Biennial legislative sessions proposed

The Legislature would discontinue annual sessions and instead meet only in odd-numbered years under a proposed constitutional amendment heard by the Legislature’s Executive Board Feb. 4.

Annual sessions of the Legislature are set forth in the state constitution. Unless extended by a four-fifths vote of the Legislature, sessions in odd-numbered years have a maximum length of 90 legislative days, while sessions in even-numbered years can last up to 60 legislative days.

LR44CA, introduced by Omaha Sen. Pete Pirsch, would eliminate the 60-day sessions in even-numbered years. If approved by 30 senators, LR44CA would be sent to voters for approval during the 2012 general election.

Pirsch said LR44CA would increase the pool of candidates willing to run for legislative seats and provide cost savings from reduced operational expenses. Pirsch explained that Texas, a state of 24 million people with a bicameral legislature, is an example of a state where the legislative body meets every other year.

“They encounter a plethora of complex issues that probably surpasses — because of the vastness of their state and population — those issues we encounter, and they do so with a two-body legislature instead of a simple unicameral,” Pirsch said.

Should the Legislature need to convene in an even-numbered year, Pirsch said, a special session could be called.

The proposed constitutional amendment also would change the first day of the session from the first Wednesday after the first Monday in January to the first Wednesday in February.

Pirsch said the selection of February for session commencement was due to the winter weather conditions that senators often face in January. Driving times for senators can double, he said, and important votes may be swayed due to a weather-caused absence.

“One or two absent or tardy senators can change the results of committee votes,” Pirsch said, “and snow days can make finding a quorum and receiving 25 votes on occasion difficult.”

No one testified in support of or in opposition to LR44CA, and the committee took no immediate action on the proposed constitutional amendment.