The first session of the 107th Legislature convened on Wednesday the 6th, as prescribed by the Constitution of Nebraska. The first order of business is to swear in newly elected and re-elected senators, with the Chief Justice of the state Supreme Court administering the oath of office. The ceremony was different than when I was sworn in two years ago. At that time, my wife, children and grandchildren were able to be on the floor with me for that event. This year, senators all stayed at their seats and family and special guests were required to watch from the balcony. All this is a vivid reminder that we will continue to deal with the effects of the pandemic going forward.

With the new members officially seated, we moved on to the election of a new Speaker and the chairs of each committee. Senator Mike Hilgers, who represents District 21 – the area of northwest Lincoln and northwest Lancaster county – was elected as Speaker of the Legislature. He was unopposed in his bid to lead the Unicameral for the next two years.

The Executive Board elections followed. Sen. Dan Hughes, District 44 – which encompasses the southwest portion of the state from roughly Alma, NE to the Colorado state line – was chosen as chair of the Executive Board. Senator Tony Vargas of east Omaha, was elected as Vice Chair, assuring border to border representation on the Executive Board.

Senator Robert Hilkeman of west Omaha was elected chair of the Committee on Committees. This committee meets at the very beginning of the session to assign seats on the various committees. The state is divided into three caucuses based on our state’s congressional districts, and each caucus puts forward the names of those interested in serving on the Executive Board and each standing committee. 

Senator Robert Clements of Elmwood, and Senator Wendy DeBoer of north central Omaha both ran for chair of the Rules Committee and Senator Clements was elected. The chair of Enrollment and Review traditionally goes to the youngest new senator, and this year Senator Tyrell McKinney, District 11 in north Omaha, will hold that post. 

There are fourteen standing committees in the Legislature. These committees are responsible for holding hearings for all bills introduced, based on subject matter. Elections for these chairs were held in alphabetical order.  Only three committee chairmanships were contested, for all the rest just one senator ran for the chair. The contested committees were Business and Labor, Education, and Natural Resources.  Senators re-elected as chairs are starred with an *. Those elected were:

Agriculture – Senator Halloran*, District 33, western Hall County and all of Adams County

Appropriations – Senator John Stinner*, District 48, all of Scottsbluff County

Banking, Commerce and Insurance – Senator Matt Williams*, District 36, northern Buffalo and all of Dawson and Custer counties

Business and Labor – Senator Ben Hansen, District 16, Cuming, Burt and Washington counties

Education – Senator Lynne Walz, District 15, all of Dodge County

General Affairs – Senator Tom Briese*, of Albion, District 41, nine counties in north central Nebraska

Government, Military and Veterans Affairs – Senator Tom Brewer*, District 43, the Sandhills and parts of the northern Panhandle

Health and Human Services – Senator John Arch, District 14, west central Omaha

Judiciary – Senator Steve Lathrop*, District 12, southern Omaha, centered around I-80

Natural Resources – Senator Bruce Bostelman, District 23, Butler, Saunders and most of Colfax counties

Nebraska Retirement Systems – Senator Mark Kolterman*, District 24, Seward, York and Polk counties

Revenue – Senator Lou Ann Linehan*, District 39, western third of Douglas county

Transportation and Telecommunications – Senator Curt Friesen*, District 34, Nance, Merrick, Hamilton and portions of Hall County

Urban Affairs – Senator Justin Wayne*, District 13, northeast Omaha and northeast Douglas County

For the first ten legislative days, the Legislature will accept bills for introduction. As I mentioned in my previous update, all senators have been encouraged to limit the number of bills because of the concerns about large groups of people at committee hearings. I have adhered to the recommendation and will be limiting the number of bills that I introduce, which I will describe in more detail next week.

My office continues to be open for your communication at any time – via email at mdorn@leg.ne.gov or by telephone at 402-471-2620, and the answering service is available 24 hours a day if staffers are busy. I welcome your input, opinions, suggestions and comments and look forward to representing you and hearing from you in these next few months of the 90 day session.