The founders of Rainbow Parents knew little about the Nebraska Legislature, before LB 574 and 575 (the anti-trans legislation that was introduced by Sen. Kathleen Kauth in January of 2023). Our goal is to help prepare others, so you don’t have to scramble as much as we did.
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Thanks for wanting to be more involved to protect the queer kid(s) in your life.
Previous week’s emails can be found here:
https://www.rainbowparentsofne.org/blog
Weekly action items!
Our week three action is to make sure you are familiar with the basic unicameral vocabulary. This email explains some terms and offers sources where you can learn more if you would like.
Nebraska has a unicameral–just one house, not a house and a senate like every other state. We call it “The Legislature” or “The Unicameral” and not “The Senate” (even though the elected officials are called “Senators”). The “second house” in Nebraska is us–the people.
There are 49 senators, each representing about 35,000 Nebraskans in their district. Senators are elected for 4 year terms, and are term-limited after 2 terms. They can run again after sitting out for 4 years. Terms are staggered such that odd numbered districts are sworn in during odd year sessions and even numbered districts are sworn in during even years. For example, right now odd districts (districts 1, 3, 5, etc.) are campaigning and their election will be in November of 2024, with the winners beginning their terms in January 2025.
The unicameral is nonpartisan. During primary elections, all state senate candidates from the district are on everyone’s ballot and the top two move on. This means that sometimes the general election is between two people from the same party. Also, parties do not play an official role in how the legislature operates. There are no majority or minority leaders, parties don’t caucus about bills, and committee chairs are selected without regard for party. This nonpartisan structure encourages senators to work together on issues of common interest, at least in theory.
Legislative sessions begin in January and run on a biennium (a 2 year cycle), alternating between 90 day and 60 day sessions. Senators also work during the interim (when the legislature is not in session) communicating with constituents, working on interim studies of issues, etc. Senators make a total of $12,000 a year, which is astonishingly low for the amount of work they put in.
Though it is only done rarely, the governor is allowed to call a special session “on extraordinary occasions” to work on a particular issue. The governor has called a special session to begin on July 25th to deal with property taxes.
If you want to learn more, there is so much more information about how the unicameral works, how bills become laws, and how to be an advocate on this helpful website by the Women’s Fund of Omaha.
For more on the history of the unicameral, check out this website from the Nebraska Legislature.
Thank you for taking the time to read week three!
Don’t forget, you can find our previous email action items here: https://www.rainbowparentsofne.org/blog
Stay tuned for more action steps from Rainbow Parents of Nebraska next week. If you have questions or suggestions for us, please contact us at the links below!
