Cavanaugh filibuster on pause as Nebraska Legislature prepares to debate trans health care

LINCOLN — Floor action in the Nebraska Legislature returned to a more steady pace Thursday as lawmakers reached an agreement that could mean the end of a three-week-long filibuster.

Speaker of the Legislature John Arch announced that he and State Sen. Machaela Cavanaugh of Omaha agreed to let floor debate continue as normal Thursday, while debate on a controversial bill that was the impetus of Cavanaugh’s one-woman filibuster will begin next week. However, the agreement doesn’t guarantee a permanent end to her effort.

“I am going to take a break,” Cavanaugh said Thursday.

Cavanaugh has been filibustering as much as she can for the last three weeks, bringing the pace of action on the floor to a crawl. With the Legislature more than halfway through its session, her efforts have resulted in few bills advancing through the first of three rounds of debate, and none have entered the second round.

Cavanaugh was mainly protesting Legislative Bill 574, which would ban gender-altering care to individuals under 19. She contends that the bill “legislates hate” and targets transgender children.

She initially intended to stall progress on the bill, but Cavanaugh and her allies now want to kill it outright. They believe LB 574 doesn’t have the 33 votes it needs to pass a filibuster-ending cloture motion. The bill has 23 co-sponsors, not including its principal introducer Sen. Kathleen Kauth of Omaha.

Cavanaugh has resisted the idea that the Legislature might debate the bill for a few hours before setting it aside — not advancing it, but also not killing it. On Wednesday, she said she wanted lawmakers to vote on the measure because she wants the “bloody hands” of its supporters on the record.

“I want your vote on these bills,” Cavanaugh said.

Arch said Thursday that LB 574 will see a cloture vote. Debate will begin on the bill Tuesday, and will likely continue until Thursday. He said he spoke to Kauth about the agreement on Wednesday, and she indicated she also wanted to bring the bill to debate.

The fate of Cavanaugh’s filibuster efforts will depend on the outcome of the cloture vote. Cavanaugh said if LB 574 reaches cloture and advances to the second round of debate, she will resume her filibustering to stall its progress. If the bill is killed, she said, she will not continue her filibuster.