt with by the Executive Board. The Board includes the Speaker, a chairman, a vice chairman, and six other senators. The chairman and vice chairman are chosen for two year terms by the entire legislature. The chairman of the Appropriations Committee serves, but cannot vote on any matter, and can only speak on fiscal matters.

Caucuses

Senators are classified into three geographically based "caucuses"; each caucus elects two board members.

General powers

The Legislature is responsible for law-making in the state, but the Governor has the power to veto any bill. The Legislature may override the governor's veto by a vote of three-fifths (30) of its members. The Legislature also has the power, by a three-fifths vote, to propose a constitutional amendment to the voters, who then pass or reject it through a referendum.

Membership

Note: The Nebraska Legislature is legally nonpartisan; members' party affiliations are for informational purposes only.
Republican-affiliated: 35 members
Democratic-affiliated: 12 members
Libertarian-affiliated: 1 member
No political affiliation: 1 member

District	Representative	Party affiliation	Residence	Took office
1	Watermeier, DanDan Watermeier	Republican	Syracuse	000000002012-01-01-00002012
2	Kintner, BillBill Kintner	Republican	Papillion	000000002012-01-01-00002012
3	Garrett, TommyTommy Garrett	Republican	Bellevue	000000002013-01-01-00002013
4	Hilkemann, RobertRobert Hilkemann	Republican	Omaha	000000002014-01-01-00002014
5	Mello, HeathHeath Mello	Democratic	Omaha	000000002014-01-01-00002014
6	Craighead, JoniJoni Craighead	Republican	Omaha	000000002015-01-01-00002015
7	Fox, NicoleNicole Fox	Republican	Omaha	000000002015-01-01-00002015
8	Harr, BurkeBurke Harr	Democratic	Omaha	000000002010-01-01-00002010
9	Howard, SaraSara Howard	Democratic	Omaha	000000002012-01-01-00002012
10	Krist, BobBob Krist	Republican	Omaha	000000002009-01-01-00002009
11	Chambers, ErnieErnie Chambers	Independent	Omaha	000000002013-01-01-00002013
12	Riepe, MervMerv Riepe	Republican	Ralston	000000002014-01-01-00002014
13	Cook, TanyaTanya Cook	Democratic	Omaha	000000002008-01-01-00002008
14	Smith, JimJim Smith	Republican	Papillion	000000002010-01-01-00002010
15	Schnoor, DavidDavid Schnoor	Republican	Scribner	000000002014-01-01-00002014
16	Brasch, LydiaLydia Brasch	Republican	Bancroft	000000002014-01-01-00002014
17	Bloomfield, DaveDave Bloomfield	Republican	Hoskins	000000002010-01-01-00002010
18	Lindstrom, BrettBrett Lindstrom	Republican	Omaha	000000002014-01-01-00002014
19	Scheer, JimJim Scheer	Republican	Norfolk	000000002012-01-01-00002012
20	McCollister, John S.John S. McCollister	Republican	Omaha	000000002014-01-01-00002014
21	Haar, KenKen Haar	Democratic	Malcolm	000000002008-01-01-00002008
22	Schumacher, PaulPaul Schumacher	Republican	Columbus	000000002010-01-01-00002010
23	Johnson, JerryJerry Johnson	Republican	Wahoo	000000002012-01-01-00002012
24	Kolterman, MarkMark Kolterman	Republican	Seward	000000002014-01-01-00002014
25	Campbell, KathyKathy Campbell	Republican	Lincoln	000000002008-01-01-00002008
26	Hansen, MattMatt Hansen	Democratic	Lincoln	000000002014-01-01-00002014
27	Coash, ColbyColby Coash	Republican	Lincoln	000000002008-01-01-00002008
28	Brooks, Patty PansingPatty Pansing Brooks	Democratic	Lincoln	000000002014-01-01-00002014
29	Bolz, KateKate Bolz	Democratic	Lincoln	000000002012-01-01-00002012
30	Baker, RoyRoy Baker	Republican	Lincoln	000000002014-01-01-00002014
31	Kolowski, RickRick Kolowski	Democratic	Omaha	000000002012-01-01-00002012
32	Ebke, LauraLaura Ebke	Libertarian	Crete	000000002014-01-01-00002014
33	Seiler, LesLes Seiler	Republican	Hastings	000000002012-01-01-00002012
34	Friesen, CurtCurt Friesen	Republican	Henderson	000000002014-01-01-00002014
35	Gloor, MikeMike Gloor	Republican	Grand Island	000000002008-01-01-00002008
36	Williams, MattMatt Williams	Republican	Lexington	000000002014-01-01-00002014
37	Hadley, GalenGalen Hadley	Republican	Kearney	000000002008-01-01-00002008
38	Kuehn, JohnJohn Kuehn	Republican	Heartwell	000000002014-01-01-00002014
39	McCoy, BeauBeau McCoy	Republican	Omaha	000000002009-01-01-00002009
40	Larson, TysonTyson Larson	Republican	O'Neill	000000002010-01-01-00002010
41	Sullivan, KateKate Sullivan	Democratic	Cedar Rapids	000000002008-01-01-00002008
42	Groene, MikeMike Groene	Republican	North Platte	000000002014-01-01-00002014
43	Davis, AlAl Davis	Republican	Hyannis	000000002012-01-01-00002012
44	Hughes, DanDan Hughes	Republican	Venango	000000002014-01-01-00002014
45	Crawford, SueSue Crawford	Democratic	Bellevue	000000002012-01-01-00002012
46	Morfeld, AdamAdam Morfeld	Democratic	Lincoln	000000002014-01-01-00002014
47	Schilz, KenKen Schilz	Republican	Ogallala	000000002008-01-01-00002008
48	Stinner, JohnJohn Stinner	Republican	Gering	000000002014-01-01-00002014
49	Murante, JohnJohn Murante	Republican	Gretna	000000002012-01-01-00002012

