Got the number?

Lincoln Journal Star | By JoAnne Young and Nancy Hicks on November 15th, 2009

Technology appears to be changing the access that lobbyists and the public have to senators on the chamber floor, in committee meetings and possibly even executive sessions, where the rules limit onlookers to media.

Quite a few of the senators pull out their cell phones, Blackberries, Palms or iPhones during meetings and floor debates. Lobbyists and the public can’t come onto the floor, but if they’ve got the number, they can text a message.

Spouses, parents and children can monitor speeches on the floor and call in advice.

On Friday, Sen. Dennis Utter of Hastings apologized during floor debate for appearing to look angry when speaking on the school aid bill.

He prefaced his remarks: “These cell phones are a remarkable thing.”

Shortly after he finished an earlier speech on the floor, he said, his wife sent him a text saying: Don’t look so angry.

“I was trying to look serious,” he said. “I guess there’s a fine line between angry and serious.”

Omaha Sen. Heath Mello said he gets texts from people while he’s sitting in meetings. And he uses his phone to instant message his staff for information.

Lincoln Sen. Tony Fulton, who is an avid technology user, is well connected – to Facebook, Twitter, youtube, LinkedIn, Plaxo.

He texts to let people know what’s going on at the Legislature, or to do an instant poll to get feedback, he said.

“You can learn a lot, like going door to door,” he said. “It’s the future. That’s the way people are going to communicate quickly.”