A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | CH | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | X | Y | Z | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9
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Nebraska Legislature | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Type | |
| Type | |
Term limits | 2 consecutive terms |
| Leadership | |
Executive Board Chair | |
Executive Board Vice Chair | |
| Structure | |
| Seats | 49 |
 | |
Legislature political groups | Officially nonpartisan
Majority (33)
Minority (16)
|
Length of term | 4 years |
| Authority | Article III, Nebraska Constitution |
| Salary | $12,000/year + per diem |
| Elections | |
Legislature voting system | Top-two primary |
Last Legislature election | November 8, 2022 (24 seats) |
Next Legislature election | November 5, 2024 (25 seats) |
| Redistricting | Legislature control |
| Meeting place | |
 | |
| Nebraska State Capitol Lincoln | |
| Website | |
| www | |
The Nebraska Legislature[1] (also called the Unicameral)[2] is the legislature of the U.S. state of Nebraska. The Legislature meets at the Nebraska State Capitol in Lincoln. With 49 members, known as "senators",[3] the Nebraska Legislature is the smallest U.S. state legislature. A total of 25 members is required for a majority; however, in order to overcome a filibuster, a two-thirds vote of all members is required, which takes 33 votes.[4]
Unlike the legislatures of the other 49 U.S. states and the U.S. Congress, the Nebraska Legislature is unicameral. It is also nonpartisan in that it does not officially recognize its members' political party affiliation or a formal partisan leadership structure. All 49 members elect, by secret ballot, the Legislature's officers (except the Lieutenant Governor, who serves as President of the Legislature) and committee chairs with the aim of ensuring lawmakers select leaders they truly support without undue pressure or influence from other branches of government, the political parties, or other sources of outside influence.
History
The First Nebraska Territorial Legislature met in Omaha in 1855, staying there until statehood was granted in 1867.[5] 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.[6]
After a trip to Australia in 1931, George W. 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 Nebraska Senate and the Nebraska House of Representatives and granting their powers to a new unicameral body simply called the Nebraska Legislature. At 43 members, the new Nebraska Legislature was closer in size to the old 33-member Nebraska Senate than it was to the old 100-member Nebraska House of Representatives.[7][8]
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.[9] This final 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", during the first session the Legislature adopted a resolution formally giving members the title of "senator". In Nebraska, the Legislature is also often known as "the Unicameral."[10]
General powers
|
The Legislature is responsible for law-making and appropriating funds for the state. The governor has the power to veto any bill, but 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.
Selection, composition and operation
The Legislature is composed of 49 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 + per diem.
Rather than separate primary elections held to choose Republican, Democratic, and other partisan contenders for a seat, Nebraska uses a single nonpartisan blanket primary, 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.[11]
Vacancies
Vacancies in the Legislature are appointed by the governor.[12]
Length of session
Sessions of the Nebraska Legislature last for 90 working days in odd-numbered years and 60 working days in even-numbered years.[13]
Special Sessions
Article IV-8 of the Nebraska State Constitution gives the Governor the power to call special sessions on "extraordinary occasions."[14] When called, lawmakers may only consider legislation outlined in the Governor's proclamation.
Membership
| Affiliation | Party (Shading indicates majority caucus)
|
Total | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Ind | Democratic | Vacant | ||
| Start of 107th Legislature | 32 | 0 | 17 | 49 | 0 |
| April 27, 2022[15] | 31 | 0 | 17 | 48 | 1 |
| June 7, 2022[16] | 32 | 0 | 17 | 48 | 0 |
| July 11, 2022[17] | 31 | 0 | 17 | 49 | 1 |
| July 22, 2022[18] | 32 | 0 | 17 | 49 | 0 |
| November 9, 2022[19] | 31 | 0 | 17 | 48 | 1 |
| Start of 108th Legislature[20] | 32 | 0 | 17 | 49 | 0 |
| April 6, 2023[21] | 31 | 0 | 17 | 48 | 1 |
| April 11, 2023[22] | 32 | 0 | 17 | 49 | 0 |
| May 5, 2023[23] | 32 | 1 | 16 | 49 | 0 |
| October 31, 2023[24] | 31 | 1 | 16 | 48 | 1 |
| November 15, 2023[25] | 32 | 1 | 16 | 49 | 0 |
| April 3, 2024[26] | 33 | 1 | 15 | 49 | 0 |
| Latest voting share | 67% | 2% | 31% | ||
The Nebraska Legislature officially recognizes no party affiliations; affiliations listed are based on state party endorsements. As of 2024[update], 33 members are Republicans, 15 are Democrats, and one is a registered nonpartisan.