Special needs emergency management registry bill advanced

Senators gave first-round approval Feb. 22 to a bill intended to facilitate assistance to people with special needs in emergency situations.

LB434, introduced by Bellevue Sen. Scott Price, would allow emergency management and other public agencies to create registries for the purpose of planning assistance for people with special needs before, during and after a disaster or emergency.

Information obtained for such purposes would not be considered a public record.

Price said local registries were created based on a federal mandate and that ensuring that the information contained in them is private may increase participation.

“This bill is about those on the registry no longer being subject to special records requests,” he said.

Price offered an amendment, adopted 43-0, which stipulates that participation in an emergency management registry would be voluntary.

Lincoln Sen. Bill Avery supported the bill, saying it would facilitate cooperation between the Nebraska Emergency Management Agency and other public agencies to assist vulnerable people in the event of a natural disaster or other emergency.

Sen. Colby Coash of Lincoln expressed concern that the bill does not define the term special needs. Many categories of vulnerable Nebraskans may be left off of an emergency registry as a result, he said, including those who have limited English proficiency or lack adequate transportation.

“If you ask someone who fits any of these criteria, ‘Are you special needs?’ they are not going to say yes,” Coash said. “Special needs is not a label that people aspire to have put on them.”

Price said a specific definition was not used in the bill in the interest of inclusion. Allowing individuals to self-identify as having a special need and ask to be placed on the registry would capture a broader range of people who may need help in an emergency situation, he said.

LB434 advanced to select file on a 42-0 vote.