LB43 LB43
2024 2024
LEGISLATIVE BILL 43
Approved by the Governor March 27, 2024
Introduced by Sanders, 45; Conrad, 46.
A BILL FOR AN ACT relating to law; to amend sections 84-712, 84-712.01, and
84-712.07, Reissue Revised Statutes of Nebraska, and sections 84-712.03,
84-712.05, 84-920, and 84-1412, Revised Statutes Cumulative Supplement,
2022; to adopt the First Freedom Act; to authorize wearing of tribal regalia by students as prescribed; to change public records provisions relating to residents, nonresidents, fees, duties, and remedies; to allow certain records relating to cybersecurity to be withheld from the public as prescribed; to provide a duty for the Nebraska Information Technology Commission; to provide requirements regarding the interpretation of
statutes, rules, and regulations as prescribed; to prohibit state agencies from imposing annual filing and reporting requirements on charitable organizations as prescribed; to state intent; to adopt the Personal Privacy Protection Act; to define terms; to change provisions relating to
public meetings; to harmonize provisions; to provide operative dates; to provide severability; to repeal the original sections; and to declare an
emergency.
Be it enacted by the people of the State of Nebraska,
Section 1. Sections 1 to 5 of this act shall be known and may be cited as
the First Freedom Act.
Sec. 2. For purposes of the First Freedom Act:
(1) Exercise of religion means the practice or observance of religion and includes any action that is motivated by a sincerely held religious belief,
whether or not the exercise is compulsory or central to a larger system of
religious belief;
(2) Person means any individual, association, partnership, corporation,
church, religious institution, estate, trust, foundation, or other legal entity;
(3) Religious organization means:
(a) A house of worship;
(b) A religious group, corporation, association, educational institution,
ministry, order, society, or similar entity, regardless of whether it is integrated or affiliated with a church or other house of worship; or
(c) An officer, owner, employee, manager, religious leader, clergy, or minister of an entity or organization described in subdivision (3)(a) or (b) of this section;
(4) Religious service means a meeting, gathering, or assembly of two or
more persons organized by a religious organization for the purpose of worship,
teaching, training, providing educational services, conducting religious rituals, or other activities that are deemed necessary by the religious organization for the exercise of religion;
(5) State action means the implementation or application of any law,
including state and local laws, ordinances, rules, regulations, and policies,
whether statutory or otherwise, or other action by the state or any political subdivision thereof and any local government, municipality, instrumentality, or public official authorized by state or local law; and
(6)(a) Substantially burden means any action that directly or indirectly constrains, inhibits, curtails, or denies the exercise of religion by any person or compels any action contrary to a person's exercise of religion.
(b) Substantially burden includes withholding benefits, imposing criminal,
civil, or administrative penalties or damages, or exclusion from governmental programs or access to governmental facilities.
Sec. 3. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, state action shall not:
(1) Substantially burden a person's right to the exercise of religion unless it is demonstrated that applying the burden to that person's exercise of
religion in this particular instance is essential to further a compelling governmental interest and is the least restrictive means of furthering that compelling governmental interest; or
(2) Restrict a religious organization from operating and engaging in
religious services during a state of emergency to a greater extent than the state restricts other organizations or businesses from operating during a state of emergency.
Sec. 4. (1) A person or religious organization whose exercise of religion or religious service has been burdened or restricted, or is likely to be burdened or restricted, in violation of the First Freedom Act, may bring a civil action or assert such violation or impending violation as a defense in a judicial or administrative proceeding.
(2) This section applies regardless of whether the state or a political subdivision is a party to the judicial or administrative proceeding.
(3) A person or religious organization asserting a claim or defense under this section may obtain appropriate relief, including against the state or a political subdivision. Appropriate relief includes:
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(a) Actual damages;
(b) Such preliminary and other equitable or declaratory relief as may be
appropriate; and
(c) Reasonable attorney's fees and other litigation costs reasonably incurred.
Sec. 5. The First Freedom Act applies to all state and local laws, and the implementation of those laws, whether statutory or otherwise, regardless of
whether adopted before or after the operative date of this section.
Sec. 6. (1) A person who is a member of an indigenous tribe of the United States or another country and is a student attending an approved or accredited public school may wear tribal regalia in any public or private location where the person is otherwise authorized to be on such school grounds or at any school function. Nothing in this section limits the authority of administrative and teaching personnel to regulate student behavior as provided in section
79-258 or the authority of a school to regulate student behavior to further school purposes or to prevent interference with the educational process.
