LINCOLN- According to Sen. George Dungan, 2023 marked a "trial by fire" for the group of lawmakers who entered Nebraska's latest legislative session as freshman just months after their election night wins. "I think, historically, Nebraska and the unicameral has avoided a lot of these hyper-partisan fights that we've seen at the national level in D.C., as well as a lot of the other statehouses," said Dungan, "by virtue of the fact that our system is focused on just trying to help and kitchen table issues."

"This last session, I think, was different," finished Dungan. Although the Legislature ultimately passed hundreds of pieces of legislation through "Christmas tree" bills this past session, the acrimony that consumed its initial months has prompted several senators to seek rule changes ahead of the upcoming 60-day session. While it's still unclear what fate such proposed changes might meet come January, the Lincoln lawmakers entering their second sessions are seeking a return to normalcy.

"My hope is that, over the interim, everyone took a moment to step back and say, 'That was ugly. Let's do better. Let's be better.'" said Sen. Carolyn Bosn. All of Lincoln's delegation insisted that they do not intend to spend another session opposing one another. "We should not be a Republican-Democrat Legislature. We should be focused on how we grow Nebraska and work on issues that are important to our constituency," said Sen. Beau Ballard, "We can find common ground on 80, if not 90, if not 95 percent of issues."

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