LINCOLN - In his latest legislative column, State Sen. Bob Hallstrom says his bill involving Uber and DoorDash drivers was the first to face a filibuster in the 2025 session.

Sen. Hallstrom says LB229 defines the employment status of drivers as independent contractors. It received four hours of filibuster.

A vote to end debate was delayed for a late-arriving state senator and was timed before another senator had to leave. The bill advanced to final reading.

Here is the senator’s column

 

Week 7 Newsletter

With one-third of the 2025 Legislative Session having been completed, bills continue to advance from committees for processing. Public hearings for bills will continue through the end of March.

On Friday, the first bill that I introduced (LB72—Controlled Substances Update) received final approval and has been sent to the Governor for his signature. Also, this week, LB 340, a bill that relates to litigation involving asbestos received a public hearing. The bill requires plaintiffs to disclose claims for harm caused by asbestos products. Disclosure of such information will address the disconnect that exists between the trusts set up for asbestos lawsuits and civil justice systems and help speed up trust payments to claimants. Similar bills have been added in multiple states in recent years.

Another bill which I introduced, LB 229, became the first bill of the session to face a filibuster by the opposition. LB229 defines the employment status of drivers for platforms like Uber and DoorDash. The bill specifies the nature of their employment as independent contractors rather than employees of the company. Opponents of the bill used the full four hours allowed on Select File to attempt to filibuster the bill. Thirty-three votes are needed to invoke cloture, which ends debate and moves the bill to a vote. If thirty-three votes cannot be attained, the bill essentially dies.

A lot of interesting things happened during the LB 229 filibuster. On the day we faced the cloture vote, we had to wait for one senator who was arriving late, and we had to hurry before another senator had to leave. In the end, the bill received the 33 votes required to advance to Final Reading. Passing a bill on Final Reading is the last step before the bill can get signed into law by the Governor.

This week also showed the unusual things that can happen during the course of a session. Two competing bills, LB 34 and LB 302, were debated on the floor back-to-back. LB 34 addressed adopting year-round Daylight Savings Time, while LB 302 proposed completely adopting Standard Time. This has become an annual debate, and the conversation is generally nonpartisan. Many senators would like to see a change made, but we want to make sure we are in compliance with surrounding states, and that we take into consideration the needs of our work force, such as western Nebraska ranchers. Under such unusual circumstances, both bills advanced from General File, allowing for continued debate on both measures.

 I welcome your input on issues of interest and importance to you. I encourage you to follow along on my Facebook page designated as Senator Bob Hallstrom, for updates on legislation and District 1 activities. Please feel free to contact me directly at Senator Bob Hallstrom, District 1 State Capitol, PO Box 94604, Lincoln, NE 68509; Telephone (402)471-2733; or email me at [email protected].