Nebraska Executive Board hears bill to modernize publication and distribution of laws, journals and statutes

Senator Ben Hansen, chair of the Executive Board, introduced LB1236 as "a straightforward cleanup bill" to modernize how Nebraska publishes and distributes legislative journals, session laws and statutes. Hansen said the measure would authorize the clerk of the Legislature to compile and publish session laws and the journal in electronic format or both and would shift primary distribution responsibilities from the secretary of state to the clerk to "reduce printing costs for taxpayers."

The bill would also update distribution lists and requests by county classifications, adopt gender-neutral language and clarify delivery to successors in office and public libraries. Hansen said the changes "stem from recommendations by the clerk of the Legislature" and aim to eliminate decades-old redundancies tied to an era when physical printing was the only option.

Marcia McClurg, adviser of statutes and bill director for the Nebraska Unicameral, testified in a neutral capacity that LB1236 would not remove statutory requirements to print and certify statutes but would shift distribution duties to the clerk. McClurg explained the reviser's role in preparing proofs, noted that volumes are reissued on roughly a 10-year rotation and said printed volumes "provide for easy authentication of the statutes" for judges, legislators and the public. When asked about printing costs, McClurg said, "in the print form, we're looking at, in the neighborhood of 70 to $90 for a set of 3. So $30 a book."

Brandon Nessler, a clerk of the Nebraska Legislature, urged that moving distribution details into an executive-board policy would allow the Legislature to "ask first" before printing and adopt print-on-demand or other efficiencies. Nessler said informal surveys showed most offices prefer digital access and estimated that reasonable savings could be "$50,000 to $75,000" depending on policy choices, while noting the fiscal note shows a wide range.

Committee members asked whether implementation details would be set by statute or by policy; Nessler said the bill alters statute to give flexibility and that the executive-board policy would provide the operational specifics. The clerk said the intended effective date for policy implementation would be January 2027 to allow stakeholders time during the interim to develop procedures and submit budget requests.

The hearing record included one proponent letter and one opponent letter; there were no in-person proponents or opponents at the microphone. The committee took no final vote and closed the public hearing on LB1236.