Legislative gymnastics getting a tad elaborate to pass controversial bills

“When there’s a will, there’s a way.”

That was a phrase that surfaced regularly at the end of state legislative sessions. It referred to the hope that bills that appeared dead might be resurrected.

Somehow, someway – like the zombie in a horror movie that would never die – some of those bills came back to life and were passed.

Again, when there’s a will, there’s a way.

That was the case at the end of the tumultuous 2023 session of the Nebraska Legislature, when filibusters were a daily routine, not an occasional tactic to block passage of a bill.

In one corner was a “heartbeat” abortion ban, w...