The second session of the 104th Legislature adjourned sine die April 20.<\/p>\n
Eleven senators are leaving the Legislature due to term limits, among them Kearney Sen. Galen Hadley, who has served as speaker for the last two sessions.<\/p>\n
Hadley commended his fellow lawmakers for their work\u2014particularly under the time constraints of a 60-day session\u2014on issues such as prison reform, roads funding and property tax relief. <\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s been a very quick 60 working days,\u201d he said. \u201cBut we, I do believe, accomplished a lot.\u201d<\/p>\n
Hadley noted that not all of the senators\u2019 priority bills were debated this year, but 76 priority bills were passed into law. The Legislature passed 216 bills in total this session, he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI regret very much the inability to meet my goal of hearing all the priority bills,\u201d he said, noting that this session saw 24 cloture votes\u2014nearly twice as many as the year before\u2014to cut off attempts to filibuster legislation.<\/p>\n
However, Hadley encouraged senators to be patient in their legislative goals. He noted that some major policy priorities\u2014such as the state\u2019s concealed carry law, which he said took a decade to enact\u2014cannot be achieved in one session.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have to learn to take little bites of bills as we go along,\u201d Hadley said. <\/p>\n
In his remarks, Gov. Pete Ricketts also congratulated senators on their work this session, noting progress on several major issues such as providing $450 million to accelerate the state\u2019s long-delayed expressway system and to address failing bridges and other infrastructure needs.<\/p>\n
Ricketts praised lawmakers for working to successfully control state spending while funding effective and efficient essential services for Nebraska residents.<\/p>\n
\u201cI know that you care about our state because you sacrifice so much to serve the people of Nebraska,\u201d he told senators.<\/p>\n
The governor also lauded the Legislature\u2019s action on tax reform this session, including working with his office to provide $20 million in additional property tax relief to farmers and ranchers.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe can look back upon the work that we\u2019ve done together this session and be very pleased with the progress we\u2019ve made doing the people\u2019s work,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
The first session of the 105th Legislature is scheduled to convene Jan. 4, 2017.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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