New State Senators Begin Orientation

By: Melanie Bloom - Email

Updated: Wed 6:15 AM, Nov 14, 2012

Click here to learn more about the Nebraska Legislature

The newly elected state senators are in orientation this week at the Nebraska State Capitol.

The senators began orientation on Tuesday and will learn the ropes of the legislature until Thursday at noon.

They started Tuesday morning in the legislative chambers with a history of the unicameral and an overview of how the legislature works.

The freshmen senators also dined together in a separate meeting room.

Tuesday afternoon, they toured the building and learned their way around all the winding halls.

On Wednesday, the lawmakers will meeting with a committee to learn more about the legislative process.

Senator-Elect Kate Bolz said that she is enjoying learning all of the new information.

"We really got a sense of the history of the chamber and how the body works from some of the former speakers and then we got a sense of what it means to be a unicameral, which is unique and special in Nebraska," said Bolz.

Senator-Elect Al Davis of Cherry County said that he hopes to learn how to juggle all the different topics that his district covers.

"It's the largest district in the state with 21% of the geographic area. We have the railroad, ranching, farming, so I think I have a lot of interests to balance out, so this is going to be a good training format, for that," said Davis.

The freshman class of senators will join the 103rd legislature when they convene on January 9, 2013.