LB382 LB382
2023 2023
LEGISLATURE OF NEBRASKA
ONE HUNDRED EIGHTH LEGISLATURE
FIRST SESSION
LEGISLATIVE BILL 382
Introduced by Bostar, 29.
Read first time January 12, 2023
Committee: Judiciary
1 A BILL FOR AN ACT relating to law enforcement; to amend sections 20-502,
2 20-504, 25-21,303, 28-109, 28-359, 29-209, 29-406, 29-4103, 29-4502,
3 44-3,134, 48-202, 48-1108, 49-801, 53-1,121, 54-902, 60-3,135,
4 60-480.01, 60-646, 69-2429, and 86-802, Reissue Revised Statutes of
5 Nebraska, and sections 28-311.09, 28-311.11, 28-322.05, 28-470,
6 28-710, 28-1008, 29-215, 42-903, 48-101.01, 71-507, 71-3414,
7 81-1401, 81-1452, 81-1455, and 85-2602, Revised Statutes Cumulative
8 Supplement, 2022; to provide powers and duties for University of
9 Nebraska police departments and police officers as prescribed; to
10 provide and change definitions; to harmonize provisions; and to
11 repeal the original sections.
12 Be it enacted by the people of the State of Nebraska,
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1 Section 1. Section 20-502, Reissue Revised Statutes of Nebraska, is
2 amended to read:
3 20-502 (1) No member of the Nebraska State Patrol or a county
4 sheriff's office, officer of a city or village police department, officer
5 of a University of Nebraska police department, or member of any other law
6 enforcement agency in this state shall engage in racial profiling. The
7 disparate treatment of an individual who has been detained or whose motor
8 vehicle has been stopped by a law enforcement officer is inconsistent
9 with this policy.
10 (2) Racial profiling shall not be used to justify the detention of
11 an individual or to conduct a motor vehicle stop.
12 Sec. 2. Section 20-504, Reissue Revised Statutes of Nebraska, is
13 amended to read:
14 20-504 (1) The Nebraska State Patrol, the county sheriffs, all city
15 and village police departments, all University of Nebraska police
16 departments, and any other law enforcement agency in this state shall
17 adopt and provide a copy to the Nebraska Commission on Law Enforcement
18 and Criminal Justice of a written policy that prohibits the detention of
19 any person or a motor vehicle stop when such action is motivated by
20 racial profiling. Such racial profiling prevention policy shall include
21 definitions consistent with section 20-503 and one or more internal
22 methods of prevention and enforcement, including, but not limited to:
23 (a) Internal affairs investigation;
24 (b) Preventative measures including extra training at the Nebraska
25 Law Enforcement Training Center focused on avoidance of apparent or
26 actual racial profiling;
27 (c) Anti-bias and implicit bias training and testing designed to
28 minimize apparent or actual racial profiling;
29 (d) Early intervention with any particular personnel determined by
30 the administration of the agency to have committed, participated in,
31 condoned, or attempted to cover up any instance of racial profiling; and
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1 (e) Disciplinary measures or other formal or informal methods of
2 prevention and enforcement.
3 None of the preventative or enforcement measures shall be
4 implemented contrary to the collective-bargaining agreement provisions or
5 personnel rules under which the member or officer in question is
6 employed.
7 (2) The Nebraska Commission on Law Enforcement and Criminal Justice
8 may develop and distribute a suggested model written racial profiling
9 prevention policy for use by law enforcement agencies, but the commission
10 shall not mandate the adoption of the model policy except for any
11 particular law enforcement agency which fails to timely create and
12 provide to the commission a policy for the agency in conformance with the
13 minimum standards set forth in this section.
14 (3) With respect to a motor vehicle stop, on and after January 1,
15 2002, the Nebraska State Patrol, the county sheriffs, all city and
16 village police departments, all University of Nebraska police
17 departments, and any other law enforcement agency in this state shall
18 record and retain the following information using the form developed and
19 promulgated pursuant to section 20-505:
20 (a) The number of motor vehicle stops;
21 (b) The characteristics of race or ethnicity of the person stopped.
