Nebraska Legislative Speaker Jim Scheer of Norfolk defends the legislature’s protracted debate on rules.

Lawmakers took a third of the 90-day session to debate the rules, only to…in the end…revert to the old rules.

Scheer says any evaluation of the time taken on rules needs to be put into context. . .

Scheer says the toughest task taken on by the legislature this year was the state budget.

Scheer says it was tough for lawmakers to work in an atmosphere of declining state revenue. . .

In the end, lawmakers approved 700-Million dollars in cuts and the transfer of 170- million dollars to fill the budget hole.