Eleven Nebraska senators request special session to address racial, social issues

Just two weeks after the legislature wrapped up a short session, a group of legislators are hoping to go back to work on new laws surrounding social and racial injustices.

Eleven senators delivered the petition to hold the session Tuesday, and are now hoping to get 22 senators on board to make it happened.

The senators heading the charge said the legislature failed the state in its short session by not addressing the issues Nebraskans are facing right now.

Protesters have been marching in the streets in Lincoln, and across the country for months asking for change.

So when the legislative session didn't bring any change, Black Lives Matters activists like Dominique Liu-Sang were disappointed.

"It felt like we weren't being heard," Liu-Sang said.

Now, Liu-Sang has hope. She stood with the senators as they requested the special session that would solely focus on racial and social justice, as well as the fallout from COVID-19.

Senator Megan Hunt, who signed the letter, said these issues can't wait until January.

“All of us senators are here to serve our constituents to serve them we need to address the problems they face when they face them,” Hunt said. “They should not have to wait for us to do their jobs.”

Senator Machaela Cavanaugh, said none of the legislation passed in the short session address any of these problems, partly because the rules set in place.

“We could have suspended our rules, we could have introduced new legislation and worked on it if we had made it priority,” Cavanaugh said. “But it takes political will to do these things, these are big things and they’re hard things and we didn’t have that. The governor and the body were singularly focused on tax relief and tax incentives.”

Cavanaugh hopes that since that legislation has been passed, they can get the 33 votes needed to get a new session and address these issues.

Liu-Sang said she's pleading with the senators to say yes.

"Listen to your people," Liu-Sang said. "If you aren't, what are you doing as governor, what are you doing as senator. Are you doing the job you were elected for, that's my plea. Do the job you were elected for."

The senators have 10 days to decide.