LB330 LB330
2021 2021
LEGISLATURE OF NEBRASKA
ONE HUNDRED SEVENTH LEGISLATURE
FIRST SESSION
LEGISLATIVE BILL 330
Introduced by Wayne, 13.
Read first time January 13, 2021
Committee: Judiciary
1 A BILL FOR AN ACT relating to juveniles; to amend sections 28-801,
2 29-401, 29-2204.02, 29-2270, 43-247, 43-248.01, 43-252, 43-289,
3 43-412, 43-905, and 43-2402, Reissue Revised Statutes of Nebraska,
4 and sections 24-517, 28-1204.05, 29-1816, 29-2204, 43-245,
5 43-247.02, 43-274, 43-285, 43-2,108.01, 43-2,108.02, 43-2,108.03,
6 43-2404.02, and 83-4,125, Revised Statutes Cumulative Supplement,
7 2020; to raise the jurisdictional age limit for juvenile court to
8 twenty-one; to change provisions relating to prostitution and
9 unlawful possession of a firearm by a prohibited juvenile offender;
10 to change and eliminate definitions; to change provisions relating
11 to sealing of records and placement and treatment of juveniles; to
12 provide for applicability; to change provisions relating to the
13 Juvenile Services Act; to harmonize provisions; and to repeal the
14 original sections.
15 Be it enacted by the people of the State of Nebraska,
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1 Section 1. Section 24-517, Revised Statutes Cumulative Supplement,
2 2020, is amended to read:
3 24-517 Each county court shall have the following jurisdiction:
4 (1) Exclusive original jurisdiction of all matters relating to
5 decedents' estates, including the probate of wills and the construction
6 thereof, except as provided in subsection (c) of section 30-2464 and
7 section 30-2486;
8 (2) Exclusive original jurisdiction in all matters relating to the
9 guardianship of a person, except if a separate juvenile court already has
10 jurisdiction over a child in need of a guardian, concurrent original
11 jurisdiction with the separate juvenile court in such guardianship;
12 (3) Exclusive original jurisdiction of all matters relating to
13 conservatorship of any person, including (a) original jurisdiction to
14 consent to and authorize a voluntary selection, partition, and setoff of
15 a ward's interest in real estate owned in common with others and to
16 exercise any right of the ward in connection therewith which the ward
17 could exercise if competent and (b) original jurisdiction to license the
18 sale of such real estate for cash or on such terms of credit as shall
19 seem best calculated to produce the highest price subject only to the
20 requirements set forth in section 30-3201;
21 (4) Concurrent jurisdiction with the district court to involuntarily
22 partition a ward's interest in real estate owned in common with others;
23 (5) Concurrent original jurisdiction with the district court in all
24 civil actions of any type when the amount in controversy is forty-five
25 thousand dollars or less through June 30, 2005, and as set by the Supreme
26 Court pursuant to subdivision (b) of this subdivision on and after July
27 1, 2005.
28 (a) When the pleadings or discovery proceedings in a civil action
29 indicate that the amount in controversy is greater than the
30 jurisdictional amount of subdivision (5) of this section, the county
31 court shall, upon the request of any party, certify the proceedings to
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1 the district court as provided in section 25-2706. An award of the county
2 court which is greater than the jurisdictional amount of subdivision (5)
3 of this section is not void or unenforceable because it is greater than
4 such amount, however, if an award of the county court is greater than the
5 jurisdictional amount, the county court shall tax as additional costs the
6 difference between the filing fee in district court and the filing fee in
7 county court.
