LINCOLN — Conservatives ruled at the State Capitol like never before in 2023, passing several right-wing measures, including proposals on gun rights and school choice that had been perennial losers in the Legislature, as well as new restrictions on abortion and transgender rights. And, it appears that an 11th-hour push will be successful to achieve […]
The post Conservatives ruled during 2023 session of Nebraska Legislature like never before appeared first on Nebraska Examiner.
LINCOLN — Pleas, chants and tossed tampons and pads did not stop the Nebraska Legislature’s conservative majority from passing a bill Friday combining two proposals that several state senators said might not have been able to pass on their own. Hundreds spent the day rallying at the Capitol for abortion rights and trans rights. They […]
The post Nebraska passes stricter abortion ban, limits on gender-affirming care appeared first on Nebraska Examiner.
LINCOLN — State senators, after an extended debate, gave final-round approval Wednesday to some non-controversial budget bills, while hard feelings persisted over the previous day’s debate to restrict abortion and transgender health care for minors. Voices rose again about Tuesday’s emotional and sometimes raucous debate over Legislative Bill 574, which married two of the session’s […]
The post Minor budget bills are given final-round OK, with debate coming Thursday on mainline spending appeared first on Nebraska Examiner.
LINCOLN — With thousands of Nebraskans watching, including hundreds in person, state lawmakers shoehorned a stricter abortion ban into an already divisive bill to limit gender-affirming care for minors. The proposal is now one step from passage. Tuesday’s action was the culmination of months of public outcry and legislative fights over the two measures, both […]
The post Nebraska merges abortion, gender-affirming care measures into single bill appeared first on Nebraska Examiner.
LINCOLN — The session-long fight in some Nebraska lawmakers’ efforts to further restrict abortion and gender-affirming care for minors could be decided Tuesday evening with a decisive amendment to pair the measures as one proposal. State Sen. Ben Hansen of Blair unveiled the amendment last Monday to marry two of the most divisive issues this session […]
The post A guide to Tuesday’s debate on amendment to combine gender-affirming care, abortion restrictions appeared first on Nebraska Examiner.
LINCOLN — State Sen. Megan Hunt of Omaha, one of Nebraska’s most prominent progressive lawmakers, has changed her party registration from Democrat to nonpartisan. Hunt, along with State Sen. Machaela Cavanaugh of Omaha, has drawn national attention this year for standing against proposed restrictions on abortion and gender-affirming care for minors. She said Friday that Nebraska […]
The post Prominent progressive Nebraska lawmaker leaves Democratic Party appeared first on Nebraska Examiner.
LINCOLN — The Nebraska Legislature fell one vote short Thursday of passing a ban on abortions after an ultrasound detects embryonic cardiac activity, at about six weeks into a pregnancy. Republican State Sen. Joni Albrecht’s Legislative Bill 626, fell in a similar fashion as the near-total abortion ban proposed last year. Both lost to Democratic-led […]
The post Nebraska abortion ban tied to cardiac activity falls one vote short; 20-week limit remains intact appeared first on Nebraska Examiner.
LINCOLN — Several Nebraska lawmakers came to the defense of State Sen. Megan Hunt of Omaha on Wednesday after a complaint was filed alleging she has a potential conflict of interest on proposed restrictions on gender-affirming care for minors. Frank Daley, executive director of the Nebraska Accountability and Disclosure Commission, on Wednesday hand-delivered the complaint, […]
The post Nebraska lawmakers defend colleague for ‘out of bounds’ conflict of interest complaint appeared first on Nebraska Examiner.
LINCOLN — An effort to increase use of higher blends of corn-based ethanol ran into an unusual group of opponents Thursday. State Sens. Megan Hunt of Omaha and Jane Raybould of Lincoln — two of the more liberal senators in the Nebraska Legislature — joined with the conservative Americans for Prosperity in arguing that mandating […]
The post Senators open debate on bill seeking greater use of corn-based ethanol appeared first on Nebraska Examiner.
LINCOLN — Lawmakers gave first-round approval Monday to a proposal that would create a video archive of Nebraska legislative proceedings, an effort that has spanned multiple years. Legislative Bill 254, proposed by State Sen. Tom Brewer of Gordon, would create this archive, bringing Nebraska to the same level of access to legislative proceedings as nearly every […]
The post Nebraska lawmakers advance proposal for video archive of legislative proceedings appeared first on Nebraska Examiner.
