Florida’s Legislative Framework against Nebraska

Florida’s Legislative Framework against Nebraska

 There are fifty states in the United States. Each state has a government that is structured according to the individual state constitution. Also, the law in each state is based on Article IV, Section 4, republican principles, and Clause 1 of the United States Constitution that obligate the federal government to ensure that each state government is structured (Zimmerman 188). This essay compares the legislative framework of Florida and that of Nebraska.

Lawmaker Composition

Apart from Nebraska, the other states in the United States have a bicameral legislature.  A bicameral legislature consists of two distinct legislative chambers or houses; the House of Representatives and the Senate. The Senate or the Upper house is referred to as the small house. Although not every single time, the Senate has the authority of approving appointments made by the governor and also impeachment of articles. Members of the upper house serve for a longer-term and represent more citizens in comparison to their counterparts. Usually, the members of the larger chamber serve for two years. Also, they possess the power to initiate articles and taxing legislation to be impeached.

The Legislature in Nebraska and Florida are each different, as Nebraska is unicameral while Florida is bicameral (Winscosin 199). Thus, this means Florida legislature comprises of two houses that consist of the House of Representatives and the Senate, both acts as the Legislature for the state. Since 1996, the republicans have been in control of these two chambers. This Legislature has 160 members, 40 in the Senate and 120 in the House of Representatives. Moreover, members of these houses are limited to eight years when consecutive. However, there is no limitation in the number of terms a member has to serve. Thus one may run later after sitting out two terms.

Partisanship

Unlike Florida, there is only one house in Nebraska State as it is unicameral; the Senate. Nebraska is a der waals forcessate compared to the other United States since it is both non-partisan and unicameral; no other state has either the unicameral or non-partisan legislative body. Originally, Nebraska had a bicameral legislature similar to the other United States, but the lower house was abolished after a referendum that becomes active immediately after the 1936 elections (Montag 366). Now, there is only one-chamber Legislature referred to as the Nebraska Legislature. Its members are still referred to as the Senators. Among all the states, the Nebraska legislature is the smallest, as it has only forty-nine members.

Elections

The elections in Florida are partisan while in Nebraska are non-partisan. Being a non-partisan means that Nebraska conducts a single non-partisan primary election. In this type of election, only two top votes get the opportunity of contending in the general election. However, Florida, which is partisan, embraces different primaries in its elections, in which they are organized to elect Democratic, Republican, and any other partisan contenders for a seat. Within the Legislature, Nebraska doesn’t have any formal party groups or alignments. For the last hundred years, Florida has adopted and used the Electoral College block to any candidate who wins the elections (Palast 540). This means the elections are based on a winner-take-all approach by upholding the electoral votes against the presidential tickets. This approach used in Florida is very reasonable as it fully utilizes the significance of the presidential election process. The winner-take-all approach provides each presidential candidate with a form of the Electoral College alliance. This form creates a platform for the candidate to increase the chances of the solemnity of the candidate with their concerns. A candidate is perceived as the leading vote-getter when the candidate gets the Electoral College votes for each congressional district. Usually, the remaining state electoral college is complimented to the winning candidate.

The major difference between Nebraska and Florida is that the candidate that wins the election is guaranteed to win the majority of the state’s voters in Nebraska. For instance, there are three congressional districts and five Electoral College votes. Thus, a winning candidate either gets three to five state electors or all the five states.  However, in Florida, the winning candidate may win the statewide vote, regardless of losing the entire congressional district (Polsby 51). If such a scenario happens, the winning candidate only achieves eight out of the 20 electors. Typically, this comprised of two of the winning statewide and six districts.

Secondly, there are big differences in the proposals between Florida and Nebraska. For instance, the plain partisans created by the plans in Florida have finally changed to voter rules. The rules set by the partisan allows only one individual to have one vote.  However, this has created problems for the citizens since the ID laws that are used have unduly strict requirements that diminish the voice and vote of the demographic groups that twist the democracy. On the other hand, Nebraska’s rules are established on the district-by-district approach that allows five electors to move the conventional of other states on a winner-take-all foundation. Thus, this indicates Nebraska rules are the contrast of Florida rules (Donovan 122). All states were rationalized to be one using the Nebraska rules that utilizes the voice of the state.

