Meeting requirements proposed for additional entities

The Government, Military and Veterans Affairs Committee heard testimony Jan. 30 on a bill intended to provide greater public scrutiny of certain quasi-governmental entities.

Omaha Sen. Ernie Chambers, sponsor of LB778, said the bill was inspired by the operation of Omaha’s Metropolitan Entertainment and Convention Authority (MECA). He said the entity, which was formed jointly with the city and spends public funds, should be open to greater public scrutiny.

Under the bill, an entity jointly formed or constituted between a political subdivision and another entity would be required to:
• comply with the Open Meetings Act;
• disclose conflicts of interest; and
• make available for public examination documents and business records disclosed at a public meeting of the governing board.

The bill would not apply to trade secrets and other proprietary or commercial information, that, if released, would give advantage to business competitors and serve no public purpose.

Marty Bilek, testifying on behalf of the Omaha mayor’s office, supported the bill. He said the city long has had concerns with MECA regarding transparency. Although not technically a government body, he said, MECA should abide by the same transparency rules.

Jack Gould of Common Cause Nebraska also testified in support, saying the bill at least would clarify MECA’s status as an entity. Gould said his organization received an opinion from the Nebraska attorney general’s office saying MECA’s status was unclear.

“They weren’t sure whether it was public; they weren’t sure whether it was private,” he said. “At the bare minimum … it’s necessary for us to at least know what MECA is.”

Roger Dixon, president and CEO of MECA, testified in opposition to the bill. Acknowledging that the entity could do better in terms of transparency, he said the bill raises concerns about unintended consequences.

Dixon said venues and cities competing for entertainment acts and sponsorships could use the bill to attempt to obtain proprietary information from MECA and use it to their competitive advantage.

MECA is a 501(c)(3) that has not taken funds from the city in five years, Dixon said, adding that the entity is eager to work with the city of Omaha to increase transparency while protecting proprietary information.

“We just need the time to work through this,” he said.

Frank Daley, executive director of the Nebraska Accountability and Disclosure Commission, provided neutral testimony, saying the broad nature of the bill made it difficult to estimate how much public education the Commission would be required to engage in.

“At this time we’re unable to determine how many entities it would apply to,” Daley said.

The committee took no immediate action on the bill.