(2) A school may adopt a policy to accommodate this section. Such policy may specify the characteristics of any garment, jewelry, other adornment, or object that such school finds will endanger the safety of a student or others or interfere with school purposes or the educational process if worn by a student during a specified activity.
(3) For purposes of this section, tribal regalia means traditional garments, jewelry, other adornments, or similar objects of cultural significance worn by members of an indigenous tribe of the United States or
another country. Tribal regalia does not include any firearm or other dangerous weapon. Tribal regalia also does not include, except in compliance with an
appropriate federal permit, any object that is otherwise prohibited by federal law.
Sec. 7. (1) A person who is a member of an indigenous tribe of the United States or another country and is a student attending any Nebraska public postsecondary institution may wear traditional tribal regalia in any public or
private location where the person is otherwise authorized to be on such school grounds or at any school function. Nothing in this section limits the authority of administrative and teaching personnel of a Nebraska public postsecondary institution to regulate student behavior to further school purposes or to prevent interference with the educational process.
(2) A Nebraska public postsecondary institution may adopt a policy to
accommodate this section. Such policy may specify the characteristics of any garment, jewelry, other adornment, or object that such school finds will endanger the safety of a student or others or interfere with school purposes or
the educational process if worn by such student during a specified activity.
(3) For purposes of this section:
(a) Nebraska public postsecondary institution has the same meaning as in section 85-2403; and
(b) Tribal regalia means traditional garments, jewelry, other adornments,
or similar objects of cultural significance worn by members of an indigenous tribe of the United States or another country. Tribal regalia does not include any firearm or other dangerous weapon. Tribal regalia also does not include,
except in compliance with an appropriate federal permit, any object that is
otherwise prohibited by federal law.
Sec. 8. Section 84-712, Reissue Revised Statutes of Nebraska, is amended to read:
84-712 (1) Except as otherwise expressly provided by statute, all residents citizens of this state and all other persons interested in the examination of the public records as defined in section 84-712.01 are hereby fully empowered and authorized to (a) examine such records, and make memoranda,
copies using their own copying or photocopying equipment in accordance with subsection (2) of this section, and abstracts therefrom, all free of charge,
during the hours the respective offices may be kept open for the ordinary transaction of business and (b) except if federal copyright law otherwise provides, obtain copies of public records in accordance with subsection (3) of this section during the hours the respective offices may be kept open for the ordinary transaction of business.
(2) Copies made by residents citizens or other persons using their own copying or photocopying equipment pursuant to subdivision (1)(a) of this section shall be made on the premises of the custodian of the public record or
at a location mutually agreed to by the requester and the custodian.
(3)(a) Copies may be obtained pursuant to subdivision (1)(b) of this section only if the custodian has copying equipment reasonably available. Such copies may be obtained in any form designated by the requester in which the public record is maintained or produced, including, but not limited to,
printouts, electronic data, discs, tapes, and photocopies. This section shall not be construed to require a custodian to copy any public record that is
available to the requester on the custodian's website on the Internet. The custodian of the public record is required to provide the location of the public record on the Internet to the requester. If the requester does not have reasonable access to the Internet due to lack of computer, lack of Internet availability, or inability to use a computer or the Internet, the custodian shall produce copies for the requester as provided in this section.
(b) Except as otherwise provided by statute, the public body, public entity, or public official which is the custodian of a public record may charge
a fee for providing copies of such public record pursuant to subdivision (1)(b)
of this section, which fee shall not exceed the actual added cost of making the
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copies available. For purposes of this subdivision, (i) for photocopies, the actual added cost of making the copies available shall not exceed the amount of
the reasonably calculated actual added cost of the photocopies, which may include a reasonably apportioned cost of the supplies, such as paper, toner,
and equipment, used in preparing the copies, as well as any additional payment obligation of the custodian for time of contractors necessarily incurred to
comply with the request for copies, (ii) for printouts of computerized data on
paper, the actual added cost of making the copies available shall include the reasonably calculated actual added cost of computer run time and the cost of
materials for making the copy, and (iii) for electronic data, the actual added cost of making the copies available shall include the reasonably calculated actual added cost of the computer run time, any necessary analysis and programming by the public body, public entity, public official, or third-party information technology services company contracted to provide computer services to the public body, public entity, or public official, and the production of
the report in the form furnished to the requester.
