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LINCOLN — Concerns over the constitutionality of a proposal to make former Husker football coach and former U.S. Rep. Tom Osborne eligible for the Nebraska Hall of Fame led state lawmakers to broker a deal to broaden the original measure sought by Gov. Jim Pillen, a former NU player.
Lawmakers briefly debated the measure Thursday in an amendment State Sen. Dan Lonowski of Hastings tried adding to Legislative Bill 596. The rest of the bill is a package from the Government, Military and Veterans Affairs Committee that generally seeks to modernize state law regarding legal notices.
Lonowski introduced LB 1159 this year as a standalone proposal to make Osborne eligible while he’s still alive. Its exception to state law would let Osborne be inducted as the only living member of the Hall. The bill advanced out of committee in a 7-0 vote last week, but it was unlikely to be debated this year because no senator designated it as a priority bill, a step that increases a measure’s chances of reaching the floor. Under state law, members of the Nebraska Hall of Fame must have been dead for at least 35 years.
Lonowski’s amendment to LB 596 would have replicated the language of his bill, laying out four requirements for the carveout that, as written would only apply to a single living person, Osborne:
- The person must be a prior member of the U.S. House of Representatives;
- Be a former head coach of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln football team;
- Have served as athletics director of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln; and
- Have attended Hastings High School
The proposal has drawn broad support. But not all lawmakers agreed Lonowski’s amendment was the appropriate way to honor Osborne.
State Sen. Megan Hunt of Omaha, who sits on the Government, Military and Veterans Affairs Committee, was absent from the vote to advance LB 1159 but said she would have voted against it.
Hunt argued Lonowski’s proposal was unconstitutional special legislation. That term in the Nebraska Constitution prohibits the Legislature from passing measures that, among other things, grant an individual “any special or exclusive privileges.” Basically, senators can’t write a law for one person.
Hunt said she believes Osborne would inevitably be inducted into the Hall under current state law, when he is eligible, but she argued creating a special exception for him could “tarnish” the honor.
“I think that the stars in our eyes and our admiration for this man is kind of blinding us to the fact that under our Constitution we cannot actually do this,” Hunt said.
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State Sen. Danielle Conrad of Lincoln agreed with Hunt and said Lonowski could solve the constitutionality concerns by broadening the criteria applied to all new inductees to the hall. Lonowski said he is interested in separate legislation to lessen the amount of time a new inductee must be deceased.
State Sen. John Fredrickson of Omaha said that Lonowski’s amendment, written without a severability clause, could have jeopardized the rest of the broader package if the provision gets successfully challenged in court.
“Not trying to be sour grapes here, but this is a blatantly unconstitutional piece of legislation,” Fredrickson said.
Lonowski argued Thursday that Osborne doesn’t just meet, but exceeds the qualifications to be deserving of induction to the hall. He listed Osborne’s work on youth mentorship programs as an example, and named him “an enduring icon of college football,” leading the Huskers to three national championships.
For these reasons, Lonowski argued the Legislature shouldn’t make Osborne and his family wait over 35 years for his induction.
“He deserves to enjoy the celebration of his induction into our great state’s Hall of Fame,” Lonowski said.
There are now 27 members of the Hall, each with busts displayed in the Capitol. The last inductee was slain civil rights leader Malcolm X, an Omaha native whose bust was installed in 2024 after a years-long fight to include him.
Roughly 30 minutes into debate, Conrad filed a motion questioning the germaneness of Lonowski’s amendment. Lonowski said he considered his amendment germane due to a connection to the Nebraska Historical Society, which is addressed in other portions of LB 596.
During discussion on the motion, Conrad and Lonowski agreed to collaborate on a new amendment to LB 596 in the measure’s second round of debate that addresses the constitutionality concerns.
Lonowski said he understood why his amendment would be viewed as special legislation. During debate, he acknowledged that LB 1159 was specifically tailored for Osborne and later said it was meant to “promote one of Nebraska’s best citizens.”
“In a way, it obviously is (special legislation),” Lonowski said of the measure.
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