Court Opinion

ID: 9706560
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-26 01:46:29.399655+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T18:22:23.627339
License: Public Domain

Lanphier, J.,
concurring.
The majority holds that L.B. 507 violates the Nebraska Constitution. In so holding, the majority states that a legislature cannot restrict the constitutional power of a succeeding legislature to legislate. I agree that a legislature cannot limit the discretion of subsequent legislatures to revise, amend, or repeal an act. 1A Norman J. Singer, Statutes and Statutory Construction § 22.02 (5th ed. 1993). There are, however, qualifications. Succeeding legislatures are barred from interfering with contractual obligations already made even if they result from acts of a prior legislature. State ex rel. Douglas v. Nebraska Mortgage Finance Fund, 204 Neb. 445, 283 N.W.2d 12 (1979). I fear the majority’s use of broader language than is necessary may call into question the enforceability of valid obligations created by prior legislatures.
Caporale, J., joins in this concurrence.