Ethics and Transparency Framework

The ethics and transparency framework in Florida and Nebraska differ when they are compared through an annual report titled “Following the Money.” This report was released by the United States Public Interest Research Group, a consumer-focused non-profit organization. The report assessed how accountable and transparent state websites carried out the spending in regards to the state government. As a result, Florida acquired a numerical score of 95 and a grade of A. In terms of transparency, the report indicated Florida was leading on state spending. However, Sunlight Foundation released an Open Legislative Data Report Card in March 2013; the report awarded Florida a grade C in public reports relating on how complete, accessible and adequate legislative was to the general public (Bounegru 154). This lead to Florida’s legislators not being authorized to have additional paid public employment during their terms. Additionally, Florida needs disclosure of financial interests from property holdings, outside income, and business associations.

On the other hand, Nebraska was given a numerical score of 87 and a grade B+ based on the accountability and transparency of the state websites by the report of “Following the Money.” This indicated Nebraska was advancing in relation to transparency regarding state spending. Nebraska state has ethical regulations that don’t permit it to have any additional paid government employment during the time in office. Additionally, it requires disclosure of financial interests for property holdings, outside income, and business association (Kearney 201).

Sessions for Legislature Meetings

In addition to transparency and ethics, Florida and Nebraska differ in terms of sessions. Article III of the Florida Constitution defines the time for legislative meetings in Florida. It indicates the regular session should be conducted annually on every first Tuesday, after the first Monday of March. Also, these regular Legislature sessions shouldn’t go beyond sixty days, and it’s only through an extension by a three-fifths vote of each house can it do so. Usually, the committee activity should start in September of each year before the regular session. The Legislature organizes an organization session and select officers in fourteen days after the general election (Allembarte 91). This is carried out with an aim to enhance their bills through the committee before the formal session. Section 3 allows the convening of special sessions, which can be as the law provides or by the proclamation of Florida’s Governor.

In the  Florida Legislature, the speaker heads the House of Representatives while the President heads the Senate. The Senate President and the House Speaker have the power over the leadership positions and the framework of the committees, and also the agenda in the respective chambers. The Governor of Florida works closely together with the House Speaker and the Senate President to control all the programs for the Florida state business. Contrary, the Nebraska Legislature sessions last for sixty business days for years that are even-numbered and ninety business days for years that are odd-numbered.

Committee Structure

Article III of the Nebraska Constitution defines the time required for each session in the Senate. Section 10 of Article III states that the Senate is to meet every first Wednesday after the first Monday in January. Also, sessions in the Senate can be extended by a four-fifths majority vote in any year. Usually, the speaker is mandated to preside over the Legislature in the absence of the Lieutenant Governor. The Executive Board is in charge of the daily work of the body. The Executive Board includes a chairperson, the speaker, six senators, and vice-chairperson. The chairperson and Vice-chairperson are selected by the Legislature as a whole, for a two-year term.

The classification of senators is based on three geographically based caucuses. Each of the caucuses is accountable for the choice of two board members. The chairman of the Appropriations committee only speaks on fiscal issues and thus not certified to vote on any matter (Longo 192). In Nebraska, the Legislature has the power to make laws in the state, but the governor has the power to reject whichever bill. However, a vote of three-fifths of the legislature members can overturn the veto by the governor. Also, through a three-fifths vote of the members, the Legislature has the power to propose a constitutional amendment to the voters. Then through a referendum, these voters make a decision.

Budgeting

Each year, the Florida Constitution requires the Florida Legislature to pass and develop a balanced state budget. Usually, the process of budgeting is an annually-rounded project that comprises significant steps that should be followed; in the first step of the budgeting process, budget instructions are sent to the state agencies by the governor. Normally, this occurs in July of the year before the beginning of another fiscal year.  In October, the governor is provided with the budget requests from the agencies.  The state agencies conduct the budget hearings in September.   In both January and September, public hearings are held, then a proposed budget is submitted in February to the state legislature by the governor. Finally, in either April or May, the budget is approved by the government, this budget is valid for the fiscal year that begins in July. However, a majority vote is required to pass this budget.

Nebraska state legislature operates on a biennial budget cycle (Hildreth 46). The budgeting process follows the orders of key events; the first phase comprises the sending of the Budget instruction procedures to the state agencies in July. The governor is then provided with the requests by the agencies in September. Public hearings and agency hearings are then held in January and February. Then, on or before the 15^th of January, the governor submits the proposed budget to Nebraska State. Finally, a majority vote in the Senate adopts the budget in May.

Successes of Florida and Nebraska

For many years, the Florida state Legislature has been successful. The state universities are one of the notable successes of the Florida state. The state university system in Florida is successful due to performance funding. Performance funding was implemented by the Board of Governors in 2014. It focuses on rewarding continuous improvements and excellence in metrics annually. This includes student retention, graduation rates, and student success. Each year twelve public universities in Florida are funded with $225 million by the legislator and the governor to support these achievements. Since then, Florida’s graduation rates have grown to become among the highest in ten of the major states. The State University System has been experiencing a massive gain in six of the eight performance metrics. This has led to setting standards for university efficiency, excellence, and accountability.

