Even Nebraska’s nonpartisan Legislature is divided from acrimonious 2023 session

By MARGERY A. BECK
Associated Press

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Nebraska has the country’s only single-chamber, nonpartisan legislature, and state leaders have long held up the unique system as an example of efficiency that rises above hyperpartisan politics. But this year’s acrimonious session may have changed that. The session began with conservatives still stinging from 2022 losses on bills to ban most abortions and to loosen gun regulations so they packed legislative committees, angering progressives. That anger came to a head when a bill by a freshman conservative lawmaker to ban gender-affirming care for transgender minors led a group of left-leaning lawmakers to filibuster nearly every bill up for debate — even ones they supported.