Meet the state senators deciding policy and leading Nebraska’s legislative branch through 2024. Nebraska’s current 49 state senators are among the most diverse in the state’s history with 18 women, six senators of color and two openly LGBTQ senators. The median age of the Legislature, at the start of the session, was 61 — the youngest […]
The post Who’s who in the Nebraska Legislature: 2023-24 state senators appeared first on News Nebraska.
LINCOLN — Chaos erupted on the floor of the Nebraska Legislature on Thursday after a last-minute effort to consider an “olive branch” amendment on a bill to restrict some gender-affirming care for minors. Legislative Bill 574, proposed by State Sen. Kathleen Kauth of Omaha, would restrict puberty blockers, hormone therapies and genital or non-genital surgeries […]
The post Nebraska lawmakers narrowly advance trans health care bill after internal chaos appeared first on Nebraska Examiner.
LINCOLN — Nebraska anti-abortion advocates celebrated clearing a major legislative hurdle Wednesday in a decades-long effort to curb what they call “elective abortions,” or abortions by choice. Every Republican in the Legislature and one Democrat, State Sen. Mike McDonnell of Omaha, provided the 33 votes needed to overcome a filibuster. Lawmakers gave first-round passage to […]
The post Nebraska bill banning abortions when cardiac activity is detected passes first round of debate appeared first on Nebraska Examiner.
LINCOLN — A legislative bill that supporters and opponents agree would outlaw abortions in Nebraska before many women know they’re pregnant heads into Wednesday’s first round of debate with reportedly just enough votes to overcome cloture — 33 — but no wiggle room. State Sen. Joni Albrecht of Thurston appears to have held together a […]
The post Debate begins this week on Nebraska abortion ban timed to cardiac activity appeared first on Nebraska Examiner.
LINCOLN — Nebraska Gov. Jim Pillen picked former prosecutor Carolyn Bosn on Thursday to replace one of law enforcement’s favorites in the Legislature, State Sen. Suzanne Geist. Pillen said he knew and trusted Bosn’s “extraordinary public servant heart” because she grew up in his hometown of Columbus. He said their families have known each other […]
The post Pillen appoints Carolyn Bosn, former Lancaster County prosecutor, to replace Geist in Legislature appeared first on Nebraska Examiner.
LINCOLN — State lawmakers opened debate Friday on a package of bills that proposes to deliver millions of dollars in additional tax credits to blunt the sting of Nebraska’s traditionally high property taxes. The Nebraska Legislature adjourned for the weekend without advancing Legislative Bill 243 but appear poised to do that on Monday. The much-amended […]
The post Nebraska lawmakers open debate on property tax relief package, defeat amendment on aid to renters appeared first on Nebraska Examiner.
LINCOLN — State Sen. Megan Hunt of Omaha joined with a Lincoln-based legal group in demanding a retraction Friday for a tweet they maintain was defamatory and “knowingly false.” The tweet, from the conservative Nebraska Freedom Coalition, included the hashtag “groomer” and photographs of the senator as a child and her son, who is trans. […]
The post State senator, legal group demand retraction for tweet they consider defamatory appeared first on Nebraska Examiner.
LINCOLN — Decades of legislative frustration with Nebraska’s results after spending billions of dollars in fees and funds since the late 1990s to boost broadband access boiled over into a floor debate Thursday about possible fixes for a state agency’s funding decisions and follow-through. Senators are weighing who at the state level should direct up […]
The post Legislature debates who should oversee up to $400 million in Nebraska broadband funds appeared first on Nebraska Examiner.
LINCOLN — Frayed nerves over how much power the Nebraska Legislature gives to minority voices to delay or derail the majority’s will erupted into a floor fight Tuesday over Unicameral rules. The result: A frustrated majority set new limits on motions that slow the passage of bills. The senators causing the slowdown promised to continue […]
The post Rules changes fail to curb partisan rancor in Nebraska Legislature appeared first on Nebraska Examiner.
LINCOLN — Supporters of a bill to restrict what gender-affirming care minors could receive in the state advanced Thursday by a vote of 30-17 in the Nebraska Legislature. Thursday topped off three days of debate that included passionate pleas, conflicting medical studies and a historic minority statement regarding Legislative Bill 574, the “Let Them Grow Act” […]
The post Nebraska Legislature advances bill to restrict trans health care for minors appeared first on Nebraska Examiner.
