2019 Nebraska legislative session

Nebraska State Senate
General Information
Party control:	Republican
Session start:	January 9, 2019
Session end:	May 31, 2019
Term length:	4 years
Term limits:	2 terms (8 years)
Redistricting:	Legislative control
Salary:	$12,000/year + per diem based on distance to capitol
Members
Total:	49
Democrats:	18
Republicans:	30
Other:	1 (Independent)
Vacancies:	0
Leadership
President:	Jim Scheer (R)
Elections
Last election:	November 6, 2018
Next election:	November 3, 2020

State legislative sessions

State legislative sessions by state and year:

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Nebraska convened its legislative session on January 9, 2019, and legislators remained in session until May 31, 2019.^[1] Republicans had a veto-proof supermajority this legislative session, just as they did in 2018. Following the 2018 election, Republicans had a 30-18 majority in the Senate. The party also controlled the governorship, creating a Republican state government trifecta.

Click here to read more about the 2020 state Senate elections.
Click here to read more about the 2018 state Senate elections.

Partisan control in 2019[edit]

See also: State government trifectas

Nebraska was one of 22 Republican state government trifectas at the start of 2019 legislative sessions. A state government trifecta occurs when one political party holds the governor's office, a majority in the state Senate, and a majority in the state House (or, in Nebraska's case, the governor's office and a majority in the unicameral). For more information about state government trifectas, click here.

Nebraska was also one of 22 state legislatures where one party had a veto-proof supermajority in both chambers. Veto overrides occur when a legislature votes to reverse a veto issued by an executive such as a governor or the president. If one party has a majority in a state legislature that is large enough to override a gubernatorial veto without any votes from members of the minority party, it is called a veto-proof majority or, sometimes, a supermajority. To read more about veto-proof supermajorities in state legislatures, click here.

The following tables show the partisan breakdown of the Nebraska State Senate in the 2019 legislative session.

In 1934, Nebraska voters approved a constitutional amendment that transformed Nebraska's bicameral, or two-chamber, state legislature into a unicameral, or single-chamber, Nebraska State Senate. The amendment also established the state legislature as a nonpartisan body. The new unicameral Legislature met for the first time in 1937 and is the only nonpartisan legislature in the United States.^[2]

While Nebraska's Unicameral is officially nonpartisan, most of its lawmakers are affiliated with the state affiliate of either the Democratic or the Republican Party. In 2015, Ballotpedia began to identify the party affiliation of the Legislature's 49 members. Ballotpedia assigned party affiliation based on voter registration, member lists provided by the Nebraska Democratic Party and Nebraska Republican Party, as well as information provided by nonprofit organizations.

Prior to the 2018 elections, Republicans controlled the Legislature by a 30-16 majority with one Libertarian member, one independent member, and one vacancy. Republicans maintained control of the chamber in the 2018 elections. The table below shows the partisan history of the Nebraska State Senate following the 2014 general election. In presidential elections between 1868 and 2016, Nebraska voted Republican 82 percent of the time and Democratic 18 percent of the time. In the five presidential elections between 2000 and 2016, Nebraska voted Republican all five times.^[3]

Leadership in 2019[edit]

• Senate president: Jim Scheer (R)
• Chairman of the Executive Board: Mike Hilgers (R)
• Vice-chairman of the Executive Board: Tony Vargas (D)
• Executive Board member: Kate Bolz (D)
• Executive Board member: Ernie Chambers (I)
• Executive Board member: Dan Hughes (R)
• Executive Board member: Mark Kolterman (R)
• Executive Board member: John Lowe (R)
• Executive Board member: John McCollister (R)

Regular session[edit]

The following widget shows up to 25 pieces of legislation in the 2019 legislative session that most recently passed both chambers of the legislature, were signed by the governor, or were approved by the legislature in a veto override. If no bills are displayed below, no legislation met this criteria in 2019. This information is provided by BillTrack50.

Standing legislative committees[edit]

See also: Standing committee and List of committees in Nebraska state government

A standing committee of a state legislature is a committee that exists on a more-or-less permanent basis, from legislative session to session, that considers and refines legislative bills that fall under the committee's subject matter.

At the beginning of the 2019 state legislative session, there were 14 standing committees in Nebraska's state government.

• Agriculture
• Appropriations
• Banking, Commerce and Insurance
• Business and Labor
• Education
• General Affairs
• Government, Military and Veterans Affairs
• Health and Human Services
• Judiciary
• Natural Resources
• Nebraska Retirement Systems
• Revenue
• Transportation and Telecommunications
• Urban Affairs

Legislatively referred constitutional amendments[edit]

In every state but Delaware, voter approval is required to enact a constitutional amendment. In each state, the legislature has a process for referring constitutional amendments before voters. In 18 states, initiated constitutional amendments can be put on the ballot through a signature petition drive. There are also many other types of statewide measures.

The methods by which the Nebraska Constitution can be amended:

See also: Article XVI and Article III of the Nebraska Constitution, and Laws governing the initiative process in Nebraska

Nebraska Constitution
Preamble
Articles
I • II • III • IV • V • VI • VII • VIII • IX • X • XI • XII • XIII • XIV • XV • XVI • XVII • XVIII

Nebraska offers three different paths to amending its constitution:

• The legislature can propose legislatively referred constitutional amendments, which are defined in Section 1 of Article XVI.

