LINCOLN- It's been almost a year now since Sen. Mike Groene resigned amid allegations of workplace misconduct, and the Nebraska Legislature has still yet to adopt ethics changes intended to curb future scandals. Although the Legislature's Executive Board prepares to vote on a list of recommendations made months ago by an interim ethics committee, lawmakers are split on whether or not the suggested changes are sufficient.

Groene, who resigned after news broke that he had taken photos of a former female staff member without her knowledge, spurred the creation of the interim ethics committee, which was tasked with considering ways to prevent such misconduct in the future. Sen. Wendy DeBoer, however, who was vice chair of the committee, said the Groence incident was only the "catalyst" for the review.

Well before the Groene incident, DeBoer stated that she had heard similar concerns from staffers and fellow senators, but news about Groene only raised the level of awareness surrounding such issues. Sen. Jen Day, who took office in 2021, also stated that she had been warned about a culture of misogyny in the Legislature and confirmed that she had seen signs of it. "At some point," said Day, "It's going to have to be dealt with." The ethics committee previously voted to approve 11 recommendations for the Executive Board, and Sen. Briese said he expects the board to approve even more recommendations by the end of session in June.

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