Nebraska lawmakers recommend creating code of conduct following misconduct controversy

NEBRASKA CITY — Nebraska lawmakers instructed drafting a proper code of conduct for the Legislature following misconduct allegations made towards a former state senator earlier this 12 months. 

Sens. Mike Hilgers and Wendy DeBoer, each members of the state’s Choose Interim Ethics Committee, proposed that amongst different “tentative suggestions” throughout a Friday assembly of the Legislative Council. 

The choose committee was created in response to misconduct allegations made earlier this 12 months towards Sen. Mike Groene of North Platte, prompting the lawmaker’s resignation. Former legislative staffer Kristina Konecko alleged that Groene took inappropriate pictures of her with out her information. Groene acknowledged taking pictures and mentioned it was a mistake, although he later mentioned he “did nothing flawed, nothing unlawful” and regretted resigning.

A code of conduct would lay out behavioral expectations of all who work throughout the Legislature, together with lawmakers, staffers and different employees, Hilgers mentioned. Throughout the choose committee’s assessment, he mentioned, it discovered that a number of different state legislatures had such codes in place already. 

“We have not had one thing written like that,” Hilgers mentioned. 

The committee has not finalized the “mechanisms” in place for responding to violations of the code, Hilgers mentioned. As a result of a code of conduct would represent a guidelines change, the Legislature should vote to approve a ultimate draft within the subsequent session. 

Throughout the committee’s assessment, Hilgers mentioned it heard from a number of staffers and lawmakers who had been made uncomfortable by what he described as “unintentionally inappropriate” actions. Although none of these rose to the extremes of Groene’s misconduct, he mentioned the incidents had been extra generally a breach of non-public area or inappropriate contact. 

In response to that, Hilgers instructed the Legislature replace its work coaching to cowl “correct office habits.”

Different suggestions included the creation of a normal counsel, which might rent a full-time lawyer who would supply authorized recommendation and serve in a human assets position, DeBoer mentioned. The committee additionally instructed strengthening the Legislature’s office harassment coverage, drafting a set of social media pointers and modifying the know-how coverage to, amongst different issues, outline who has entry to workers emails. 

“There’s rather a lot to be happy with,” Hilgers mentioned. “However on the identical time, we will all the time get higher. We all know we now have to get higher. We have heard we have to get higher, and that is precisely what we will do.”

One suggestion not talked about Friday was making a everlasting ethics committee, which the choose committee was tasked with contemplating when it was initially fashioned. Hilgers mentioned a everlasting committee is “not off the desk,” however members needed to recommend a normal counsel to make sure somebody outdoors the legislative department had a task in managing future disputes.