State claims bill advanced

Claims against the state would be approved by a bill advanced from general file May 1.

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 reviewed by the Legislature.

LB554, introduced by the Business and Labor Committee and modified by a committee amendment adopted 35-0, would approve such claims to the tune of $1.2 million for tort claims. Included in the approved tort claims are settlements for three of the six Nebraskans wrongly convicted for the 1985 murder of Helen Wilson in Beatrice.

The bill also includes $1.2 million for miscellaneous claims and $974,000 in write-offs for fiscal year 2014-15.

Following the adoption of a technical amendment, senators advanced LB554 to select file 38-0.