LINCOLN — A contentious legislative session that drew national attention, including fights over abortion, gun rights, school choice and transgender care, dominated Nebraska politics in 2023.

Those are among the top five political stories of 2023, as selected by the staff of the Nebraska Examiner:

A stricter abortion ban, but less strict than initially sought

Conservatives in the Legislature fell one vote short of passing what they call a “heartbeat bill,” which would have banned abortions after an ultrasound detects embryonic cardiac activity, or at about six weeks gestational age.

But later in the session Gov. Jim Pillen and legislative leaders revived the issue, crafting a new ban at 12 weeks gestational age and combining it with legislation limiting gender-affirming health care options of trans minors. State law had previously banned abortion at 20 weeks after fertilization.

Lawmakers passed the combined measure, Legislative Bill 574, after days of protests. After the vote, legislative action was disrupted by people in the legislative chamber’s gallery shouting and throwing tampons and pads onto the legislative floor.

The vote was so close that in order to help overcome a filibuster, State Sen. Julie Slama of Dunbar, who was sick and pregnant, left the hospital to help the bill pass.

Abortion rights advocate Opponents of abortion restrictions pledged to fight back. They are gathering signatures for a potential ballot initiative to put the right to an abortion in the Nebraska Constitution.

Transgender health care 

LGBTQ Nebraskans and allies fought LB 574, with many rallying around a session-long filibuster by Omaha State Sens. Machaela Cavanaugh and Megan Hunt that grabbed national attention.

Medical experts and parents testified about the risks of suicide facing trans teens and the value of gender-affirming care. Hunt told stories about the difficulties facing her trans son.

Cavanaugh pleaded for her colleagues to consider the damage they were doing to an already vulnerable group of Nebraskans.

Senators expect her filibuster to lead to a lengthy fight over legislative rules in the next session, including possible discussions about lowering the threshold for ending debate.

State Sen. Kathleen Kauth and other supporters of LB 574 argued that some of the hormones and surgeries being offered to trans minors carried risks, were sometimes irreversible and should wait until patients were adults.

Opponents of LB 574 have pledged legal action against the bill’s restrictions on health care for trans minors, once they see the full scope of how the state implements its provisions.

Concealed carry without a permit 

The Legislature passed State Sen. Tom Brewer’s Legislative Bill 77, his years-long effort to allow concealed carry of handguns in Nebraska without a permit or state-mandated training.

Brewer and Pillen touted standardizing gun regulation across the state and affirming the Second Amendment rights of Nebraskans.

The mayors and police chiefs in Omaha and Lincoln pressed Brewer to change the bill’s language, which sharply curbs the authority of cities to restrict guns more stringently than the state.

The chiefs also testified that the stricter local ordinances helped them get gang-related guns off city streets. This fall, cities acted again to restrict guns further, arguing that such restrictions would make residents safer.

Gun rights groups responded by filing lawsuits against the Cities of Omaha and Lincoln, arguing their continued efforts to restrict guns on city-managed or owned properties defy state law.

School choice legislation 

State Sen. Lou Ann Linehan of Omaha, who chairs the Revenue Committee, passed what she and Pillen described as the state’s first significant school choice legislation.

The Opportunity Scholarships Act provides dollar-for-dollar tax breaks to people who donate funds for private K-12 school scholarships.

Opponents of the bill, including unions representing Nebraska’s public school teachers, criticized its price tag. The bill initially sets aside $25 million a year in tax credits.

That number eventually could grow to over $100 million a year. Public school advocates said draining state coffers that way risks leaving less money for public education and other priorities.

During the debate, many argued that Nebraska would follow the path of other states that started with similar scholarship plans and eventually adopt a broader school voucher plan.

Linehan and school choice defenders, including representatives of faith-based schools, have argued there is value in giving parents more choices than just public schools.

Opponents led a successful petition drive over the law, which means voters will get a chance in 2024 to weigh in on the Opportunity Scholarships Act.

Ricketts’ appointment to U.S. Senate

Pillen drew some political heat for picking his predecessor as governor, Pete Ricketts, to replace former U.S. Sen. Ben Sasse. Sasse vacated the seat to lead the University of Florida. All three are Republicans.

Some in the GOP had argued that Pillen should pick a placeholder candidate and let Nebraska Republicans and Democrats run for an open seat in 2024.

Privately, some questioned whether Pillen was paying back his political patron. Ricketts had drawn criticism for aggressively backing Pillen during the 2022 GOP primary race for governor.

Pillen said that wasn’t a factor. He said he wanted a conservative willing to run for the remainder of Sasse’s term in 2024 and then run again for a full term in 2026. 

He picked Ricketts from 111 applicants. Thus far, Ricketts’ only announced challenger in the 2024 Senate race is former 1st District House candidate John Glen Weaver, a Republican.

Honorable mentions

Lincoln Mayor Leirion Gaylor Baird, the state’s highest-profile elected Democrat, faced an onslaught from Nebraska Republicans but soundly defeated State Sen. Suzanne Geist for re-election.

State Treasurer John Murante resigned to take a job leading the Nebraska Public Employees Retirement Systems Board. Pillen replaced him with State Sen.

Tom Briese of Albion.U.S. Rep. Don Bacon, R-Neb., faced anger from some in the GOP for opposing Ohio Rep. Jim Jordan for House speaker and for supporting an impeachment inquiry against President Joe Biden after previously opposing it. Bacon said that he didn’t like how Jordan treated another speaker candidate, Steve Scalise, R-La., and that he voted for the impeachment inquiry because the administration had stopped providing documents to investigators. 

Nebraska Attorney General Mike Hilgers ruffled feathers in the Legislature with an opinion seeking to limit the independent authority of legislatively created inspectors general over agencies in the executive branch.

Nebraska Examiner is part of States Newsroom, a network of news bureaus supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Nebraska Examiner maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Cate Folsom for questions: info@nebraskaexaminer.com. Follow Nebraska Examiner on Facebook and Twitter.