8 (b) The Supreme Court shall adjust the jurisdictional amount for the
9 county court every fifth year commencing July 1, 2005. The adjusted
10 jurisdictional amount shall be equal to the then current jurisdictional
11 amount adjusted by the average percentage change in the unadjusted
12 Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers published by the Federal
13 Bureau of Labor Statistics for the five-year period preceding the
14 adjustment date. The jurisdictional amount shall be rounded to the
15 nearest one-thousand-dollar amount;
16 (6) Concurrent original jurisdiction with the district court in any
17 criminal matter classified as a misdemeanor or for any infraction. The
18 district court shall have concurrent original jurisdiction in any
19 criminal matter classified as a misdemeanor that arises from the same
20 incident as a charged felony;
21 (7) Concurrent original jurisdiction with the district court in
22 domestic relations matters as defined in section 25-2740 and with the
23 district court and separate juvenile court in paternity or custody
24 determinations as provided in section 25-2740;
25 (8) Concurrent original jurisdiction with the district court in
26 matters arising under the Nebraska Uniform Trust Code;
27 (9) Exclusive original jurisdiction in any action based on violation
28 of a city or village ordinance, except with respect to violations
29 committed by persons under twenty-one eighteen years of age;
30 (10) The jurisdiction of a juvenile court as provided in the
31 Nebraska Juvenile Code when sitting as a juvenile court in counties which
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1 have not established separate juvenile courts;
2 (11) Exclusive original jurisdiction in matters of adoption, except
3 if a separate juvenile court already has jurisdiction over the child to
4 be adopted, concurrent original jurisdiction with the separate juvenile
5 court;
6 (12) Exclusive original jurisdiction in matters arising under the
7 Nebraska Uniform Custodial Trust Act;
8 (13) Concurrent original jurisdiction with the district court in any
9 matter relating to a power of attorney and the action or inaction of any
10 agent acting under a power of attorney;
11 (14) Exclusive original jurisdiction in any action arising under
12 sections 30-3401 to 30-3432;
13 (15) Exclusive original jurisdiction in matters arising under the
14 Nebraska Uniform Transfers to Minors Act;
15 (16) Concurrent original jurisdiction with the district court in
16 matters arising under the Uniform Principal and Income Act;
17 (17) Concurrent original jurisdiction with the district court in
18 matters arising under the Uniform Testamentary Additions to Trusts Act
19 (1991) except as otherwise provided in subdivision (1) of this section;
20 (18) Concurrent original jurisdiction with the district court to
21 determine contribution rights under section 68-919; and
22 (19) All other jurisdiction heretofore provided and not specifically
23 repealed by Laws 1972, Legislative Bill 1032, and such other jurisdiction
24 as hereafter provided by law.
25 Sec. 2. Section 28-801, Reissue Revised Statutes of Nebraska, is
26 amended to read:
27 28-801 (1) Except as provided in subsection (5) of this section, any
28 person who performs, offers, or agrees to perform any act of sexual
29 contact or sexual penetration, as those terms are defined in section
30 28-318, with any person not his or her spouse, in exchange for money or
31 other thing of value, commits prostitution.
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1 (2) Any person convicted of violating subsection (1) of this section
2 shall be punished as follows:
3 (a) If such person has had no prior convictions or has had one prior
4 conviction, such person shall be guilty of a Class II misdemeanor. If the
5 court places such person on probation, such order of probation shall
6 include, as one of its conditions, that such person shall satisfactorily
7 attend and complete an appropriate mental health and substance abuse
8 assessment conducted by a licensed mental health professional or
9 substance abuse professional authorized to complete such assessment; and
10 (b) If such person has had two or more prior convictions, such
11 person shall be guilty of a Class I misdemeanor. If the court places such
12 person on probation, such order of probation shall include, as one of its
13 conditions, that such person shall satisfactorily attend and complete an
14 appropriate mental health and substance abuse assessment conducted by a
15 licensed mental health professional or substance abuse professional
16 authorized to complete such assessment.
17 (3) It is an affirmative defense to prosecution under this section
18 that such person was a trafficking victim as defined in section 28-830.
19 (4) For purposes of this section, prior conviction means any
20 conviction on or after July 14, 2006, for violation of subsection (1) of
21 this section or any conviction on or after July 14, 2006, for violation
22 of a city or village ordinance relating to prostitution.
23 (5) If the law enforcement officer determines, after a reasonable
24 detention for investigative purposes, that a person suspected of or
25 charged with a violation of subsection (1) of this section is (a) a
26 person engaging in those acts as a direct result of being a trafficking
27 victim as defined in section 28-830, such person shall be immune from
28 prosecution for a prostitution offense or (b) a person under twenty-one
29 eighteen years of age, such person shall be immune from prosecution for a
30 prostitution offense under this section and shall be subject to temporary
31 custody under section 43-248 and further disposition under the Nebraska
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1 Juvenile Code. A law enforcement officer who takes a person under twenty-
2 one eighteen years of age into custody under this section shall
3 immediately report an allegation of a violation of section 28-831 to the
4 Department of Health and Human Services which shall commence an
5 investigation within twenty-four hours under the Child Protection and
6 Family Safety Act.
7 Sec. 3. Section 28-1204.05, Revised Statutes Cumulative Supplement,
8 2020, is amended to read:
9 28-1204.05 (1) Except as provided in subsections (3) and (4) of this
10 section, a person under the age of twenty-five years who knowingly
11 possesses a firearm commits the offense of possession of a firearm by a
12 prohibited juvenile offender if he or she has previously been adjudicated
13 an offender in juvenile court for an act which would constitute a felony
14 or an act which would constitute a misdemeanor crime of domestic
15 violence.
