Nebraska State Constitution Article III-11

Article III-11

III-11.

Legislative journal; vote viva voce; open doors; committee votes.

The Legislature shall keep a journal of its proceedings and publish them, except such parts as may require secrecy, and the yeas and nays of the members on any question shall at the desire of any one of them be entered on the journal. All votes shall be viva voce. The doors of the Legislature and of the committees of the Legislature shall be open, except when the business shall be such as ought to be kept secret. The yeas and nays of each member of any committee of the Legislature shall be recorded and published on any question in committee to advance or to indefinitely postpone any bill.

Source

Annotations

When journals of both houses of Legislature and signature of Governor each clearly show the passage of an act in a certain definite form, the undisputed mistake of an enrolling clerk will not be allowed to defeat the act. State ex rel. Ball v. Hall, 130 Neb. 18, 263 N.W. 400 (1935).

A bill duly certified as having passed both houses of the Legislature and approved by the Governor imports verity and its passage can only be overthrown by the journals of the Legislature showing affirmatively that it was not passed in manner prescribed by the Constitution. State ex rel. Loseke v. Fricke, 126 Neb. 736, 254 N.W. 409 (1934).

Electric roll call device answers constitutional requirements of "viva voce" vote in Legislature. Day v. Walker, 124 Neb. 500, 247 N.W. 350 (1933).

Procedural action by the Legislature in passing on appropriation bill is prescribed, in part, by this section. Elmen v. State Board of Equalization and Assessment, 120 Neb. 141, 231 N.W. 772 (1930).

Legislative journals are the best evidence of what affirmatively appears regarding enactment of the law. Webster v. City of Hastings, 59 Neb. 563, 81 N.W. 510 (1900).

Certificate of presiding officer of branch of Legislature, that bill was duly passed, is mere prima facie evidence of that fact. Evidence may be received to ascertain whether or not bill actually passed. Webster v. City of Hastings, 56 Neb. 669, 77 N.W. 127 (1898).

It is not competent to impeach proceedings of Legislature by contradicting journals, and facts proper to be inferred from approval of Governor and adoption of bill by officers in House and Senate. In re Granger, 56 Neb. 260, 76 N.W. 588 (1898).

Federal district court would not abstain from deciding whether state banking statute was properly adopted by Nebraska Legislature where analysis of the applicable Nebraska case law left no doubt that such statute was invalid. Nebraskans for Independent Banking, Inc. v. Omaha Nat. Bank, 423 F.Supp. 519 (D. Neb. 1976).