Lawmaker looking to lighten up Capitol's legislative chamber

Jan 18, 2024

'We need to fix the lighting'

'We need to fix the lighting'

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'We need to fix the lighting'

Some Nebraska lawmakers say it's time to "lighten up."

But they're not talking about their colleagues.

They said the Capitol building is too dark, and in some cases, dangerous.

"I don't know who is in charge of lighting. Obviously, no one," state Sen. Steve Erdman said recently.

His comments seemed to add another grievance bugging lawmakers during this contentious legislative session.

"Go down to Menards or Home Depot or Lowes and buy some LED lights and put the bulbs in here so we can see," Erdman said.

He said the lighting in the chamber, hallways and stairwell is too dim.

"This isn't 1927. This isn't the lighting we had with incandescent bulbs," Erdman said.

But rather than divide, Erdman's passionate pleas found a common glow across the aisle.

"Sometimes I have trouble seeing. I think we should have led lights. This is ridiculous. Let's get LED lights. I join in his call," state Sen. Wendy DeBoer said.

She was joined by state Sen. Jane Raybould.

"It's no pun intended. A light bulb went off in my head, too," Raybould said.

"Wow, we have something in common and this was our moment. I couldn't agree with Sen. Erdman more," Raybould said.

She said she nearly fell in the stairways and had to hold the handrails.

"It gets really, really dim and dark in this building. And I know we're trying to be true and adhere to the historic relevance and majesty of the building. We need more lighting," Raybould said.

We checked with the Nebraska State Patrol.

A spokesperson said Capitol Security has had 21 medical emergencies in the past year, nine have been in the staircases. It's unclear how many were due to falls.

"I mean, just yesterday, I tripped up the stairs," DeBoer said.

Acting Capitol Administrator Brett Daughtery said the lights have been switched to led in the Legislative Chamber, hallways and stairwells. But he said wiring limits how bright they can get.

Erdman isn't convinced.

"We need to fix the lighting. And if you go down to the end of this hallway, there's one bulb in there. That's brighter than all the rest. So I don't tell me you can't change them," Erdman said.

Over the past two weeks, lawmakers have worked well in the evenings several times, the lights just one more thing testing their patience.

"If you can't see, it's hard to read. It's hard to do things," Erdman said.

Another complaint is about some burned-out lights in the parking lot on the south side of the Capitol.

The Nebraska Department of Administrative Services said the Clerk of the Legislature reported the issue to them April 13. But there is a four to six-week back order. It should be fixed in the next couple of weeks.

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