NE: Legislative Speaker answers Cavanaugh filibuster by moving up long nights of legislative debate
LINCOLN — Speaker of the Legislature John Arch on Tuesday spelled out the first price he will exact for the persistent filibuster by State Sen. Machaela Cavanaugh of Omaha and others slowing the legislative session to limit how much legislation gets discussed.
Arch announced that he would start scheduling floor debate into the evening hours two weeks sooner than planned, on Tuesday March 28. That is the first session day after public hearings on legislative bills are completed. Nighttime floor debate had been expected to start no sooner than April 11.
“This approach will prevent us from getting to many of our priority bills, but it will not dictate which bills those will be,” Arch said of the filibuster. “Both sides of the difficult social issues have stated their positions with little room for compromise … but I’m not giving up.”
Cavanaugh has said she plans to filibuster every bill, measure and gubernatorial appointment until conservative senators in the majority stop pushing for a handful of priority bills aimed at limiting the rights of trans students at school and further restricting women’s access to abortion.
https://www.newsfromthestates.com/article/legislative-speaker-answers-cavanaugh-filibuster-moving-long-nights-legislative-debate%C2%A0
