A bill to shed light on the secret legal settlements of local governments and political subdivisions in Nebraska has advanced to the full Legislature for debate.
On a 6-1 vote, the Government, Military and Veterans Affairs Committee this week sent to the floor State Sen. Beau McCoy’s Legislative Bill 742.
The bill calls for increased disclosure and transparency of confidential legal settlements that involve public funds.
“This is a very, very, important issue for Nebraskans,” McCoy said. “I think the bill going forward really will establish a new level of transparency in our government, which I think the citizens of Nebraska demand.”
McCoy proposed the bill in response to a secret legal settlement The World-Herald uncovered in Papillion last year involving former Mayor James Blinn and his former administrative assistant. The Omaha senator has since made it his priority bill.
Papillion and its insurance carrier paid $200,000 plus 18 months of health insurance premiums to the former administrative aide, an ex-girlfriend of Blinn’s. In return, she agreed to leave her city post and never discuss her sexual harassment allegations against Blinn — who resigned without giving a reason.
Supporters and opponents of the original bill have met and hammered out a compromise in the committee amendment.
The bill, as suggested for amendment, would require any public entity or private company that provides liability insurance coverage to a public body to maintain and treat as public records all settled claims.
Any claims settled for $50,000 or more would trigger a new requirement for the generation of a new public record, a document that would include a brief description of the claim, the amount of compensation and the parties involved.
The original legislation set no baseline settlement amount for triggering the generation of the new public document.
Specific items set out in the state’s public records laws as excluded from the public domain could be withheld, but confidentiality or nondisclosure clauses would not block the public’s access to any settlement.
Some public agencies, including the Metropolitan Utilties District, had objected to the original bill, contending that they routinely settle cases with homeowners for hundreds of dollars and said the bill would create an unnecesary backlog. Those agencies have since come around.
State Sen. Bill Avery of Lincoln said he’s pleased with the end result, a bill that could come up for discussion next week.
“It advances accountability, transparency and openness in government,” he said.
“In some examples, it is a very sensitive area, and there is a natural tendency not to want to disclose everything. There might still be another amendment offered, but it won’t be something to derail this. We have all worked so hard on this language.”
Contact the writer:
444-1056, john.ferak@owh.com
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