![\"Sen.](\"https:\/\/update.legislature.ne.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/SenSanders_inline-200x300.jpg\")
The bill also would specify that such digital publication must run for the same amount of time as an equivalent newspaper notice.<\/p>\n
Sanders said the existing legal notice requirements are \u201coutdated\u201d because most people now access information digitally.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis [bill] ensures that these notices reach a broader, more diverse [audience] and in a timely and efficient manner,\u201d Sanders said.<\/p>\n
A Government, Military and Veterans Affairs Committee amendment, adopted 39-0, would clarify definitions of digital newspapers and electronic editions of print newspapers for purposes of legal notices.<\/p>\n
It also would authorize the use of digital newspapers to give public notice under the Open Meetings Act in localities where no print edition or e-edition of a legal newspaper is published.<\/p>\n
Hastings Sen. Dan Lonowski offered an amendment to add the provisions of his LB1159 to the proposal. Those provisions would require the induction of a living individual into the Nebraska Hall of Fame this year.<\/p>\n
Nebraska Hall of Fame Commission currently selects one inductee every five years and the honor is limited to individuals who have been dead for at least 35 years. Lonowski\u2019s proposal, introduced at the request of Gov. Jim Pillen, would require that the commission name one living inductee before Jan. 1, 2027.<\/p>\n
The bill also would require that the inductee:
\n\u2022 be a prior member of the U.S. House of Representatives;
\n\u2022 be a former head coach of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln football team;
\n\u2022 have served as Athletic Director of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln; and
\n\u2022 have attended Hastings High School.<\/p>\n
Lonowski said it is \u201cnot surprising\u201d that those requirements are met by Coach Tom Osborne. He said Osborne has met and exceeded the standard to be inducted into the hall of fame, from leading the Huskers to three national championships to starting the TeamMates mentoring program and serving in the U.S. Congress.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe should not wait,\u201d Lonowski said.<\/p>\n
Omaha Sen. Megan Hunt opposed the amendment, which she called \u201cspecial legislation\u201d to grant exclusive privileges or benefits to a specific group or individual \u2014 something the Nebraska Constitution prohibits.<\/p>\n
Hunt said she had \u201cno doubt\u201d that Osborne will be in the hall of fame in due time, but that it would \u201ctarnish\u201d the honor if lawmakers changed the rules in an attempt to induct him while he is still alive.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think the stars in our eyes and our admiration for this man have kind of blinded us to the fact that under our constitution we cannot actually do this,\u201d Hunt said.<\/p>\n
Sen. Danielle Conrad of Lincoln agreed. While Osborne is a hardworking and deserving candidate, she said, the constitution is \u201cunambiguous\u201d on its prohibition regarding special legislation.<\/p>\n
Following a motion from Conrad to challenge the germaneness of attempting to add the proposal to the underlying bill, which deals with issues of governmental administration, Lonowski withdrew the amendment.<\/p>\n
Lawmakers then adopted an amendment 32-0 from Niobrara Sen. Barry DeKay to add the amended provisions of his LB869, which relate to annual notice given by the state treasurer of individuals whose unclaimed property is in the office\u2019s custody and eligible for return.<\/p>\n
The provisions would require that the list be published in each legal newspaper of general
\ncirculation in every county, rather than only in local newspapers near an individual\u2019s last known address. The measure also would require the annual notice to include information about how to search for unclaimed property held by the treasurer.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis change will allow the state treasurer\u2019s staff \u2026 to reach more communities directly, especially out in parts of rural Nebraska where newspapers still play a key role in the dissemination of news,\u201d DeKay said.<\/p>\n
Another amendment, offered by Bellevue Sen. Victor Rountree and adopted 37-0, would reduce the notice requirements for a legal name change. Currently, an individual wishing to change their legal name must publish legal notice in their county newspaper for four consecutive weeks.<\/p>\n
Rountree said the existing notice requirements add to the difficulty and expense of a legal name change. His amendment would reduce the requirement to two weeks.<\/p>\n
The committee amendment also added provisions from the following five measures dealing with open meeting requirements and public records:
\n\u2022 LB896, sponsored by Lonowski, which would increase the marriage license fee from $25 to $50 and the cost of certified copies issued by county clerks from $9 to $16;
\n\u2022 LB898, also introduced by Lonowski, which would add three additional public bodies to the list of those authorized to hold virtual meetings: the Semiquincentennial Commission, the Board of Trustees of the Nebraska State Historical Society and local foster care review boards;
\n\u2022 LB919, sponsored by Sanders, which would update four sections of state law governing the preservation of certain public records to allow the use of media other than microfilm or microfiche;
\n\u2022 LB923, introduced by Sen. Stan Clouse of Kearney, which contains a number of cleanup provisions related to the duties of county clerks; and
\n\u2022 LB1145, sponsored by Lonowski, which would require public bodies subject to open meetings requirements to provide reasonable advance notice by a method designated by the public body and recorded in its minutes.<\/p>\n
Following adoption of the committee amendment, lawmakers advanced LB596 to select file 40-1.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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