Rules ‘truce’ allows flow to return to the Unicameral debate
In a column that appeared in Friday’s Lincoln Journal Star, former lawmakers Galen Hadley, John Harms and Kathy Campbell encouraged current senators to hold on to the spirit of debate that has permeated the Unicameral in recent weeks.
A truce that halted a contentious debate over filibuster rules has allowed to Unicameral to engage in a more characteristic flow, the former senators wrote, one they hope will continue after the truce period ends on Day 50 of the session (March 20).
The former senators wrote, “With the rules debate temporarily addressed, spirits lifted among the body as senators, including 18 freshman members, were able to experience what makes the Unicameral experience so rewarding as the body went to work on the business of the state.
“We hope their time operating under the temporary rules allowed our lawmakers to further appreciate the unique experience that is serving in the nonpartisan Unicameral, particularly because they have already seen firsthand the effects that divisive politics will have on the body.”
Hadley is former Speaker of the Legislature and Harms and Campbell each were two-term senators from Scottsbluff and Lincoln respectively. Harms and Campbell also are members of OpenSky’s Board of Directors and Legislative Alumni Advisory Committee. Read the full column online.