Conference Committees in the Nebraska Legislature

Extract

In his campaign for a unicameral legislature in Nebraska, Senator George W. Norris cited the necessity of conference committees as one of the chief evils in the bicameral system. To Senator Norris, the conference committee is often a “third house” of the legislature, where a small group of men, working in secret and enjoying great parliamentary advantages, so modify bills in dispute between the two chambers that the will of the majority is defeated.