It will be Day 70 in the Legislature on Tuesday following a four-day legislative weekend.
With 20 more to go in this odd session dominated by a conservative majority and slowed to a crawl by a minority filibuster.
Now comes the appropriations package and the tax reduction bills and school funding reforms and implementation of voter photo ID, all tumbling onto the agenda.
And more.
In a legislative chamber where relationships have moved beyond tense and are hovering somewhere between strained and shattered, this session's biggest decisions are about to be made.
The conservative Republican majority in the nonpartisan Legislature is likely to get most of what it wants in the end, although the scuttling of Sen. Joni Albrecht's abortion restriction bill was a huge and unexpected setback.
Only the filibuster stands in the way of the majority — but it can prevail only when there is a united Democratic minority, which sometimes has been hard to achieve.Â
They're rounding the curve for a 20-legislative day battle to the end now.
Budget priorities, the shape of dramatic tax reductions, school aid reform, tax exemptions for donations to private schools, construction of a new state prison, voter photo ID implementation.
Buckle up.
* * *
Drama in the legislative chamber is always good.
And last week's abortion bill showdown delivered the goods with tension building inside the legislative chamber as the roll call vote came down to Sen. Justin Wayne, the next to last name on the alphabetical list.
Pause. Long pause. Not voting.
Wayne joined Sen. Merv Riepe on the brief not-voting list that trapped Sen. Joni Albrecht's proposal, triggering its removal from this legislative session's agenda.
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There was celebration in the Rotunda by opponents of the proposed new restriction.
And immediate strategizing by supporters on how to get that bill back on the agenda for a second high-pressure vote.
* * *
After signing legislation that allows concealed carrying of handguns in Nebraska without a permit or mandated safety training, Gov. Jim Pillen stated in a column: "This bill is just the first step in what can be a transformative legislative session for our state.
"Together, we will continue to protect our constitutional freedoms and promote our common sense, conservative values.
"We are just getting started," he said.
* * *
Finishing up:
* Big-time competitive election for mayor of Lincoln on Tuesday.
* Speaking to school children who were touring the Capitol last week, Pillen said it's not the grade that matters, it's the effort that matters, and a couple of teachers nodded their heads.
* Legislative filibusters are more painful without poetry and song, previously provided by Ernie Chambers, senator and showman.
* Speaker of the Legislature John Arch's inclusion of criminal justice reform as a topic that might be squeezed into the collection of big issues that need to be addressed in the final weeks of this legislative session has to be good news for senators and former senators who have worked vigorously for reform.
* While the session-long filibuster has slowed this legislative session to a crawl, senators will be able to end up acting on all of the most consequential policy proposals, the speaker says. But, no doubt, legislative rules are going to be changed as a result of this year's experience to ease the pain and perhaps speed the process.
* It's transfer portal time in the new world of semi-pro college football and Casey Thompson is gone. Hope he lands where he wants. Hate to see him go, but he has earned another starting role. And a protective offensive line.
* And here comes May; who could ask for anything more?
Photos: The business of governing in Nebraska in 2023