Judiciary omnibus measure amended, advanced

A bill aimed at clarifying mandatory minimum sentences for “habitual criminals” convicted of specific crimes received first-round approval May 20 after being amended to incorporate several additional bills heard by the Judiciary Committee.

LB150, introduced by Lincoln Sen. Carolyn Bosn, originally aimed to eliminate provisions in state law that allow for reduced penalties for habitual criminals whose prior felony convictions are not related to sexual offenses, serious bodily harm or the use of dangerous weapons.

Habitual criminals are defined as individuals who have two or more prior felony convictions, each resulting in a sentence of at least one year, who later are convicted of another felony in Nebraska.

A Judiciary Committee amendment, adopted 42-0, replaced LB150 with a modified version of the original proposal.

Bosn said the amendment would “narrowly tailor” the bill to specifically address mandatory minimum sentences for habitual criminals convicted of controlled substance offenses or theft violations. Under the amendment, she said, the mandatory minimum sentence for these crimes would be three years, with a maximum not to exceed 20 years.

The committee amendment also incorporated provisions of several additional bills, including LB219, introduced by Lincoln Sen. George Dungan. Those provisions would eliminate a current nine-month minimum post-release supervision requirement for Class III and IIIA felonies.

The proposed change would give judges greater flexibility in sentencing, Dungan said, while permitting them to impose post-release supervision for up to two years.

Provisions of Whitman Sen. Tanya Storer’s LB386 also are included in the committee amendment. The provisions would direct the Nebraska Commission on Law Enforcement and Criminal Justice to seek and obtain federal funding for a pilot program to improve mental health resources in county jails or other facilities.

If all parties agree, the measure also would allow for videoconferencing during mental health evaluations and mental health board hearings.

Storer said that due to the limited number of mental health beds available, officers who assist Nebraskans in emergency protective custody situations due to mental health issues often must travel long distances or wait extended periods of time to obtain care for those individuals.

The pilot program aims to address this problem, she said, and first would be implemented in one county and later evaluated for potential expansion to other counties across the state.

“The goal really is to get better, more expedient care for those individuals experiencing a mental health crisis, as well as provide a more realistic option for [very small counties with] something like two officers on their entire staff,” Storer said.

Also included in the committee amendment is LB539, introduced by Gering Sen. Brian Hardin, which would eliminate a requirement that the Nebraska State Patrol establish its own system for conducting criminal history record checks for firearm purchases.

Hardin said current law requires this change once the state has completed 85% of the work of developing a database of Nebraska’s arrest and conviction records, a milestone he said the state is approaching.

Provisions of LB539 instead would allow Nebraska to continue using the federal background check system and save the state approximately $3 million needed to implement its own system, Hardin said.

The committee amendment also would incorporate provisions of:
• LB329, introduced by Elkhorn Sen. R. Brad von Gillern, which would replace the definition of “school employee” in state statutes relating to sexual abuse with “school worker”;
• LB412, introduced by Syracuse Sen. Bob Hallstrom, which would allow an individual who has reason to believe he is the biological father of a child to file a civil proceeding to determine paternity; and
• LB606, introduced by Bellevue Sen. Rick Holdcroft, which would eliminate obsolete references to the Division of Parole Supervision in state law.

Several senators offered additional amendments to the package, including Hallstrom, whose amendment, adopted 41-0, would allow provisions of his LB412 to be applied to pending actions or cases upon passage of the underlying bill.

An amendment offered by Holdcroft, adopted 40-0, would attach provisions of his LB136. Under the bill as amended, a corporate employer could be served only at the address of its registered agent, instead of an employee’s physical workplace, when a garnishment summons is issued for a debtor employed by a corporation.

Additionally, Sen. Dunixi Guereca of Omaha offered an amendment, adopted 44-0, to incorporate provisions of his LB694, which would add military and veteran status to the existing list of traits and statuses upon which individuals cannot be discriminated against in employment, public accommodation, housing and certain government activities.

Finally, senators voted 46-0 to adopt amended provisions of Dungan’s LB93, which would clarify the right to discovery in criminal proceedings.

Lawmakers then advanced LB150 to select file on a vote of 40-2.