LINCOLN- Following a recent opinion issued by Nebraska Attorney General Mike Hilgers, the Nebraska Legislature hired an outside lawyer to help senators find a legislative solution after the powers of the state's inspectors general relating to child welfare and corrections were limited. The lawyer was hired by Speaker of the Legislature John Arch and Sen. Tom Briese, chair of the executive committee, after some lawmakers had "expressed serious concern about the impact this opinion could have on the Legislaturte's ability to conduct meaningful oversight."

Briese, in a letter detailing the hiring, told his colleagues that they would benefit from the outside opinion, but didn't specify how much it will cost taxpayers. Marnie Jensen, an attorney at Husch Blackwell, was the lawyer hired on to the role. Speaker Arch said her goal will be to help the Nebraska Legislature guide its inspectors general in such a manner so as to not give them unfettered access to state data from the executive and judicial branches.

In 2021, Jensen worked with the Legislature's special investigative committee on child welfare in eastern Nebraska. Her hiring was prompted by Attorney General Mike Hilgers arguing that the legislature-created inspectors general had too much control and access to government data from other branches, violating the state's separation of powers. Part of the problem, wrote Hilgers, was the lack of direct legislative oversight of the inspectors general, who were given, by state law, a lot of independence.

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