LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) – Nebraska’s nonpartisan, one-house Legislature has turned 75.
Lawmakers honored the anniversary Friday as a hallmark achievement of the late U.S. Sen. George W. Norris, who campaigned for an end to the state’s traditional two-house, partisan Legislature.
Voters approved a constitutional amendment to adopt a Unicameral system in 1934. Its first members convened on Jan. 5, 1937.
Supporters of the system argued that a one-house Legislature would be cheaper, more efficient, and make it impossible for lawmakers to hide their actions in conference committees. Critics worried that the system would concentrate too much power in the hands of too few lawmakers.
Nebraska is the only U.S. state with a one-house Legislature, although Guam and the Virgin Islands also use the governing system.