Judiciary omnibus bill approved

Lawmakers gave final approval April 10 to an omnibus judicial bill combining updates to sentencing, court fees and rural legal access.

Under LB935, introduced by Lincoln Sen. Carolyn Bosn, a political subdivision may recover attorney fees and court costs if it must defend against a claim that a court finds frivolous or primarily intended to harass the subdivision or its public officials.

The bill also modifies sentencing rules by preserving the presumption of probation for Class IV felonies, unless a defendant originally was charged with a more serious felony and pled down to a Class IV offense.

LB935 includes provisions of the following seven bills:

• LB789, introduced by Bosn, which prevents defendants from benefiting if they intentionally make a witness unavailable, allowing a witness’s prior statements to be admitted in court;
• LB876, sponsored by Sen. Bob Hallstrom of Syracuse, which establishes a statewide 72-hour no-contact period, to take effect automatically when a person is arrested for certain domestic or sexual assault offenses;
• LB978, introduced by Whitman Sen. Tanya Storer, which allows individuals depicted in or exposed to obscene material, child sexual abuse material or content promoting child sexual exploitation to sue entities that intentionally distribute such content on publicly available websites;
• LB1020, sponsored by Sen. Eliot Bostar of Lincoln, which criminalizes unauthorized use of tracking devices, establishes penalties for swatting incidents and restricts drone use in designated airspace without proper approval;
• LB1139, introduced by Hallstrom, which modifies how child and spousal support liens are applied by limiting them to periods of missed payments and requiring their automatic removal once obligations are satisfied;
• LB1199, sponsored by Sumner Sen. Teresa Ibach, which provides additional funding for the state’s rural attorney loan repayment program, increases the county population threshold from 15,000 to 75,000 to qualify as a designated legal profession shortage area and creates a tiered priority system for future awards; and
• LB1228, introduced by Bellevue Sen. Rick Holdcroft at the request of Gov. Jim Pillen, which establishes a new docket fee for civil cases and traffic misdemeanors and infractions in district and county courts, creates a $10 case management system software fee and directs most of the new revenue to the state General Fund.

LB935 passed on a 38-11 vote and takes effect immediately.