"The rules stated that the Resolution was totally dead with no possibility of moving forward. But our team in Nebraska--both volunteers and legislators--didn't give up."
The following article was originally written by Convention of States staff and published on their site.
Just a few weeks ago, the Convention of States Resolution in Nebraska was all but finished.
After being stuck in committee for several years, one of our legislative sponsors, Senator Steve Halloran, made a daring attempt to pull the Resolution onto the floor. The procedural vote narrowly failed, and the rules stated that the Resolution was totally dead with no possibility of moving forward.
But our team in Nebraska--both volunteers and legislators--didn't give up.
In the final days of this year's legislative session, Senator Mike Flood proposed a motion to "suspend the rules" and place the Convention of States Resolution back in its original committee.
You can watch Sen. Flood's inspiring words in the video below. As Sen. Flood explains, he made the motion to suspend the rules because of the overwhelming support among his constituents for the Convention of States Resolution.
"When I walked into the North Fork public library around the time this bill came up, and there were 350 people in the room that cared about this. I saw folks in that room I've known for a long time that want to see this question answered on the floor," he said.
Thanks to Sen. Flood's inspiring words, the legislature voted overwhelmingly--30-14!--to suspend the rules and return the Convention of States Resolution to its committee!
But the team in Nebraska wasn't done yet! The committee met that same day and voted to pass the Resolution 5-4. This committee had been deadlocked, but our legislative champions and our amazing volunteers worked together to get the votes we needed to finally advance our Resolution.
Of course, we still have work to do. Now that the Resolution has passed through committee, it's ready to be considered by the Unicameral legislature in Nebraska in January of 2022. Unlike most states, which have a House and a Senate, Nebraska only has one legislative body in the state. That means that if the Unicameral passes our Resolution, Nebraska will officially join the 15 other states that have joined the Convention of States movement.
If you live in Nebraska, now is a great time to contact your state representatives and voice your support for the Convention of States Resolution--LR 14.
If you want to join the Convention of States movement and help your state join Nebraska in advancing our our Resolution, sign the petition below! We'll send a copy of your petition directly to your state representatives, which, as Sen. Flood explained, could convince your legislators to support the Article V option to rein in the federal government.