LINCOLN - As the Nebraska Legislature approaches a July 20 restart to finish its last days of the 2020 session, six senators met virtually Wednesday to discuss remote meeting or voting options.

The COVID-19 pandemic caused the Legislature to call a halt to its session in March, except for three days of gathering to pass emergency COVID-19 funding for the state.

Lincoln Sen. Patty Pansing Brooks earlier sent a memo to her colleagues saying the Legislature should make accommodations for those senators who don't want to come to the Capitol when it meets again. One senator, Mike Moser of Columbus, was hospitalized for five weeks with COVID-19.

Some states have allowed proxy votes, enabling senators to have another member vote on their behalf. Nebraska Speaker Jim Scheer said at Wednesday's meeting he was not in favor of that. "We were elected by a district to represent a district and the state, and (proxy voting) circumvents your district having its voice in the process," he said.

The Rules Committee was told that this year, legislatures in at least 23 states changed their rules or statutes to allow for remote participation of some kind during the COVID-19 emergency. Those states included Colorado, Minnesota, New Mexico, Oklahoma, South Dakota and Wyoming.

Crawford said Wednesday's conversation was more about whether the Rules Committee should debate and discuss rules changes for January or future sessions. The speaker and clerk have worked hard to make this month's session safe, she said, although rules could be changed, if needed and feasible, she said

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