LINCOLN, Neb. — A filibuster has halted the Nebraska Legislature’s consideration of a proposal requiring two-person train crews within the state, the news site Nebraska Examiner reports.
The filibuster, carried out over parts of three days, stalled the bill when a Friday vote was unable to obtain the 33 votes needed to invoke cloture, the motion to end debate. The vote was 24-19 in favor of cloture.
The bill, proposed by state Sen. Mike Jacobson (R-North Platte) had advanced out of committee earlier in the week [see “Two person crew bill advances …,” Trains News Wire, Feb. 1, 2024]. Jacobson argued that LB 31 would increase safety, but the Examiner reports opponents argued there is no proof two-man crews increase safety, that the legislation interfered with a matter for labor negotiations, and that it interfered with interstate commerce.
…That should be FEDERAL Railroad Administration.
In the Nebraska Examiner article quoted, perhaps the most important fact mentioned is that a nationwide requirement for two-man crews is now pending before the National Railroad Administration.