Nebraska senators don’t want ‘divisive culture wars’ to derail 2024 session

LINCOLN, Neb. (KLKN) – Senators from Lancaster County sat down with their constituents Monday night to discuss concerns ahead of the 2024 session.

No doubt, the 2023 legislative session was full of controversy. And the next session is only 16 days away.

“I think there’s a transparency that needs to happen between the public and their elected officials,” said Sen. Tom Brandt of Plymouth. “I think with all of the technology, there’s been a distance between elected officials and the people, and I always think it’s good if we can meet face-to-face.”

So that’s exactly what nine senators did.

Nebraskans were invited to speak with their representatives at Union College.

Brandt said the town hall gave everyone the opportunity to be better informed about the upcoming priorities in the state Legislature.

Mike Rose attended the town hall. He said he hasn’t been able to get very involved in the past, so this was a good time for him to learn more.

“I think things like this are a really great opportunity to ask some specific questions,” Rose said. “So if you do have stuff that you think a senator might be able to represent you better with, then it’s a great chance to get in front of them.”

Some of the main topics of conversation among the senators were workforce development, property taxes, water infrastructure, affordable child care and the East Beltway project.

Brandt said after last year, there’s a lot of work to be done.

“We still have 500 bills leftover from last year, and with the Legislature’s track record, we’ll probably put another 400 to 500 on top of that,” he said. “It’s a short session, it’s an election year — I don’t think we’re going to accomplish a great deal. There’s a lot of stuff we need to clean up from last session.”

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Sen. Danielle Conrad said the tumult of the last session wasn’t good for Nebraskans.

She said many of the senators agree that they need to change direction in 2024 to better serve Nebraskans.

“It’s a political choice for state leaders every single day about whether or not we’re going to focus our time and our energy in a short, 60-day session on smart, thoughtful, consensus-based issues that deliver for Nebraskans,” she said. “Or are we going to continue to wage divisive culture wars that tear us apart?”