The 109th Nebraska Legislature convened on January 8th for its first session to
last ninety legislative days. There are seventeen newly elected state senators with Senator Dan Quick returning after having previously served. After convening, elected senators were sworn into office and elected Sen. John Arch to continue his service as Speaker of the Legislature. The Legislature then elected various committee chairmanships and began new bill introduction. Bill introduction will continue through January 22nd.
A new rule for the Legislature this session is that each Senator has a limit of introducing no more than twenty legislative bills. In past sessions, there were some senators who would introduce upwards of forty to fifty bills themselves. The Legislature will have to address a $432 million revenue shortfall which many of the senators currently serving will not have faced before. Governor Pillen has announced his priorities for the session which he has summed up as “kids, taxes, agriculture, and values”. Each senator will have their own priorities as well and can designate one legislative bill as their “priority” which gives it a better chance of being heard on the floor if the bill is advanced by its respective committee.
Banking, Commerce, and Insurance Committee Members:
Sen. Mike Jacobson, Chairman (North Platte)
Sen. Eliot Bostar, Vice Chairman (Lincoln)
Sen. George Dungan (Lincoln)
Sen. Bob Hallstrom (Syracuse)
Sen. Brian Hardin (Gering)
Sen. Merve Riepe (Omaha)
Sen. Brad von Gillern (Elkhorn)
Sen. Dave Wordekemper (Fremont)