This year, the Florida legislators successfully included a raise for the state employees. The board pay rise has not been received for the last eight years to the state employees. The Nebraska state legislature managed to stop the LB 943 that was to increase the minimum wage. This was a significant vote for both economic liberty and for the young people (Guido 145). Such amendments would narrow down the possibility of the minimum wage hike, which would reject small businesses. The win over further price controls on wages is very important to Nebraska citizens.  Most of the people in Nebraska below the age of twenty-four earn a minimum wage. Thus, the defeat of further price control is very beneficial to this young population. It’s evident that young people in this age gap find the short-term wage employments with an aim to gain experience, which will facilitate their productivity and growth. After gaining experience, young individuals are now qualified to get a higher-paying job.

Failures of Florida and Nebraska

The Florida Legislature may have many failures, but one of the key failures is the defeat in passing the Worker’s Compensation Reform in the 2017 session. The bill was not passed because Florida’s Supreme Court disordered the state’s worker’s compensation system; this resulted in an increasing rate of 14.5%. Similarly, the Nebraska Legislature was unsuccessful in implementing permanent rules after an important fight, which exposed the hindrances about partisanship (Kearny 122).  Also, the legislators were unable to reject a bill to reinstate ex-felons. This year, it failed to pass a bill that would offer the desired property tax reform. The Nebraska Legislature has, over the years, failed to pass tax reform bills that would provide Nebraskans with immunity from the most oppressive tax regimes in the United States. For instance, such a bill was meant to stop the increases in the Nebraskans property tax bill, and also many constituents overpoweringly favored the reform. The Chairman of Reform for Nebraska’s Future has chosen to let the Nebraskans to vote for the reform or against it by going to the ballot.

Future Changes

Future changes between Florida and Nebraska are important for the United States future. The Florida Legislature is adopting transportation innovation with future transportation preferences such as the focus on shared flexibility. As a result of the increase in autonomous vehicles on our roads, there is a bright future of ridesharing. Also, it is now targeting pensions with the aim of reducing the number of public workers in the traditional pension fund of the state. The Appropriation Committee authorized the bill to default the school new system workers, state, higher education, and county into 401k. This is a type of investment plan that encouraged a specific request on hiring using the traditional pension (Aman 137).

On the other hand, the Nebraska Legislature is looking at cutting key increases in future spending. The most remarkable bill was the LB 887 Medicaid expansion bill. In the Nebraska budget, 40% of the budget is, or the Appropriations for the Department of Human and Health Services, and Medicaid will be receiving half of it (Montag 378). The state spending is highly affected by the slowing growth of the unsustainable Medicaid Program. The Nebraska Legislature is dedicated to cutting off future spending relating to overcrowding in prison. This will enhance the safety of the public in the process. Over the years, the taxpayers have been exposed to expensive lawsuits due to the overcrowding of the state correction facilities, yet these facilities aren’t effective as they should be expected in protecting the public.

Conclusion

There are few differences between the Florida Legislature and Nebraska but are very notable. Florida being bicameral and Nebraska being Unicameral marks the major difference between the two states. However, the two-state Legislatures have similarities in the passing bill process; the only difference in the process is the majority of votes required to pass the bill. The Florida Legislature requires the two houses to provide majority votes in the process while Nebraska Legislature has only one house, the Senate, to pass the bill. The two legislature have had success as well as setbacks in their individual states. For instance, Florida’s decision to invest in the State University System has led them to be termed the top of the best states with the highest rates of graduation and the best quality of education. On the other hand, Nebraska managed to stop a possible increase in minimum wages successfully. Both state legislature is determined to improve their states. However, in regards to hefty tax and compensation imposed on the citizens, Florida and Nebraska should put more efforts. Both Legislature can impact positively on their citizens by cutting on budget spending and using new technological innovations. This will relieve the citizens with the burden of unaffordable healthcare and paying high taxes. With progress in time, new challenges appear, and thus legislators are responsible for mitigating them.

Work Cited

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D’Alemberte, Talbot. The Florida State Constitution. Oxford University Press, 2017. 78-125.

Donovan, Todd. The Limits of Electoral Reform. OUP Oxford, 2013. 100-288.

Guido, Paul. Revised Statutes of Nebraska: Comprising All the Statutory Laws of a General Nature in Force at Date of Publication, Parts 24-28. Revisor of Statutes, 2014. 122-244.

Kearney, Richard C. State and Local Government: The Essentials. Cengage Learning, 2011. 199-350.

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