References

↑ http://nebraskalegislature.gov/about/about.php
↑ "More about Nebraska statehood, the location of the capital, and the story of the commissioner's homes", Nebraska State Historical Society. Retrieved 12/14/08.
↑ Michael S. Dulaney, J.D., Ph.D., Executive Director, Nebraska Council of School Administrators. "The Nebraska Legislature: A Brief History". Retrieved 2008-09-07.
↑ Berens, Charlene (2004). Power to the People: Social Choice and the Populist/Progressive Ideal. Lanham, Maryland: University Press of America. p. 252. ISBN 978-0-7618-2763-4.
↑ See, e.g., lists of endorsed candidates for the Legislature on the webpages of both the Nebraska Democratic Party and the Nebraska Republican Party.
↑ "Is There A Partisan or Non-Partisan Legislature in NE?", wowt.com, 2010-01-28.

External links

The official site of the Nebraska Unicameral Legislature
- History of the Nebraska Unicameral

Members of the Nebraska Legislature

104th Legislature (2015–2016) Speaker of the Legislature: Galen Hadley

Dan Watermeier Bill Kintner Tommy Garrett Robert Hilkemann Heath Mello Joni Craighead Nicole Fox Burke Harr Sara Howard Bob Krist Ernie Chambers Merv Riepe Tanya Cook Jim Smith David Schnoor Lydia Brasch Dave Bloomfield Brett Lindstrom Jim Scheer John McCollister Ken Haar Paul Schumacher Jerry Johnson Mark Kolterman Kathy Campbell Matt Hansen Colby Coash Patty Pansing Brooks Kate Bolz Roy Baker Rick Kolowski Laura Ebke Les Seiler Curt Friesen Mike Gloor Matt Williams Galen Hadley John Kuehn Beau McCoy Tyson Larson Kate Sullivan Mike Groene Al Davis Dan Hughes Sue Crawford Adam Morfeld Ken Schilz John Stinner John Murante

Nebraska Legislature

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State of Nebraska

Lincoln (capital)

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