22 The identification of such characteristics shall be based on the
23 observation and perception of the law enforcement officer responsible for
24 reporting the motor vehicle stop and the information shall not be
25 required to be provided by the person stopped;
26 (c) If the stop is for a law violation, the nature of the alleged
27 law violation that resulted in the motor vehicle stop;
28 (d) Whether a warning or citation was issued, an arrest made, or a
29 search conducted as a result of the motor vehicle stop. Search does not
30 include a search incident to arrest or an inventory search; and
31 (e) Any additional information that the Nebraska State Patrol, the
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1 county sheriffs, all city and village police departments, all University
2 of Nebraska police departments, or any other law enforcement agency in
3 this state, as the case may be, deems appropriate.
4 (4) The Nebraska Commission on Law Enforcement and Criminal Justice
5 may develop a uniform system for receiving allegations of racial
6 profiling. The Nebraska State Patrol, the county sheriffs, all city and
7 village police departments, all University of Nebraska police
8 departments, and any other law enforcement agency in this state shall
9 provide to the commission (a) a copy of each allegation of racial
10 profiling received and (b) written notification of the review and
11 disposition of such allegation. No information revealing the identity of
12 the law enforcement officer involved in the stop shall be used,
13 transmitted, or disclosed in violation of any collective-bargaining
14 agreement provision or personnel rule under which such law enforcement
15 officer is employed. No information revealing the identity of the
16 complainant shall be used, transmitted, or disclosed in the form alleging
17 racial profiling.
18 (5) Any law enforcement officer who in good faith records
19 information on a motor vehicle stop pursuant to this section shall not be
20 held civilly liable for the act of recording such information unless the
21 law enforcement officer's conduct was unreasonable or reckless or in some
22 way contrary to law.
23 (6) On or before each October 1, 2002, and annually thereafter, the
24 Nebraska State Patrol, the county sheriffs, all city and village police
25 departments, all University of Nebraska police departments, and all other
26 law enforcement agencies in this state shall provide to the Nebraska
27 Commission on Law Enforcement and Criminal Justice, in such form as the
28 commission prescribes, a summary report of the information recorded
29 pursuant to subsection (3) of this section.
30 (7) The Nebraska Commission on Law Enforcement and Criminal Justice
31 shall, within the limits of its existing appropriations, including any
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1 grant funds which the commission is awarded for such purpose, provide for
2 an annual review and analysis of the prevalence and disposition of motor
3 vehicle stops based on racial profiling and allegations of racial
4 profiling involved in other detentions reported pursuant to this section.
5 After the review and analysis, the commission may, when it deems
6 warranted, inquire into and study individual law enforcement agency
7 circumstances in which the raw data collected and analyzed raises at
8 least some issue or appearance of possible racial profiling. The
9 commission may make recommendations to any such law enforcement agency
10 for the purpose of improving measures to prevent racial profiling or the
11 appearance of racial profiling. The results of such review, analysis,
12 inquiry, and study and any recommendations by the commission to any law
13 enforcement agency shall be reported annually to the Governor and the
14 Legislature. The report submitted to the Legislature shall be submitted
15 electronically.
16 (8) Any law enforcement officer, prosecutor, defense attorney, or
17 probation officer, unless restricted by privilege, who becomes aware of
18 incidents of racial profiling by a law enforcement agency, shall report
19 such incidents to the Nebraska Commission on Law Enforcement and Criminal
20 Justice within thirty days after becoming aware of such practice.
21 (9) If the Nebraska State Patrol, a county sheriff, a city and
22 village police department, a University of Nebraska police department, or
23 any other law enforcement agency in this state fails, in a material
24 manner, to record or retain information as required by subsection (3) of
25 this section or to provide the information to the Nebraska Commission on
26 Law Enforcement and Criminal Justice as required by subsection (6) of
27 this section, such agency shall be ineligible to receive loans, grants,
28 funds, or donations administered by the commission until the commission
29 determines that such material failure has been corrected.
