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Nebraska Legislature opens second day, Speaker Arch outlines training, calendar and key deadlines
Summary
On the second day of the 109th Nebraska Legislature, Speaker Arch asked members to populate calendars, announced mandatory training and set public hearing and bill-deadline dates; the body then moved to introductions and recessed for inaugural ceremonies.
The Nebraska Legislature convened its second day in the George W. Norris Legislative Chamber, and the presiding officer, Speaker Arch, set the session calendar and procedural deadlines for senators and staff. He said the pages would distribute a memo and that offices would receive the same by email, urging members "to use this memo to populate your calendar."
Why this matters: the schedule and training items announced at the outset establish the timeline for committee hearings, floor debate and legislative priorities this session and signal the leadership’s expectations for member availability.
Speaker Arch told senators that required harassment training and senator orientation would take place Monday, Jan. 13, and that, to accommodate training, the chamber would convene at 1 p.m. that day. He set public hearings to run from Wednesday, Jan. 22, through Friday, March 28, with full-day floor debate beginning March 31 after committees finish. He also asked senators to keep session evenings beginning April 22 open for potential late-night or evening business.
The presiding officer announced two upcoming statewide addresses: Governor Pillon’s State of the State on Jan. 15 and Chief Justice Fuchs’ State of the Judiciary on Jan. 28. Leadership reminded senators of priority bill procedures: priority bill requests must be submitted by adjournment March 13, and speaker designations will be announced March 17.
Senator Lippincott, chair of the Rules Committee, walked senators through the process for adopting permanent rules for the 2025–26 biennium, saying proposed rule changes must be drafted by the clerk and that requests to the clerk (Metzler) should be filed by 1 p.m. that day to guarantee a draft for introduction on Friday. Lippincott said the rules committee intends to hold a public hearing on Jan. 16 at 1:30 p.m. that will consider only rule changes introduced prior to adjournment on Friday.
After the announcements, senators were asked to bring forward new bills for introduction and the clerk began reading a long list of legislative bills and memorials. The session recessed for inaugural ceremonies after a motion to do so carried by voice vote.
