With the Legislature adjourned sine die until next January, the League of Women Voters of Nebraska has analyzed the outcome of the areas and bills we set out to influence.

At the beginning of the 108th Nebraska Legislature’s long session, the LWVNE’s six volunteer action teams–Education Policy, Health Care, Government, Mental and Behavioral Health, Natural Resources and Energy, and Social Policy–identified areas of focus to select specific bills for action through letters and in-person testimony. The 49 volunteers serving on these teams wrote an impressive 70 letters, testifying in person on 27, hand delivering 2 to state senators, and submitting 41 via the Legislature’s online portal for committee hearings.

More than 140 people signed up for LWVNE “Action Alerts,” which were sent 22 times to encourage action on over 40 bills. Individually, LWVNE members showed up to testify as citizens, participated in coalition rallies, monitored debate and contacted their legislators.

Below is the summary of the LWVNE’s original list of bills grouped by their final outcome with the League’s stance marked in parentheses.  

• 4 signed into law (1 support; 3 oppose)
• 15 amended in some form into another bill
  • 8 signed into law (6 support, 2 oppose)
  • 7 passed the Legislature but were line item vetoed by the governor (7 support)
• 34 hearing completed and still in committee (21 support, 13 oppose)
• 7 on general file carrying over to the 2024 short session (4 support, 3 oppose)
• 2 indefinitely postponed with no further action possible (2 support)

“This session was incredibly difficult and at first glance the results may look disheartening,” said Rachel Gibson, action vice president for the LWVNE, who prepared the analysis. “However, digging into the details shows the importance and impact of the informed, thoughtful and long-term advocacy by the League. Whatever the challenges, we will not give up in our efforts to educate, advocate and work toward a better Nebraska for all who live here.”

Read the detailed 7-page summary here.