LINCOLN — From the “There’s something you don’t see every day at the Nebraska State Capitol” file.
On Thursday, Nebraska Attorney General Mike Hilgers, a prominent Republican, spoke out on the heels of state Sen. Daniel Conrad (Lincoln), a leading unicameral Democrat, tearing apart the state’s top lawyer over “unfair litigation.” He testified in favor of the bill introduced by the senator. Written and Political” Legal Opinions.
Conrad was referring to a non-binding legal opinion from Hilgers in August — first reported by the Examiner — that called for an “inspector general” to oversee state prison operations and the child welfare system. The opinion was that the legislative establishment of the office of “is an unconstitutional usurpation of the judicial authority by the legislature.” Executive branch of government.
Since the opinion was issued, the state Department of Corrections and the Department of Health and Human Services have blocked on-site visits to state facilities and prisons by the Office of the Inspector General and the 55-year-old state ombudsman, as well as barred him from accessing computers. record.
Sen. Lincoln denounced the legal opinion, saying that government agencies are “turning their noses up” at state laws, and that state laws require Congress to control the state’s operations, which he calls “the most problematic part of state government.” He said it requires him to oversee the operations of what he calls two government agencies.
Conrad said Congress created the Office of Inspector General in response to scandals over the past decade.
Without state supervision, some foster children were left overnight “covered in feces and urine,” she said. State prisons have also been controversial, including the inappropriate early release of inmates and the lack of rehabilitation for mentally ill inmate Nikko Jenkins, who killed four people shortly after his release.
“Unclear” situation
The August legal opinion prompted Conrad and others to introduce several bills to rectify the “uncertain” situation, including one on Thursday in Congress’ Government, Military and Veterans Affairs It also includes the bill Conrad explained in committee.
The bill would rescind a provision in state law that allowed the attorney general’s office to issue advisory opinions to state lawmakers. It also wants the AG to file a lawsuit to determine whether its legal opinion is correct.
Former Nebraska Attorney General Don Stenberg supported keeping the provision in place, calling it “Murphy’s Law” in a recent review in the Examiner.
Conrad said his legislation, Bill 1191, and other measures are not meant to hate Hilgers or the governor (whose agency has cut off access to legislative oversight agencies), but rather to protect the state’s “weakest He said the move was to “utilize every tool at our disposal” to protect “those in positions of need.”
After being verbally criticized by Conrad during Thursday’s testimony, Hilgers spoke out in favor of her bill, which surprised several members of the government committee.
Hilgers said the state law’s provision regarding legal opinions from the AG is “unusual” and could “severely confuse things.”
Hilgers said Nebraska is the only state with such a requirement. He said the 10-day period after issuing a legal opinion to file a lawsuit was “too short and bizarrely triggered.”
He said his opinions are not binding, that his August opinion did not mention the Office of the Ombudsman, and that he was the one who ordered the cutting off of IG and Ombudsman access to facilities and records. He added that it suggested it was the government.
Hilgers said that even with the provision gone, his office would still be able to issue advisory opinions and the public could sue if they felt state agencies were not fulfilling their mandates. Stated.
Assembly Speaker John Arch, R-La Vista, proposed a unique solution to the IG dispute. Mr. Arch proposed the creation of a special committee (Special Committee on Legislative Oversight and Review) to resolve disputes between the legislative branch and the executive and judicial branches.
Debate on the parliamentary resolution on the bill is scheduled for Friday.
Additionally, Arch last week announced an agreement on a memorandum of understanding between Congress and the Executive Branch to restore access to information for the foreseeable future.
But Conrad said the memorandum and Congressional resolution lack the legal authority in state law to clarify the IG’s authority.
“Mom, are you okay?”
She also said she doesn’t like it when the executive branch tells the legislature what oversight it can and cannot have. Oversight. At one point, she talked about Congress suing to protect its oversight powers.
But after Thursday’s hearing, Conrad said he would wait to see what the task force would come up with.