On Jan. 19, 2024, Civic Nebraska issued the following statement following the end of debate regarding proposed rules changes at the Nebraska Legislature.
Nebraska’s long-standing nonpartisan guardrails have held. Today, state lawmakers finished debating proposed rules changes and successfully avoided attempts to weaken the filibuster. Senators also rejected this week a proposal to force public elections for committee assignments. These proposals threatened our state’s time-tested tradition of collaborative lawmaking, and senators were wise to abandon them.
Unlike Congress, the Nebraska Legislature provides our legislators the independence to focus on their constituents’ needs and concerns, rather than strict obedience to party platforms. This framework has been of great benefit to Nebraskans for decades. We are grateful to our lawmakers who remain committed to this important principle.
Our state government works best when our elected leaders focus on common goals reflecting our shared values. Today we celebrate this spirit of nonpartisanship, which has made Nebraska a national standard of legislative efficiency, deliberation, and cooperation.
