Government Military and Veterans Affairs

Measure would expand impeachable offense timeline

January 26, 2012September 16, 2013 admin

Senators gave first-round approval Jan. 26 to a proposed change to the Nebraska Constitution regarding impeachment of civil officers.

LR19CA, introduced by Lincoln Sen. Bill Avery, would place a proposed constitutional amendment on the November 2012 general election ballot that would add a misdemeanor related to the election by which a civil officer was elected to office as an impeachable offense.

Currently, the constitution states that a civil officer may be impeached for any misdemeanor committed while in office.

Avery said the change is necessary to cover criminal activity undertaken by a candidate in order to win an office, including election fraud or signing false statements.

Holdrege Sen. Tom Carlson expressed concern that the bill does not specify what would constitute an impeachable offense related to the pursuit of elected office.

Avery said the Nebraska Supreme Court has specified through case law three crimes that would rise to the level of an impeachable offense:

a simple neglect of duty committed for a corrupt purpose;
an act that violates a statute, constitutional provision or oath and is related to the officer’s duties; or
a neglect or disregard of duty that is so gross or flagrant that the officer’s willful and corrupt intent may be inferred.

“We’re talking about standards that have been in place in this state for over 100 years,” Avery said.

Omaha Sen. Steve Lathrop spoke in favor of the bill, saying the word “misdemeanor” has a different meaning when used in the constitution than it does in criminal law. “It’s a term of art,” he said.

Lathrop said an individual who commits a crime to gain an office should be subject to impeachment if that same crime is an impeachable offense when committed while in office.

“How can we argue with that principle?” he said. “That just makes perfect sense.”

Following adoption of a technical amendment offered by the Government, Military and Veterans Affairs Committee on a 33-0 vote, senators advanced LR19CA to select file 34-0.