LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — The Nebraska Legislature has kicked off its 2015 session with an expected focus on property taxes and the state’s scandal-plagued prison system.

The session that began Wednesday morning will be the first for 18 new state senators, accounting for more than one-third of the Legislature.

Lawmakers will also elect a new speaker and committee leaders to replace those who left office due to term limits, or who are seeking another committee assignment.

Prison reform will be a top issue because of overcrowding and mismanagement within the Department of Correctional Services, including the early release of hundreds of inmates.

Gov.-elect Pete Ricketts will be sworn into office Thursday. He’s promised to lower property taxes for Nebraska farmers and ranchers, who pay the third-highest property taxes in the United States.