The Executive Board held a hearing Feb. 17 on a measure that would adopt the Private Attorney Retention Sunshine Act.<\/p>\n
Lincoln Sen. Danielle Conrad said she introduced LB604 to ensure accountability and openness in the hiring of private legal services for state business.<\/p>\n
Among other provisions, the bill would require the attorney general to file a proposed contract for private legal services exceeding $50,000 with the Appropriations Committee, which then would hold a public hearing on the proposed contract and make recommendations.<\/p>\n
At the conclusion of a legal proceeding for which private legal services had been retained on a contingent-fee basis, a statement of hours worked, expenses and hourly fees would be required. The state would be prohibited from incurring legal fees greater than $1,000 per hour.<\/p>\n
Conrad said the bill would ensure the same open and competitive bidding process that is required for other state contracts.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis should be extended to other contracts for legal services,\u201d she said. \u201cTaxpayer dollars are at issue here.\u201d<\/p>\n
Assistant attorney general Dale Comer testified against the bill, saying it would restrict his office\u2019s ability to hire attorneys best suited to a particular case. In addition, he said, requiring a public legislative hearing on a potential legal contract would violate constitutional separation of powers.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe believe that involves the Legislature directly in the process of executive function,\u201d Comer said.<\/p>\n
No proponent testimony was given and no immediate action was taken on the bill.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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