Nebraska advances bill codifying legislative oversight role dealing with executive branch agencies

Speaker John Arch of La Vista listens to State Sen. Danielle Conrad of Lincoln. Aug. 2, 2024. (Zach Wendling/Nebraska Examiner)
LINCOLN — The Nebraska Legislature inched Wednesday toward clarifying the legislative branch's legal authority to provide oversight of how the executive branch spends the people's money, including how it handles children and adults under state supervision.
Lawmakers advanced Legislative Bill 298 by voice vote. The measure, sought by Speaker John Arch, would create a new Division of Legislative Oversight and a new Legislative Oversight Committee. LB 298 would place the Ombudsman's Office, also known as the Office of Public Counsel, in the new division.
'We need information in this Legislature to legislate and appropriate,' Arch said, adding that senators require more information to do its job well than relying on news reports.
State Sen. Eliot Bostar of Lincoln emphasized the need to dig deeper independently of reporters and the state auditor. He had wanted to add new employees who monitor spending by all levels of government as a job, an amendment that failed 7-22.
'We do not have adequate oversight over all of the levels of government, over all of the governmental bodies, over all of the political subdivisions in the State of Nebraska,' Bostar said.
Senators spent much of the debate arguing about how specific the bill should be about response times for requested records from the agencies under the governor's control.
Some also discussed the origins of the debate, whether senators need to pass a new law in response to a non-binding legal opinion in 2023 from Attorney General Mike Hilgers.
State Sen. Danielle Conrad of Lincoln has argued the Legislature should have sued the executive branch and let the courts decide the limits of legislative oversight.
Conrad has argued that Arch and the Legislature should not accept an executive branch interpretation of the limits of legislative power that lacks the power of law. It is, she said, an opinion.
Evolving fix for Nebraska legislative oversight faces continued resistance
'I strongly disagree with how legislative leadership reacted to the attorney general's political opinion, which undermined our undeniable ability to conduct legislative oversight,' she said.
On Wednesday, Conrad argued that if the Legislature was going to proceed on codifying its oversight role, it should specify a timeline for record requests and responses.
She said her overarching goal was making sure that the state agencies that the Legislature funds understand that lawmakers are watching how they work, that 'the agencies are on notice.'
Arch responded that he agreed with her that a time may come when the Legislature has to set a number of days but that the experience under a memorandum of understanding has been good.
He said the inspectors general for corrections and child welfare tell him that the offices are getting information in a timely manner, often four to seven days, so deadlines aren't needed yet.
But State Sen. Machaela Cavanaugh of Omaha, who has long fought with the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services for timely information, said agencies should not have the option.
Cavanaugh and Conrad pointed to an Ombudsman's Office report that argued the administration has been less accessible and slower in responding to the child welfare questions.
'I appreciate Speaker Arch's comments … that it hasn't been a problem recently, but that's part of the reason that we put things in statute,' Cavanaugh said.
Under the bill, the Legislature's watchdogs would retain the subpoena power to demand documentation and answers. Using that power would require a majority vote of the Executive Board.
Lawmakers seemed to agree that their oversight would need to pause during criminal investigations and that lawmakers might not be able to access every bit of executive information.
Arch has said the Legislature and executive branch sought a balance to make sure state senators get the information they need and that the executive branch can carry out its work.
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