The filibuster blocks bills in the Nebraska Legislature
LINCOLN, Neb. (Nebraska) — Over the past three business days, the Nebraska Legislature has not advanced any bills during the floor debate.
It’s mostly because of an effort to bankrupt controversial bills related to abortion and transgender youth.
A filibuster is a practice to slow down or prevent a bill from getting a vote.
And to fill the time, Senators often talk about casual topics.
“At the fish fry we ate, we ate spaghetti.” Senator Machaela Cavanaugh said Tuesday. “Oh no, we didn’t eat spaghetti.”
Senator John Cavanaugh added, “Fries are a fantastic way to spend a Friday during the spring season.”
Senator Machaela Cavanaugh was leading the effort and many others joined.
“We would do everything we can to try to stop these harmful measures and to refocus the body’s attention on the critical workforce issues impacting working families,” Senator Danielle Conrad of Lincoln said.
In Nebraska, Senators can introduce motions and amendments to bills. They can then speak for five minutes at a time, up to three times, on each motion or amendment.
Other senators can intervene in the discussion. Some even give their time to the stonewalling person.
Cavanaugh’s efforts frustrated some Republican senators in the officially nonpartisan legislature.
“So maybe what he should do is stand there for five minutes of silence like I did last year.” Senator Steve Erdman of Bayard said. “He would make more sense than what he said.”
Tags: Legislative Session 2023, 6 weeks of abortion, abortion bill, filibuster, legislature debate, Nebraska Filibuster, Nebraska Heart Beat Act, Nebraska Legislature, Sen. Danielle Conrad, Sen. Machaela Cavanaugh, Sen. Steve Erdman
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