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About The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 9, 1979)
friday, february 9, 1979 fathom page 3 Study: Nebraska first in more than football I By Mike Sweeney t' a ted -clad Ncbraskan suddenly raises his index finger and shouts. "We're number one." most people automatically would assume he is referring to the UNL football team. But you never know. He could be speaking of the Nebraska Legislature, ranked first in the nation in accountability and openess by a Citizens' Conference on State Legislatures study. The high level of accountability is a direct result of the state legislature's unique structure, according to Robert Sittig, associate professor of political science. Nebraska's uniqueness began in 1934, when the voters decided the number of houses theii legislature should have is like the position their football team should have in the national rankings- one is better than two. On Nov. 6, 1934, the citizens of the state voted 286.086 to 193,152 on a con stitutional amendment to break the bonds of tradition and adopt the first unicameral legislature in the country since Vermont exchanged its unicameral for a bicameral legislature in 1836. S, 'pecifically, the 1934 amendment called for a one-house legislature with 30 to 50 members elected on a non-partisan ballot. The 1935 house and senate drew up the state's districts, and the country's first state unicameral in 101 years came to session in January of 1937. Several other states have attempted in vain to follow in Nebraska's footsteps. In the years immediately following Ne braska's adoption of a unicameral, three governors-in Arizona, Minnesota, and Massachusetts-urged their states to adopt a similar amendment. But all three efforts failed, as did re solutions for constitutional amendments introduced in 21 state legislatures in the 1930s. More recent attempts have been made, Sittig said. Both Arizona and Alaska considered adopting unicamerals last year, but nothing came of their discussions, he said. Montana came close to breaking Ne braska's monopoly on one -house legislature in 1974, when a constitutional amend ment to create a unicameral failed at the polls, with 45 percent of the vote. Many people in 1934 thought the Ne braska proposal would be defeated like the many similar proposals since then. Until the vote totals were counted, no one was certain the constitutional amend ment establishing a unicameral legislature would pass. Political organizations both for and against the measure waged long, hard campaigns. Many of the arguments they made 45 years ago are valid today. E ormal opposition to the amend ment was created in the form of the Rep resentative Government Defense Lorce, John P. Senning said in his book. The One House Legislature. The defense loice argued that the amendment was "dangerous. un-American, centralized government in the hands of a lew. necessitated higher taxes, deprived people of 75 percent of their representa tives, destroyed the system of checks and balance of too many laws, and would break balances of a two-chambered legislature, encouraged the passage of too many laws, and would break down the hold which the people had over their representatives," Senning writes. All of the daily newspapers in the state rallied behind the ant i -unicameral battle cry with the exception of the Lincoln Dailv Star and the Hastings Tribune, Senning wrote. The anti-unicameral sentiment seemed so solid that practically no one believed the amendment would pass except perhaps. Senator George Norris. In the introduction to Senning's book, the celebrated senator tiom Nebraska wrote. "The ordinary person did not believe there was any show whatever for the electorate of Nebraska to adopt the proposed amendment. With the politicians, the lobbyists, the special interests, and practically all the newspapers united against such a movement there appeared to be little hope of success." H, owever, he continued, "These people were blinded to the fact that the rank and file of our people were intelligent ly and earnestly studying the question and that to study the question fairly and honestly is to reach the conclusion that the proposed change was an improvement over existing conditions." Norris and other proponents of the amendment argued that a one-house legis lature would simplify state government, create a small body of representatives high ly visible to the public, and save a sub stantial amount of money, Senning wrote. The last issue appealed to the Depression-stricken farmers of the state, accord ing to Senning. When the pros and cons were weighed by the voters, though, the voice of Sen. Norris helped decide the issue said Freder ick Lucbke, a UNL professor who teaches a course in Nebraska history. Norris was "the single most important politician in Nebraska history" Luebke said. Noris, he continued, "corked like a dog" for the passage of the amendment, making speeches in all four corners of the state. Norris may have been moved to propose the amendment to eliminate the confer ence committee which acts as a liaison be tween houses of a bicameral legislature, Luebke said. "As a U.S. senator, he had some frust rations with the conference committee," Luebke said. "If you have just one house, you wipe out the need for a conference committee." Q opponents of the amendment argued that a one-house legislature would elimin ate the system of checks and balances in the legislature. However, Norris replied "As a matter of practice, it has been developed frequently, that, through the conference committee, the politicians have the checks, and the special interests have the balances." Today, over forty years since Norris spoke those words, Sittig agrees that a one house legislature can work well without the balance of another house. Continued on page 6 'There's something to be said for a second refining of a bill but does it have to be in a second house? 1 ftpfci I nmnj . ' 1 ' jjf Stf r0 crfit csae A7C-r a W" CD" Jpl a CVTl rv-( awK & rs r Photo courtesy of the Nebraska State Historical Society The swearing-in of Nebraska's first unicameral legislature, 1937.
