LINCOLN - The speaker of the Legislature notified state senators Monday he intends to call them back into session beginning July 20 to work on state budget changes, priority bills, and property tax cuts.

His decision, Speaker Jim Scheer said, was based on the current belief that the COVID-19 cases will have peaked by that time and that it will not surge again midsummer as restrictions are gradually loosened. If everything goes as planned, the session would run through Aug. 13. The plan is to meet two full weeks in July, Aug. 3-6, and Aug. 11-13.

However, Speaker Scheer has made it clear that he can alter the dates for unforeseen challenges. Because there are a number of priority bills to debate in the 17 remaining days, including adjustments to the 2020-21 state budget, Scheer is scheduling late-night sessions, sometimes as late as 10 p.m., except for the last day of each workweek.

Procedures used in March when the Legislature met for three days to pass emergency COVID-19 funding will be continued. Those included no media on the floor of the Legislature and no notes coming in from the lobby.

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