LINCOLN — The second day of debate over a bill that would restrict what gender-affirming care minors could receive in the state took a more personal turn for one parent in the Nebraska Legislature. Omaha State Sen. Megan Hunt described Wednesday how Legislative Bill 574 would impact her and her 12-year-old son, Ash Homan. The bill, […]
The post Second day of debate on trans health care bill brings personal stories to forefront appeared first on Nebraska Examiner.
LINCOLN — Voices rose and personal digs were exchanged Tuesday as the Nebraska Legislature opened debate on the controversial issue of banning minors from obtaining gender-altering procedures. State Sen. Kathleen Kauth of Omaha, the sponsor of Legislative Bill 574, said her proposal was about protecting children from “irreversible and often dangerous procedures” to alter their […]
The post Voices raised, digs exchanged in debate on bill to block minors from gender-altering procedures appeared first on Nebraska Examiner.
LINCOLN — One day after proposed abortion restrictions faced a hiccup in legislative support, a Nebraska lawmaker made the case Thursday for voters to determine whether abortion protections should be enshrined in the State Constitution. Legislative Resolution 18CA and LR 19CA, both proposed by State Sen. Megan Hunt of Omaha, would put the question to […]
The post Legislation would allow voters to decide abortion rights in Nebraska Constitution appeared first on Nebraska Examiner.
LINCOLN — Speaker of the Legislature John Arch on Tuesday spelled out the first price he will exact for the persistent filibuster by State Sen. Machaela Cavanaugh of Omaha and others slowing the legislative session to limit how much legislation gets discussed. Arch announced that he would start scheduling floor debate into the evening hours […]
The post Legislative Speaker answers Cavanaugh filibuster by moving up long nights of legislative debate appeared first on Nebraska Examiner.
LINCOLN — Debate began Monday on a long-controversial bill to provide state tax credits for donations to private school scholarships, with advocates maintaining that the measure is about helping low-income families. State Sen. Lou Ann Linehan of Elkhorn, the chief sponsor of so-called “opportunity scholarships” bills in recent years, said poor families should have the […]
The post Debate begins on legislation granting $25 million in tax credits for private school scholarships appeared first on Nebraska Examiner.
LINCOLN — Jayden Speed, an 18-year-old high school student, said he is counting down the days to graduation while calculating whether Nebraska is the state to stay in. As a queer young person, Speed said, he loves Nebraska, its communities and the Legislature, and Wesleyan University, the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and Creighton University have offered […]
The post Nebraska lawmaker continues push for LGBTQ nondiscrimination employment policy appeared first on Nebraska Examiner.
LINCOLN — The Nebraska Legislature stands at a crossroads in 2023 regarding LGBTQ Nebraskans, with critical bills that could expand or limit protections. This session’s proposals include restrictions on what bathrooms transgender youths could use and which athletic teams they could participate in. Other bills could expand nondiscrimination policies to include gender identity or sexual […]
The post LGBTQ protections at crossroads in Nebraska Legislature appeared first on Nebraska Examiner.
LINCOLN — After years of trying, the Nebraska Legislature appears poised to pass a first step toward ending the twice-a-year tyranny of changing the clock. State Sen. Tom Briese of Albion again proposed keeping Nebraska on daylight saving time, if Congress and a third neighboring state join Nebraska in passing such a law. Legislative Bill […]
The post Year-round daylight saving time has a chance this year in Nebraska appeared first on Nebraska Examiner.
LINCOLN — Proponents and opponents were given three hours each Wednesday to argue over State Sen. Joni Albrecht’s bill aimed at outlawing abortions in Nebraska after an ultrasound detects fetal cardiac activity. Hundreds in an overflow crowd waited hours to testify for two or three minutes to the seven members of the Legislature’s Health and […]
The post Cardiac-activity abortion ban bill draws hundreds to Nebraska Capitol appeared first on Nebraska Examiner.
LINCOLN — A bill before the Nebraska Legislature could kill Omaha’s modern-day streetcar, as it would curb future tax-increment financing revenue that city leaders are counting on to pay off the project. That’s according to Steve Jensen, an Omaha economic development aide, who spoke Tuesday at a legislative committee hearing on the TIF-related bill introduced […]
The post Omaha streetcar plan in jeopardy under proposed legislation, Omaha mayoral aide says appeared first on Nebraska Examiner.