Nebraska committee hears bill to authorize payment of state settlement claims totaling about $4.43 million

Kathleen Kauth, the introducer, told the Nebraska Legislature’s Business and Labor Committee on the hearing record that AM 491 to LB 534 would update LB 534 to include payment of claims that had been settled or approved after the bill’s original filing. "AM 491 updates LB 534 to include payment of claims against the state that were either settled by the attorney general's office or approved by the claims board after LB 534 was originally introduced," Kauth said.

Phoebe Lures, an assistant attorney general and legal adviser to the state claims board, described the specific additions AM 491 would place before the Legislature and asked the committee to approve them. "This amendment becomes the bill and adds 11 new claims for review and appropriation," Lures said, and then outlined the claims by section and type.

Why it matters: LB 534 (as amended by AM 491) is the annual vehicle by which the Legislature reviews and appropriates money to pay claims against the state that exceed thresholds requiring legislative…