BROKEN BOW – The Broken Bow Rotary Club was given a little extra to chew on at its monthly lunch meeting on Wednesday at noon. Roughly 20 Rotary members gathered in Melham Medical Center’s Conference Room A over lunch to listen to former Senator Matt Williams dish out exactly how legislative sausage is made.
Williams walked the room through the legislative process, from introduction to law, wagering that by the end of the hour, most, if not all, of the attendees would be smarter than a 4th grader.
“The reason I say that is because 4th grade is the year our students get exposed to Civics 101. It’s a really fun time to be a senator because, throughout the spring, classes from across the state come to the capital. Some of you may remember that from 4th grade, and oftentimes I talk to people later, and that trip is the only time they’ve been to the capital.”
Williams started by illuminating a misconception regarding Nebraska’s famous, perhaps not-so-singular legislative body, the Unicameral.
“Those of us involved say that we actually have a second house: the people. It’s unique in our system that every single bill introduced actually has a public hearing, so people are engaged and have an opportunity to come and share their thoughts and opinions on issues.”
Sure enough, it was the people of the Broken Bow Rotary Club who, after digesting the meat and potatoes of the process, brought forth their own thoughts and opinions as Williams opened up the floor to a question-and-answer session.
Topics ranged from explaining “priority bills,” of which, Williams calculates, a guaranteed 88 will reach the senate floor this session, to the confidentiality in the drafting of bills, to lobbyists; Williams, with a wave of his several terms of legislative experience, dispelled more than a few clouds surrounding that often mistrusted occupation.
“The one thing I didn’t understand until I was in the legislature is that a lobbyist in Nebraska can’t afford not to be a straight shooter with senators, because a lack of trust or confidence in that role would just destroy a lobbyist immediately. Of course, that doesn’t mean they won’t tell you the other side of the story.”
Williams also offered advice to hypothetical new senators, also useful to those just looking to help govern their own lives a little more effectively: stay humble, and look before you leap.
“Right when you walk in the door, take off your political hat, and don’t make a commitment too soon on issues, because you don’t know what you don’t know when you start the job.”
