Unlike Neal Obermeyer, I generally support Sen. Mike Friend's
proposal to shorten the Unicameral session. Currently, sessions are 90 days in odd-numbered years, and 60 days in even years. Friend would knock that down to 60/40.
I don't know if 100 days over two years is the right number, but I like the basic idea. The less time the Unicameral is in session, the fewer opportunities they have to get themselves in trouble. But that idea is subject to diminishing returns as sessions get shorter. At some point the sessions get "too short". I don't know where that point lies.
One of my primary concerns with regard to session length is preserving opportunities for public input and reaction. If the sessions are cut too short, we risk creating an atmosphere that encourages rushing, and when rushing occurs lots of problems develop: laws are less carefully crafted; the public has less opportunity to track the legislative process; lawmakers vote on legislation they aren't familiar with; and so on.
Neal's cartoon mocks the notion that State Senators might have a life outside the legislature. Intentionally or not, his cartoon makes an argument for the professionalization of the Unicameral. Nebraskans, however, have long supported "citizen legislators". Indeed, anti-professionalism sentiment is largely what drove the push for term limits in the Unicameral. The same sentiment has kept Nebraska's legislative pay low for so many years.
There are many benefits to professionalization, not least of which is the build-up of institutional knowledge and expertise within the legislative body. There are also many pitfalls: look to Congress for myriad examples of how professionalization can breed corruption. The ideal body would be professionalized and corruption-free. Good luck finding one of those.
I wonder what proportion of Nebraskans applaud Neal's cartoon. It is logically inconsistent to demand our legislators be citizen legislators while simultaneously applauding a cartoon that mocks their desire to do just that. How many Nebraskans realize that by laughing with Neal they are laughing at themselves?
Again, that's not to say that Sen. Friend's 60/40 proposal is great. I'm just saying that it wouldn't make sense for a state in which the "citizen legislator" is king to mock a proposal on the grounds that it will make it easier for legislators to also be citizens. On the other hand, the mockery may make perfect sense for a guy like Neal; I don't know him personally, but I doubt he would put himself forth as an example of the prototypical Nebraskan on this or pert near any other issue.