• Sixty percent of the members of the state legislature must vote for the proposed amendment.
• The legislature can call a special statewide election to present the proposed amendment to the voters if 80 percent of the members of the state legislature vote for any such special election.
• If no special election is called, the proposed amendment must go on the next general election ballot that includes elections for members of the state legislature.
• The amendment becomes part of the constitution if a majority of those voting on the measure vote for it and if it wins favorable votes from at least 35 percent of those voting in the election for any office.

• A constitutional convention can be held to "revise, amend, or change" the constitution if 60 percent of Nebraska's legislators agree to put a question about whether to have such a convention before the state's voters.

• A convention is held if the question wins by a majority vote as long as those voting in favor equal at least 35 percent of those voting in the election.
• Voters must ratify amendments or revisions proposed by the convention.

• An initiated constitutional amendment can be used by the state's citizens to propose constitutional amendments.

• The rules for this are set out in Sections 2 and 4 of Article III.
• The number of signatures required to qualify an amendment for the ballot is 10 percent of the state's registered voters.

Historical context: Between 1996 and 2018, the following occurred:

• Ballots featured 73 ballot measures.
• An average of six measures appeared on statewide general election ballots in Nebraska.
• An average of one citizen-initiated measure appeared on statewide general election ballots in Nebraska.
• Voters approved 53 percent (39 of 73) and rejected 47 percent (34 of 73) of the ballot measures.
• Voters approved 47 percent (8 of 17) and rejected 53 percent (9 of 17) of initiated amendments and initiated statutes.
• Voters upheld 0 percent (0 of 2) of the bills put on the ballot through the veto referendum process.
• Voters approved 57 percent (31 of 54) and rejected 46 percent (23 of 54) of legislatively referred constitutional amendments.

Historical partisan control[edit]

The table below depicts the historical trifecta status of Nebraska.

See also[edit]

Elections	Nebraska State Government	State Legislatures	State Politics
Nebraska State Senate elections, 2018	Nebraska State Senate Governor of Nebraska Nebraska Supreme Court	State legislative elections, 2019 State legislative special elections, 2019 State legislative elections, 2018 State legislative elections, 2016	State government trifectas State government triplexes Veto overrides in state legislatures State executives State courts Ballot measures

External links[edit]

• Search Google News for this topic
• Nebraska Legislature homepage

Footnotes[edit]

v • e State legislatures Legislatures Alabama (H, S) · Alaska (H, S) · Arizona (H, S) · Arkansas (H, S) · California (A, S) · Colorado (H, S) · Connecticut (H, S) · Delaware (H, S) · Florida (H, S) · Georgia (H, S) · Hawaii (H, S) · Idaho (H, S) · Illinois (H, S) · Indiana (H, S) · Iowa (H, S) · Kansas (H, S) · Kentucky (H, S) · Louisiana (H, S) · Maine (H, S) · Maryland (H, S) · Massachusetts (H, S) · Michigan (H, S) · Minnesota (H, S) · Mississippi (H, S) · Missouri (H, S) · Montana (H, S) · Nebraska · Nevada (A, S) · New Hampshire (H, S) · New Jersey (GA, S) · New Mexico (H, S) · New York (A, S) · North Carolina (H, S) · North Dakota (H, S) · Ohio (H, S) · Oklahoma (H, S) · Oregon (H, S) · Pennsylvania (H, S) · Rhode Island (H, S) · South Carolina (H, S) · South Dakota (H, S) · Tennessee (H, S) · Texas (H, S) · Utah (H, S) · Vermont (H, S) · Virginia (H, S) · Washington (H, S) · West Virginia (H, S) · Wisconsin (A, S) · Wyoming (H, S) 2025 State legislative elections (2025) • State legislative special elections (2025) • Primary dates and filing requirements • 2025 Session Dates 2024 State legislative elections (2024) • State legislative special elections (2024) • Primary dates and filing requirements • 2024 Session Dates 2023 State legislative elections (2023) • State legislative special elections (2023) • Primary dates and filing requirements • 2023 Session Dates Historical elections 2022 •  2021 • 2020 • 2019 • 2018 • 2017 • 2016 • 2015 • 2014 • 2013 • 2012 • 2011 • 2010 • 2009 • 2008 • 2007 • 2006 • 2005 • 2004 • 2003 • 2002 • 2001 • 2000 Features of state legislatures How vacancies are filled in state legislatures • States with a full-time legislature • State legislatures with term limits • Comparison of state legislative salaries • When state legislators assume office after a general election • Population represented by state legislators • State constitutional articles governing state legislatures • State legislative sessions • Resign-to-run law • State legislature candidate requirements by state • Official names of state legislatures • State legislative chambers that use multi-member districts • Factors Affecting Competitiveness in State Legislative Elections State senates Length of terms of state senators • State senators • Partisan composition of state senates • State senators sorted by year first elected State houses Length of terms of state representatives • State representatives • Partisan composition of state houses • State representatives sorted by year first elected Leadership positions President of the Senate • President Pro Tempore • Senate Majority Leader • Senate Minority Leader • House Majority Leader • House Minority Leader • State Speaker of the House