State claims bill amended, advanced

Payment of certain claims against the state would be approved by a bill advanced from general file April 11.

If a person sues the state of Nebraska, he or she files a claim with the state claims board. Approved claims exceeding $50,000 must be approved by the Legislature.

LB282, introduced by Ralston Sen. Merv Riepe, would approve six such claims totaling $522,000. It also includes payments of $250,000 each to the families of three public safety officers who died in the line of duty — payments authorized under a law passed by the Legislature in 2021 — and $1.83 million in state agency write-offs.

A Business and Labor Committee amendment, adopted 39-0, added four claims made after the public hearing on LB282, including an additional $250,000 payment to the family of a public safety officer who had a fatal heart attack while assisting fire-fighting efforts at the Nebraska National Forest at Halsey.

Following adoption of the committee amendment, lawmakers advanced LB282 to select file 41-0.