Today marks the first day of the 109th Nebraska Legislature, First Session. This session will be 90 days and the Second Session next year will be 60 days. This morning new state senators were sworn in, committee chairs and the Speaker were elected by secret ballot and staff started to settle in for what will be several months of excitement as lawmakers debate and pass important pieces of legislation on behalf of Nebraskans. Senator John Arch (District 14) was elected Speaker and committee chairs include: Health and Human Services – Senator Brian Hardin (District 48); Education – Senator Dave Murman (District 38); Appropriations – Senator Robert Clements (District 2); and Revenue – Senator Brad Von Gillern (District 4).
As always, the first 10 days of the session will include bill introduction, with senators introducing up to 20 bills each. Every bill gets referred to a specific committee for review and receives a hearing in which the public can testify and share their thoughts on the bill. If a bill is voted out of committee, it’s placed on General File for floor debate by the full Legislature. If a bill is successful on General File, it moves to Select File for a second round of debate. Finally, if successful there, it will move to Final Reading and then on the Governor for a signature. Although not every bill will reach this point, First Five Nebraska looks forward to working with senators and advocates to get as many early childhood bills as possible across the finish line.
This year, First Five Nebraska will host policy calls on Zoom every two weeks on Tuesday afternoons and evenings to inform and engage advocates on early childhood bills. Our first calls will be on January 28. Learn more and register for a call.
We wish all senators and staff a happy first day of session and look forward to the months ahead!