(c) For residents of Nebraska, the The actual added cost used as the basis for the calculation of a fee for records shall not include any charge for the existing salary or pay obligation to the public officers or employees with respect to the first eight four cumulative hours of searching, identifying,
physically redacting, or copying. A special service charge reflecting the calculated labor cost may be included in the fee for time required in excess of
eight four cumulative hours, since that large of a request may cause some delay or disruption of the other responsibilities of the custodian's office, except that the fee for records shall not include any charge for the services of an attorney or any other person to review the requested public records seeking a legal basis to withhold the public records from the public. No special service charge or fee shall be charged for copies of blank forms or pages that have all meaningful information redacted.
(d) For nonresidents of Nebraska, the actual added cost used as the basis for the calculation of a fee for records may include a charge for the proportion of the existing salary or pay obligation to the public officers or
employees, including a proportional charge for the services of an attorney to
review the requested public records, for the time spent searching, identifying,
physically redacting, copying, or reviewing such records.
(e) (d) State agencies which provide electronic access to public records through a portal established under section 84-1204 shall obtain approval of
their proposed reasonable fees for such records pursuant to sections 84-1205.02
and 84-1205.03, if applicable, and the actual added cost of making the copies available may include the approved fee for the portal.
(f) (e) This section shall not be construed to require a public body or
custodian of a public record to produce or generate any public record in a new or different form or format modified from that of the original public record.
(g) (f) If copies requested in accordance with subdivision (1)(b) of this section are estimated by the custodian of such public records to cost more than fifty dollars, the custodian may require the requester to furnish a deposit prior to fulfilling such request.
(h) The custodian may waive or reduce any fee described in this section if
the waiver or reduction of the fee would be in the public interest. Waiver or
reduction of the fee is in the public interest if disclosure of the public record at issue is likely to contribute to the understanding of the operations or activities of government and is not primarily in the commercial interest of
the person requesting such records.
(4) Upon receipt of a written request for access to or copies of a public record, the custodian of such record shall provide to the requester as soon as
is practicable and without delay, but not more than four business days after actual receipt of the request, an estimate of the expected cost of the copies and either (a) access to or, if copying equipment is reasonably available,
copies of the public record, (b) if there is a legal basis for denial of access or copies, a written denial of the request together with the information specified in section 84-712.04, or (c) if the entire request cannot with reasonable good faith efforts be fulfilled within four business days after actual receipt of the request due to the significant difficulty or the extensiveness of the request, a written explanation, including the earliest practicable date for fulfilling the request, an estimate of the expected cost of any copies, and an opportunity for the requester to modify or prioritize the items within the request. The requester shall have ten business days to review the estimated costs, including any special service charge, and request the custodian to fulfill the original request, negotiate with the custodian to
narrow or simplify the request, or withdraw the request. If the requester does not respond to the custodian within ten business days, the custodian shall not proceed to fulfill the request. The four business days shall be computed by
excluding the day the request is received, after which the designated period of
time begins to run. Business day does not include a Saturday, a Sunday, or a day during which the offices of the custodian of the public records are closed.
(5) For purposes of sections 84-712 to 84-712.09, resident means a person domiciled in this state and includes news media without regard to domicile.
Sec. 9. Section 84-712.01, Reissue Revised Statutes of Nebraska, is amended to read:
84-712.01 (1) Except when any other statute expressly provides that particular information or records shall not be made public, public records shall include all records and documents, regardless of physical form, of or
belonging to this state, any county, city, village, political subdivision, or
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tax-supported district in this state, or any agency, branch, department, board,
bureau, commission, council, subunit, or committee of any of the foregoing.
Data which is a public record in its original form shall remain a public record when maintained in computer files.
(2) When a custodian of a public record of a county provides to a member of the public, upon request, a copy of the public record by transmitting it
from a modem to an outside modem, a reasonable fee may be charged for such specialized service. Such fee may include a reasonable amount representing a portion of the amortization of the cost of computer equipment, including software, necessarily added in order to provide such specialized service. This subsection shall not be construed to require a governmental entity to acquire computer capability to generate public records in a new or different form when that new form would require additional computer equipment or software not already possessed by the governmental entity.
(3) Sections 84-712 to 84-712.03 shall be liberally construed whenever any state, county, or political subdivision fiscal records, audit, warrant,
voucher, invoice, purchase order, requisition, payroll, check, receipt, or other record of receipt, cash, or expenditure involving public funds is
involved in order that the residents citizens of this state shall have the full right to know of and have full access to information on the public finances of
the government and the public bodies and entities created to serve them.
Sec. 10. Section 84-712.03, Revised Statutes Cumulative Supplement, 2022,
is amended to read:
84-712.03 (1) Any per