Bills on fraud fund oversight, sheriff residency rules advanced

Two Judiciary Committee measures that include proposed changes to fraud victim compensation and law enforcement policy received first-round approval from lawmakers March 17.

LB788, introduced by Lincoln Sen. Carolyn Bosn, would transfer administration of the Financial Fraud Victims’ Reimbursement Fund from the attorney general to the Nebraska State Patrol. The fund uses forfeited assets from financial crimes to compensate qualified victims.

Bosn said the Nebraska State Patrol has the capacity to administer the fund and already works with forfeited assets, making it better suited to oversee the program.

Senators voted 32-0 to advance LB788 to select file.

Lawmakers also gave first-round approval to LB784, sponsored by Sen. Bob Hallstrom of Syracuse. Under the bill as introduced, sheriffs in counties without a metropolitan, primary or first-class city could live either in the county they serve or an adjoining county while in office. The bill also would update continuing education requirements for law enforcement officers.

A Judiciary Committee amendment replaced the bill with a modified version, clarifying that sheriffs in eligible counties would not be required to reside in the county when filing for office but must live in the county or an adjoining county while serving.

Hallstrom said the change would bring residency rules for sheriffs in line with those for county attorneys and help ease candidate shortages in smaller counties, calling it a “narrow, targeted” solution.

The amendment also would establish tiered continuing education requirements — 24 hours annually for officers in smaller agencies and 32 hours for those in larger agencies — and would change education requirements. 

Annual training would include refresher courses on firearms, de-escalation, officer wellness, and anti-bias and implicit bias training. Refresher courses on vehicular pursuit policies, mental health and substance abuse would be required every three years. The requirements would not apply to noncertified conditional officers.

Finally, the amendment would update uniform standards for sheriffs’ offices, allowing sheriffs to determine dress and patrol uniform requirements as long as they are distinguishable from those of other Nebraska law enforcement agencies.

After adopting the committee amendment 34-0, senators advanced LB784 to select file on a 34-0 vote.