Unicameralism in Nebraska

AN: This was written in 15 minutes, to fulfill an assignment about the unicameral legislature in Nebraska.
Clearly.
It's approximately two pages, for those who are curious.

Unicameralism in Nebraska

It is a wide known fact that Nebraska boasts a unicameral legislature. What is lesser known is that it was once a bicameral legislature. This system was abandoned in favor of only having one house for several reasons.

            The biggest reason for reform was discontent with the bicameral system. Bills were never completed because the two houses couldn’t agree on terms, and the joint-committees who worked on them met in secret, making them unaccountable for their actions. They were easily influenced by lobbyists as well, and had a great deal of power.

            George Norris, who was a New Deal Republican, campaigned heavily to abolish the bicameral system and implement a unicameral legislature. He argued that the bicameral system was outdated, inefficient, and unnecessary. Part of his argument was the fact that the bicameral system was based on the British Parliament, composed of the House of Commons, made up of elected representatives and the House of Lords, and composed of nobility appointed by the King. Norris argued that if in America there was only one class, then they shouldn’t have two different groups of people as the British did, doing the exact same thing.

            A common argument against the unicameral system was that with one house, it’d be easier to fall to corruption and that the bicameral system existed in part to implement checks and balances. Norris argued that the Supreme Court and the governor already acted as checks and balances. More importantly, he stated, the people would be a check and balance. The new house would have simple, easily understood procedures, and the press would be given greater access, making officials more accountable for their actions.

            Another argument against the unicameral system was that there would be hasty legislation with only one house. However, there were safeguards implemented to prevent this. Five days had to pass between a bill’s introduction and its passage, and all bills had to have a public hearing. Bills could also only include one subject.

            The unicameral house was implemented in 1937, with almost 300,000 votes for, opposed to nearly 200,000 votes against. Norris, the Depression, and other issues had a great effect on this vote. After the unicameral house was implemented, the legislative membership went from 133 to 43 (a 70% reduction). The number of committees was reduced from 61 to 18, and nearly twice as many bills were introduced in their first session, almost double the number that had been proposed in the last session of the bicameral legislature. The last bicameral session lasted 110 days, cost $202,600, and passed 192 bills. The first unicameral session lasted 98 days, cost $103,450, and passed 214 bills.

            Another benefit to the Nebraska system is non-partisanship. Party membership has no effect on election procedures, and elections are determined by popular vote, rather than the common Republican versus Democrat system.

            At least 21 other states have expressed interest in a unicameral system, but it is doubtful that they will implement such a change. After all, as Hugo Srb (the unicameral house’s first clerk) said, why would lawmakers want to legislate their own jobs out of existence?

Works Cited

Nebraska Legislature. “History of the Nebraska Unicameral.” 2013. Web. Mar 29 2013.