30 Sec. 3. Section 25-21,303, Reissue Revised Statutes of Nebraska, is
31 amended to read:
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1 25-21,303 (1) For all money, securities, negotiable instruments,
2 firearms, conveyances, or real estate seized pursuant to section
3 25-21,302, the appropriate law enforcement agency or, as provided in
4 subsection (5) of this section, the prosecuting attorney shall provide a
5 written report of the forfeiture to the Auditor of Public Accounts. The
6 report shall include:
7 (a) The date of the seizure;
8 (b) The type of property seized, such as a vehicle, currency, or a
9 firearm;
10 (c) A description of the property seized, including, if applicable,
11 the make, model, year, and serial number of the property seized;
12 (d) The street name and traffic direction where the seizure
13 occurred, such as eastbound, westbound, southbound, or northbound;
14 (e) The crime for which the suspect was charged;
15 (f) The disposition of the property seized through the forfeiture
16 process, such as the property was returned to the suspect, returned to a
17 third-party owner, sold, destroyed, or retained by law enforcement;
18 (g) The basis for disposition of the seized property, such as the
19 suspect was found not guilty, agreement for disposition, criminal
20 forfeiture, or civil forfeiture;
21 (h) The value of the property forfeited;
22 (i) If the seizure resulted from a motor vehicle stop, (i) whether a
23 warning or citation was issued, an arrest was made, or a search was
24 conducted and (ii) the characteristics of the race or ethnicity of the
25 suspect. The identification of such characteristics shall be based on the
26 observation and perception of the law enforcement officer responsible for
27 reporting the motor vehicle stop. The information shall not be required
28 to be provided by the suspect; and
29 (j) Any additional information the Nebraska State Patrol, a county
30 sheriff, any city or village police department, a University of Nebraska
31 police department, or any other law enforcement agency in this state, as
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1 the case may be, deems appropriate.
2 (2) The appropriate law enforcement agency or prosecuting attorney
3 shall report to the Auditor of Public Accounts all instances in which
4 property seized for forfeiture was returned to its owner either because
5 the forfeiture was not pursued or for any other reason.
6 (3) Reports shall be made on an annual basis in a manner prescribed
7 by the Auditor of Public Accounts. The Auditor of Public Accounts shall
8 submit a report to the Legislature on the nature and extent of such
9 seizures on an annual basis. Such report shall be submitted
10 electronically.
11 (4) For forfeitures resulting from the activities of
12 multijurisdictional law enforcement entities, a law enforcement entity
13 other than a Nebraska law enforcement entity shall, on its own
14 initiative, report the information required by this section.
15 (5) The prosecuting attorney is not required to report information
16 required by this section unless he or she has been notified by the
17 Auditor of Public Accounts that the appropriate law enforcement agency
18 has not reported the information required by this section.
19 Sec. 4. Section 28-109, Reissue Revised Statutes of Nebraska, is
20 amended to read:
21 28-109 For purposes of the Nebraska Criminal Code, unless the
22 context otherwise requires:
23 (1) Act shall mean a bodily movement, and includes words and
24 possession of property;
25 (2) Aid or assist shall mean knowingly to give or lend money or
26 credit to be used for, or to make possible or available, or to further
27 activity thus aided or assisted;
28 (3) Benefit shall mean any gain or advantage to the beneficiary
29 including any gain or advantage to another person pursuant to the desire
30 or consent of the beneficiary;
31 (4) Bodily injury shall mean physical pain, illness, or any
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1 impairment of physical condition;
2 (5) Conduct shall mean an action or omission and its accompanying
3 state of mind, or, where relevant, a series of acts and omissions;
4 (6) Conveyance shall mean a mode of transportation that includes any
5 vehicle, aircraft, or watercraft;
6 (7) Deadly physical force shall mean force, the intended, natural,
7 and probable consequence of which is to produce death, or which does, in
8 fact, produce death;
9 (8) Deadly weapon shall mean any firearm, knife, bludgeon, or other
10 device, instrument, material, or substance, whether animate or inanimate,
11 which in the manner it is used or intended to be used is capable of
12 producing death or serious bodily injury;
13 (9) Deface shall mean to alter the appearance of something by
14 removing, distorting, adding to, or covering all or a part of the thing;
15 (10) Dwelling shall mean a building or other thing which is used,
16 intended to be used, or usually used by a person for habitation;
17 (11) Government shall mean the United States, any state, county,
18 municipality, or other political unit, any branch, department, agency, or
19 subdivision of any of the foregoing, and any corporation or other entity
20 established by law to carry out any governmental function;
21 (12) Governmental function shall mean any activity which a public
22 servant is legally authorized to undertake on behalf of government;
23 (13) Motor vehicle shall mean every self-propelled land vehic