Eliminating one legislative house in 1937 cut government costs. The number of legislators went from 133 in the two-house system to 43 in the unicameral – nearly a 70 percent reduction.

Also, the one-house system was more efficient than the two-house system. The last bicameral session in 1935 ran 110 days, passed 192 bills and cost $202,593. The first unicameral session two years later ran 98 days, passed 214 bills and cost $103,445.

Checks and balances

Critics said that with a unicameral legislature, there would greater potential for abuse of power. Norris argued that the state Supreme Court could still issue rulings on laws passed by the Legislature, and the governor would still be able to veto bills he or she did not believe would make good law.

More importantly, Norris said, citizens would have the right to vote for members of the legislature and to place issues on the ballot. Also, the Unicameral would have easy-to-follow rules and allow greater access to the press so the public would be more aware of its legislature's activities, he said..

No conference committee

Two house legislatures use a conference committee, a committee of members from both houses, to work out differences between two different versions of the same bill passed in both houses. Norris said that conference committees often did their business in secret, something that would not happen in a one-house legislature.

In Nebraska's old two-house legislature, once a bill came out of the conference committee, it could not be changed, only approved or rejected. Today in Nebraska, lawmakers may propose amendments to bills and debate them outside of committee on the floor of the legislature in public.

Some say a two-house system with its conference committee prevents legislation from being passed too quickly. But the unicameral system protects against this possibility. Most bills must get a public hearing; there must be at least five days between a bill’s introduction and its passage; and bills can contain only one subject.

Nonpartisanship

Another unique aspect of Nebraska’s legislature is that it is nonpartisan. A nonpartisan legislature is one whose members are elected regardless of what political party they belong to. National political party beliefs, Norris argued, often have little to do with local government. A voter who votes according to his or her party beliefs might vote for a state candidate with whom he or she disagrees on matters over which the senator will vote on.

Norris worked to eliminate partisanship in the legislature because he believed that elected officials would stand on their own records. Nonpartisanship would allow lawmakers to base their actions on their own beliefs and the needs of their districts, rather than according to party beliefs.

Nebraska a model

Movements for one-house legislatures have existed throughout the United States since the nation’s independence. There were several pro-unicameral movements in the state before one finally succeeded. The same year the Nebraska Unicameral began operating, attempts in 21 other states to become one-house legislatures failed.

Despite its efficiency and effectiveness, Nebraska remains the nation's only unicameral state legislature. That's not completely surprising, however, according to the first clerk of the Nebraska Unicameral Legislature, Hugo Srb. Srb predicted that lawmakers in other states would not want to legislate their own jobs out of existence.