Cindy Gonzalez and Paul Hammel
LINCOLN — State Sen. Justin Wayne of Omaha says a trio of his legislative proposals would shake up the state’s criminal justice operations and save hundreds of millions in local tax dollars.
“The only way we can really achieve fairness in our judicial system and, honestly, provide property tax relief, is to change the way our system works,” said Wayne, who is chair of the Legislature’s Judiciary Committee.
Two of the proposals were introduced on Friday in the Nebraska Legislature.
One, Legislative Bill 996, would have the State Department of Correctional Services take over operation of all county jails across the state, thus shifting the cost away from local property taxes and to the state.
Cities that use county jail services would instead pay the Corrections Department, rather than county governments, for the cost of keeping prisoners. The state would provide equipment and supplies and maintain the facilities. Jail workers would become state employees.
Seen to shave costs, create efficiencies
Earlier this week, Wayne introduced LB 963, which would eliminate the elected position of county attorneys and their deputy county attorneys.
Instead, those duties, in 2025, would be performed by “district” attorneys, to be assigned by the Nebraska Attorney General. Those lawyers would be full-time employees of that state office, thus shifting the funding of those offices to the state.
Wayne expects his proposed changes related to county attorneys and county jails would create more efficiencies, shave costs and lead to property tax relief.
He said that moving those operations from 93 individual counties to the state could translate into millions of dollars in taxpayer savings.
Another Wayne proposal, LB 994, calls for the control and management of the state corrections system to be placed under the Nebraska Legislature, not the Governor’s Office.
Details have yet to be ironed out, Wayne said, including whether the Legislature might assign management oversight to an independent board or to the Parole Board.
“But what we’re doing right now isn’t working,” he said.
‘It raises concerns’
Wayne said he knew of two recent cases of inmates “jamming out” of prison without having gone through sufficient rehabilitation. Each had spent a considerable amount of time in solitary confinement. Wayne said his fear was seeing another Nikko Jenkins scenario.
Jenkins is on Nebraska’s death row, having been sent there for killing four people in a 10-day span within a month after his release from prison without undertaking rehab efforts.
“It raises concerns about how we are transitioning people back to our communities,” Wayne said.
Wayne said he was also nudged by the impact that a recent Attorney General’s opinion has had on the Legislature’s oversight of prison operations.
The AG in that non-binding August opinion, argued that legislatively created inspectors general offices of corrections and child welfare unconstitutionally infringed on the powers of executive branch agencies by having unfettered access to their computer records and properties.
Since then, state agencies have obstructed the inspectors general from getting information.
Wayne believes the Nebraska Constitution already gives the Legislature authority over state penal institutions. “In my opinion, we are just taking back control.”
K-12 school security
Among other bills introduced Friday is one introduced Fremont Sen. Lynne Walz that would allocate $45 million for safety and security projects in K-12 schools.
Walz, a former teacher, secured $10 million for such grants last year to harden doors and windows at schools and to provide surveillance equipment, but she said the demand has far outstripped the funds.
“There are so many schools who need to have their schools hardened. There are some schools who don’t have locked front doors,” the senator said.
LB 1008, which is co-sponsored by Lincoln Sen. Danielle Conrad, would provide grants for both public and nonpublic schools.
The Legislature’s top budget official, Elmwood Sen. Rob Clements, chair of the Appropriations Committee, has said there aren’t a lot of state general funds to spend this year, because of the need to finance the increased school aid passed last year.
But Walz said “the safety and health of our students should be our No. 1 priority over everything else.”
Helmet law clarification
Blair Sen. Ben Hansen introduced LB 1004 to clarify the bill he got passed last year to allow motorcyclists to ride without a helmet if they passed a state safety course and wear some kind of eye protection, such as goggles or a windshield.
This year’s bill clarifies that passengers on the motorcycle can ride without a helmet if the driver has passed the course.
It also states that non-Nebraska residents can ride through the state without a helmet and without passing a safety course.
Hansen said law enforcement had raised concerns about enforcing the new law on nonresidents and, conversely, interest by tourism promoters to encourage more out-of-staters to drive through the state en route to the massive Sturgis, South Dakota, motorcycle rally each August.
The senator said LB 1004 would help tourism in the state.
He added that if an out-of-state biker got in an accident in Nebraska, the expenses for their care would be borne by their home state.
The bill also allows those who have obtained a state motorcycle license and passed a Motorcycle Safety Foundation three-hour Basic eCourse prior to May 1, to ride without a helmet if they provide proof of that to the state Department of Motor Vehicles.
Lottery winners’ anonymity
Winners of state lottery prizes of more than $250,000 could remain anonymous under a bill introduced by Plymouth Sen. Tom Brandt and 12 other senators. Only with written permission could their identity be revealed under LB 1000, which is similar to past proposals on the subject.
Currently, winners can request that their names not be publicized, but if there is a public records request for the winner’s name, it must be disclosed as a public record.