LR 335 Proposes Censure to Halloran

The Nebraska Legislature's executive board held a hearing on LR335, a resolution to censure Hastings Senator Steve Halloran.

This is LR335 introduced by Senator Machaela Cavanaugh. 

The following constitutes the reasons for this bill and the purposes which are sought to beaccomplished thereby:
This resolution presents an opportunity for the Legislature to deliberate on potential censure actions against Senator Steve Halloran, representing District 33, due to his inappropriate conduct both on and off the microphone on Monday, March 18, 2024. Currently, the Nebraska Legislature lacks a clear standard of civility or a code of conduct for its members. This resolution seeks to provide a platform for the entire legislature to express agreement or disagreement with the language used by Senator Halloran. It's essential to note that a censure does not entail censorship. Rather, it signifies a collective acknowledgment by the legislative body that such language and actions are not condoned. The citizens of Nebraska are observant of the proceedings and anticipate a level of decorum that was breached by Senator Halloran on March 18.The Legislature's Executive Board will take an almost never-used step Thursday afternoon when it hears a resolution aimed at disciplining a lawmaker who used other senators' names while reading an account of a graphic rape during floor debate.

On Tuesday according to Cavanaugh, Halloran joked with senators that she watched porn on porn hub on the floor of the legislature while debate was going on on LB1092

Senator Halloran did not appear, but did submit a written transcript which was not shared during the hearing. 

Halloran said in an email Thursday that he would not attend the hearing because he didn't want to "give credence" to it. He said the process violates two legislative rules, and is an internal matter that should not be public, let alone live-streamed.

If voted out of committee, the censure resolution would be put to a vote by the full Legislature, and require 25 votes to pass.

In his written response to the resolution, Halloran said, “If I am guilty of anything, it is of working zealously to protect Nebraska’s children, exercising my First Amendment right of free speech in debate on the legislative floor.” 

Besides Halloran, John Cavanaugh and Dungan also declined invitations to testify. Halloran wasn’t present for the hearing, while Dungan and John Cavanaugh did attend. Sen. Raymond Aguilar of Grand Island, the Executive Board chair, said that only invited testifiers were allowed because the matter pertained to internal legislative affairs.  Aguilar says the hearing received 521 on line comments,  269 proponents,  251 opponents, and one neutral.

You can listen to the complete hearing.