Nebraska
Nebraska Supreme Court rules state agencies can charge 'special' fees to review document requests • Nebraska Examiner
LINCOLN — The Nebraska Supreme Court ruled Friday that state agencies can impose a “special services charge” to review public records requests.
The 23-page ruling tends to affirm a $44,103 charge to a nonprofit news site, The Flatwater Free Press, to fulfill its request for public documents related to nitrate contamination of the state’s groundwater.
Flatwater maintained that the charge was excessive and not allowed by state public records law, an argument that Lancaster County District Judge Ryan Post agreed with.
‘Voluminous requests could be disruptive’
But the state appealed, and the Supreme Court ruled Friday that state public records laws recognized that “voluminous (records) requests could be disruptive to the public body.”
A “special service charge,” the court ruled, is allowed to cover the “existing salary or pay obligation” of state agencies’ employees after the first four hours of “searching, identifying, physically redacting, or copying.”
“However sympathetic we might be to (Flatwater’s) policy arguments,” the ruling stated, state law allows such fees to be charged.
Case ordered back to lower court
The court ordered the case back to Lancaster County District Court to determine whether the $44,103 fee conforms with the “special” fee allowance.
In a post Friday morning, Flatwater’s executive editor, Matthew Hansen, called the ruling “a blow to Nebraska’s public records law, a law written to protect media outlets like ours and Nebraskans like yourselves from the secrecy of those who hold power.”
“This clears the way for the State of Nebraska to charge us an ungodly amount of money to gain access to public records related to the state’s growing nitrate-in-groundwater problem,” Hansen wrote.
The case grew out of a public records request by Flatwater to the Nebraska Department of Environment and Energy for emails and other documents containing the words “nitrate,” “fertilizer” and “nutrient.”
Series on nitrate contamination
The news site has produced a series of stories on nitrate contamination of the state’s groundwater — and the adverse health effects — based on public records it has been able to obtain.
Included was a story concerning contamination near hog barns operated by the family of Gov. Jim Pillen, a story the governor said should be discounted because the author was from “communist China” — a comment that sparked a firestorm of calls for an apology.
Other news media, including the Nebraska Examiner, also use information gleaned from record requests for reporting.
Initially, NDEE told Flatwater that fulfilling its records request would cost $2,000.
That led Flatwater to narrow its request, but also generated a new estimate from NDEE that it would require 927 hours of staff time at a cost of $44,103 to provide the records. Flatwater sued, calling the fee excessive and not allowed.
A key argument was whether a state agency, under the law, had a right to “review” records before they are released to determine if they are indeed public records and whether any portion needed to be redacted as not public.
The Supreme Court, in its ruling, said that such a “review” is allowed.
Hansen, the Flatwater editor, said he expects the fight over this issue will continue at the Nebraska Legislature, which has the power to change state law.
Overall, he called it “a blow to the 10 words” that are etched into the north face of the State Capitol: “The Salvation of the State is Watchfulness in the Citizen.”
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Nebraska
Nebraska Dept. of Agriculture proposes ban on food and beverages containing any amount of THC
LINCOLN, Neb. — A public hearing Thursday drew strong opposition to proposed rules that would label food adulterated and illegal if it contains any amount of THC and its derivatives, potentially decimating Nebraska’s hemp and CBD industry.
The regulations would affect products like gummies, beverages and oral tinctures. Over 490 people wrote in opposition to the new regulations, while only three supported them.
The rule changes stem from an executive order issued by Gov. Jim Pillen in January requiring state agencies to review laws regarding the use of synthetic THC in food and beverages. The order was made to align with federal law coming in November 2026, which bans synthetic THC products and limits total THC concentrations in hemp products to not exceed 0.4 milligrams per container.
The proposed Nebraska rule goes beyond that federal standard.
“I would say it’d be similar other than it does say no THC. It is zero THC,” said Andrew Bish, chief operating officer of Bish Enterprises. “It’s not we are deferring to the federal government standard and aligning with the federal government standard. It is, in fact, a different standard.”
Fifteen speakers testified during the hearing, with many calling for the Department of Agriculture to regulate the industry rather than enforce outright bans.
“I respectfully urge the department to pursue a balanced science-based approach that protects public safety, targets specific problems, strengths and standards where necessary and holds bad actors accountable without unnecessarily eliminating access to products that may Nebraskans find valuable and beneficial,” said Dr. Andrea Holmes, a professor of chemistry at Doane University.
Many who testified were shop owners who said the regulations would result in major business losses and reduced state revenue.
“In 2025, we pay over $1 million in sales tax. We expect to be over $1.3 million in 2026,” one speaker from The Cannabis Factory said. “We’re not opposed to regulation, or oversight, or even additional taxation.”
The Department of Agriculture will review comments and decide if any changes need to be made. If not, the regulations go to the attorney general and the governor for approval.
The regulations include a carve out for the medical cannabis acts, meaning people with medical cannabis cards could get prescriptions that would not be affected by this proposed regulation change.
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Nebraska Gov. Jim Pillen said Thursday that he has asked President Donald Trump to issue a major disaster declaration for damage caused by storms that hit the state May 15-18.
The storms spawned tornadoes and flash flooding across Buffalo, Fillmore, Gage, Howard, Jefferson, Nemaha, Thayer and Thurston counties. There were numerous downed power poles and lines as well as extensive damage to schools, building and roadways. Damage just to public infrastructure is estimated at nearly $5 million.
In addition to the disaster declaration request, Pillen said he also has requested access to the Hazard Mitigation Grant Program, which provides funding to governments to allow them to rebuild in ways that will reduce or mitigate future disaster losses. Approval would allow the state to apply for such grants.
Thursday’s disaster declaration request is the second in two months. Back in May, Pillen requested one for historic wildfires in March that impacted Arthur, Garden, Grant, Lincoln and Morill counties. At the time of the request, it was estimated there was at least $9.7 million in damage from the fires, which were the worst in Nebraska’s history.
Nebraska
Bandits back in the win column with tournament-opening victory in Nebraska – East Idaho News
OMAHA, Neb. – The Bandits opened the Omaha, Nebraska tournament with a 7-4 win over Fremont.
The Bandits, coming off two losses to Billings at last week’s Bandits Invitational, trailed 4-3 in the fifth, but tied it up on a sac fly by Cole Croft.
They scored three runs in the bottom of the sixth for the win.
Carter Bowen finished 3 for 3 with an RBI and two runs scored. Conner Cannon and Taye Lords each knocked in two runs for Idaho Falls (10-2).
Tyson Christenson picked up the win with four innings of relief.
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