{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://fortenberry.house.gov/media-center/in-the-news/omaha-world-herald-editorial-lessons-nebraskas-new-senators", "Omaha World Herald: Editorial: Lessons for Nebraska's new senators", "2016-12-04", "2016", "2016-12", "Republican", "House", "NE", "Jeff Fortenberry", "F000449", "fortenberry.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "The Nebraska Legislature will see considerable turnover when it convenes in January. Seventeen of the 49 lawmakers will be freshmen. That\u2019s a third of the membership.\nThe Legislature also will be electing a new speaker and nine new committee leaders.\nChurn in the legislative membership has become commonplace at the State Capitol during the term-limits era. As these newly elected legislators prepare to take office, here are some principles of proven value for consideration:\nNot too fast, not too slow. The Legislature needs to strike a practical middle ground in how quickly it moves major legislation. Because it\u2019s a single-chamber body, the Legislature should avoid moving important proposals forward hurriedly.\nDeliberation and negotiation are vital in resolving complex state issues. Consider state aid to public schools. The school aid formula is notoriously complex. The interests of Nebraska public school districts \u2014 small, midsized and large, rural and metro \u2014 vary widely.\nThere\u2019s no way to adjust the aid formula in a responsible way unless lawmakers take time to hear from an array of Nebraska stakeholders and then negotiate carefully in an effort to balance the interests of the different school groups.\nThe advice that U.S. Rep. Jeff Fortenberry has given Don Bacon, the incoming congressman for Nebraska\u2019s 2nd District, also has value for incoming members of the State Legislature. Fortenberry recommended not rushing into making commitments to support other members\u2019 initiatives. Bacon said he appreciated that guidance: \u201cI think it\u2019s good to hold your powder dry a little bit and make sure you get both sides.\u201d\nEven as the new state senators try to avoid rushing things, they also need to be careful how often they resort to bringing movement to a halt through filibusters.\nIt\u2019s generally going to be difficult to get the 33 votes (out of 49) needed to end a filibuster, since the incoming Legislature will be divided rather evenly among conservatives, liberals and swing votes.\nBy party label, the officially nonpartisan Legislature will have 32 Republicans and one conservative-leaning Libertarian, along with 15 Democrats and one left-leaning independent.\nLook beyond your clique. Nebraska lawmakers understandably look to colleagues from their own party or philosophical persuasion, but legislative effectiveness depends on being able to work with a wide range of colleagues. Such an approach has the bonus of producing better-designed legislation that takes into the account the diversity of interests across the state.\nDon\u2019t shirk committee work. Some of the most important work in the Legislature is done in committee: analyzing proposals, deliberating over them, amending them. But in every legislative session, some senators fail to hold up their end. They\u2019re slackers when it comes to committee work, putting an unfair burden on their conscientious colleagues.\nIt\u2019s not all grand issues. Most of the work of a state senator doesn\u2019t involve sweeping, big-picture topics. The majority of bills involve small-scale items. Nonetheless, many of the proposals have value because they arise from Nebraskans\u2019 real-world concerns and needs \u2014 perhaps a problem faced by a volunteer fire department, or maybe an issue that created headaches for a school district.\nThe importance of trust. Over the years, one of the proven secrets for legislative effectiveness, regardless of party or philosophy, is an ability to earn trust from a broad range of colleagues. By contrast, when a lawmaker comes across as manipulative and self-serving, support from colleagues proves difficult to attain, and the lawmaker\u2019s district is saddled with an ineffective representative.\nSeparate branch of government. There\u2019s no reason the Legislature and the Governor\u2019s Office should automatically be at loggerheads. At the same time, they\u2019re separate branches of government. The Legislature has a duty to scrutinize executive-branch proposals closely rather than rubber-stamp them, working to produce the soundest legislation possible.\nNebraska lawmakers next year will represent a wide range of views and interests, but they all have a common interest in keeping the process on track. These principles promote that key goal.\nClick here to read the entire article.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://fortenberry.house.gov/media-center/in-the-news/omaha-world-herald-editorial-lessons-nebraskas-new-senators"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.7623729072511196, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}