THE NOBLE EXPERIMENT
A History of Nebraska's Unicameral Legislature
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A History of Nebraska's Unicameral Legislature
Among fifty state governments, forty-nine adhere to the bicameral tradition inherited from the British Parliament and the United States Constitution.
Nebraska alone operates a unicameral, nonpartisan legislature.
Following the Declaration of Independence, three states rejected bicameralism: Pennsylvania, Georgia, and Vermont.
"A bicameral legislature is like a wagon pulled by horses in opposite directions." — Benjamin Franklin
The Pennsylvania experiment lasted only 14 years before instability forced a return to two houses in 1790.
Vermont operated with a unicameral legislature for 60 years, proving the system could function in an agrarian society.
In 1836, driven by political factionalism and the desire to conform, Vermont adopted a Senate. Unicameralism vanished from America.
For nearly a century, the "federal analogy" reigned unchallenged. Every new state, including Nebraska in 1867, arrived with two houses.
Progressives viewed bicameralism as a mechanism of obfuscation allowing special interests to manipulate legislation.
Between 1910 and 1920, governors in Arizona, California, Kansas, Minnesota, Washington, and South Dakota recommended unicameral systems.
In Nebraska, John N. Norton planted the seeds in 1915.
The Maverick from McCook
"The constitutions of our various states are built upon the idea that there is but one class. If this be true, there is no sense or reason in having the same thing done twice."
A "New Deal Republican" who despised partisanship, Norris identified the Conference Committee as the "Third House"—a secret body where lobbyists rewrote legislation in the dark.
His solution: Abolish the second house entirely.
Drought. Bank failures. Rock-bottom crop prices.
Nebraska's agricultural economy collapsed.
The people demanded relief and rejected the expense of government.
"Rubber and Glass Diplomacy"
NEBRASKA VOTES FOR CHANGE
Every bill must receive a public hearing. No committee chair can "pigeonhole" legislation. The people themselves act as the check on power.
By the 1960s, districts drawn in the 1930s gave rural voters vastly disproportionate influence. Urban Omaha and Lincoln were severely underrepresented.
The Supreme Court's Reynolds v. Sims mandated redistricting based strictly on population.
Legislative seats migrated from the western panhandle and central sandhills to the eastern I-80 corridor.
Today: The majority of senators represent Omaha and Lincoln metro areas.
This demographic reality continues to fuel urban-rural tension.
Moved from biennial to annual sessions. 90 days (odd years), 60 days (even years).
Raised from $400/month to $1,000/month ($12,000/year). Still the salary today.
33 votes required to end debate. This threshold fundamentally altered legislative strategy.
Senators limited to two consecutive four-year terms (8 years total).
"I will burn the session to the ground." — Senator Machaela Cavanaugh
A small group of progressive senators launched an unprecedented session-long filibuster, blocking every bill to stop LB 574 (gender-affirming care restrictions).
When a "heartbeat" abortion ban (LB 626) was amended into LB 574 as a 12-week ban, the session exploded.
Dozens of priority bills died. Relationships essential for a nonpartisan body were shattered.
Ninety years after its birth, the Unicameral stands at a precipice.
"Can a system designed for a nonpartisan agrarian society survive in an era of hyper-partisan industrialized politics?"
The vision of George Norris—a transparent, efficient, nonpartisan body—remains structurally intact but culturally besieged.
The test endures.