16 (2) Possession of a firearm by a prohibited juvenile offender is a
17 Class IV felony for a first offense and a Class IIIA felony for a second
18 or subsequent offense.
19 (3) Subsection (1) of this section does not apply to the possession
20 of firearms by members of the armed forces of the United States, active
21 or reserve, National Guard of this state, or Reserve Officers Training
22 Corps or peace officers or other duly authorized law enforcement officers
23 when on duty or training.
24 (4)(a) Prior to reaching the age of twenty-five years, a person
25 subject to the prohibition of subsection (1) of this section may file a
26 petition for exemption from such prohibition and thereby have his or her
27 right to possess a firearm reinstated. A petitioner who is younger than
28 twenty-two nineteen years of age shall petition the juvenile court in
29 which he or she was adjudicated for the underlying offense. A petitioner
30 who is twenty-two nineteen years of age or older shall petition the
31 district court in the county in which he or she resides.
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1 (b) In determining whether to grant a petition filed under
2 subdivision (4)(a) of this section, the court shall consider:
3 (i) The behavior of the person after the underlying adjudication;
4 (ii) The likelihood that the person will engage in further criminal
5 activity; and
6 (iii) Any other information the court considers relevant.
7 (c) The court may grant a petition filed under subdivision (4)(a) of
8 this section and issue an order exempting the person from the prohibition
9 of subsection (1) of this section when in the opinion of the court the
10 order will be in the best interests of the person and consistent with the
11 public welfare.
12 (5) The fact that a person subject to the prohibition under
13 subsection (1) of this section has reached the age of twenty-five or that
14 a court has granted a petition under subdivision (4)(a) of this section
15 shall not be construed to mean that such adjudication has been set aside.
16 Nothing in this section shall be construed to authorize the setting aside
17 of such an adjudication or conviction except as otherwise provided by
18 law.
19 (6) For purposes of this section, misdemeanor crime of domestic
20 violence has the same meaning as in section 28-1206.
21 Sec. 4. Section 29-401, Reissue Revised Statutes of Nebraska, is
22 amended to read:
23 29-401 Every sheriff, deputy sheriff, marshal, deputy marshal,
24 security guard, police officer, or peace officer as defined in
25 subdivision (15) of section 49-801 shall arrest and detain any person
26 found violating any law of this state or any legal ordinance of any city
27 or incorporated village until a legal warrant can be obtained, except
28 that (1) any such law enforcement officer taking a juvenile under the age
29 of twenty-one eighteen years into his or her custody for any violation
30 herein defined shall proceed as set forth in sections 43-248, 43-248.01,
31 43-250, 43-251, 43-251.01, and 43-253 and (2) the court in which the
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1 juvenile is to appear shall not accept a plea from the juvenile until
2 finding that the parents of the juvenile have been notified or that
3 reasonable efforts to notify such parents have been made as provided in
4 section 43-250.
5 Sec. 5. Section 29-1816, Revised Statutes Cumulative Supplement,
6 2020, is amended to read:
7 29-1816 (1)(a) The accused may be arraigned in county court or
8 district court:
9 (i) If the accused was twenty-one eighteen years of age or older
10 when the alleged offense was committed;
11 (ii) If the accused was younger than twenty-one eighteen years of
12 age and was fourteen years of age or older when an alleged offense
13 punishable as a Class I, IA, IB, IC, ID, II, or IIA felony was committed;
14 or
15 (iii) If the alleged offense is a traffic offense as defined in
16 section 43-245. ; or
17 (iv) Until January 1, 2017, if the accused was seventeen years of
18 age when an alleged offense described in subdivision (1) of section
19 43-247 was committed.
20 (b) Arraignment in county court or district court shall be by
21 reading to the accused the complaint or information, unless the reading
22 is waived by the accused when the nature of the charge is made known to
23 him or her. The accused shall then be asked whether he or she is guilty
24 or not guilty of the offense charged. If the