Pillen vetoes Nebraska child sexual assault and abuse proposal

State Sen. Justin Wayne of Omaha. Feb. 22, 2024. (Zach Wendling/Nebraska Examiner)

LINCOLN — Gov. Jim Pillen vetoed legislation Wednesday that would have allowed new lawsuits against school districts or other political subdivisions if they failed to act on suspected claims of child sexual assault or abuse.

Nebraska Gov. Jim Pillen. April 18, 2024. (Zach Wendling/Nebraska Examiner)

Pillen on Wednesday night announced his signatures of 10 other bills, including the state’s replacement “school choice” law, and the veto of Legislative Bill 25, from State Sen. Justin Wayne of Omaha. 

The governor said LB 25 was “overly broad” and would “substantially erode” decades-old sovereign immunity protections for political subdivisions.

Pillen said the proposal would also establish “a new body of law” and echoed legislative opponents who said the law would increase taxpayer costs, such as property taxes.

“We must hold perpetrators accountable and protect children from abuse by enforcing the criminal laws that exist and by targeting the wrongdoer,” Pillen said in his veto letter. “Taxpayers should not bear this burden.”

Lawmakers voted 28-17 to pass LB 25 during the final legislative day, but because senators adjourned that day, they don’t have a chance to override the veto, which requires 30 votes.

A ‘travesty of justice’

Under Wayne’s bill, survivors or their families could have sued political units, such as school districts, if they had knowledge of suspected abuse but failed to investigate that information. 

The harm would need to be a “proximate result” of the subdivision’s failure or an employee’s failure to exercise “reasonable care” for a child in their care or custody. Remedies would have been capped at $1 million.

“Nothing is going to make these individuals completely whole,” Wayne told the Nebraska Examiner earlier this month. “We’re just trying to provide the best remedy we can under the law.”

During debate, lawmakers stripped LB 25 of its contents and replaced it with a version of legislation from State Sen. Steve Halloran of Hastings, LB 341.

State Sen. Justin Wayne of Omaha. Jan. 6, 2023. (Zach Wendling/Nebraska News Service)

Wayne described the veto as a “travesty of justice” as Nebraska’s governmental units continue to receive more protections than victims. He said Pillen chose “the shadow of bureaucracy over justice for children.”

“If the Governor is afraid that the liability for holding government accountable would cost too much, then it begs the question, how many children are being sexually assaulted at the hands of government negligence?” Wayne asked.

Veto sends a ‘clear message’

Wayne added that calls for government accountability shouldn’t only be employed when Pillen wants to lower property taxes but also in protecting children over government failure.

“This is a Nebraska value that will last beyond the next seven generations,” Wayne said, using Pillen’s words as he told lawmakers this year to consider impacts that last “seven generations.”

Pillen has said seven generations stretch back to the state’s founding.

Angie Lauritsen of Gretna, a survivor of child sexual abuse who advocates for and supports other survivors and Nebraska groups, and who ran for the Legislature in 2022, said Wednesday night that Pillen’s veto will have a “ripple effect.”

“It will send a clear message from the Governor’s Office that he clearly cares more about the uber rich, large corporations giving them tax breaks than he does about prevention of childhood sexual assault in a school setting,” Lauritsen said.

Lauritsen added it doesn’t matter about the legalese behind the bill because when survivors and victims learn it was vetoed, they’ll only know it dealt with child abuse and sexual assault.

“His priorities are not with survivors or victims of sexual assault,” she said.

What is the proper remedy?

Pillen and lawmakers who voted opposed LB 25 argued there are already remedies available to survivors, and if there is a valid claim, those remedies should be pursued.

But Wayne and other supporters disagreed, stating one section of law that opponents regularly pointed to was insufficient. Among those key opponents was State Sen. Carolyn Bosn of Lincoln, a former prosecutor who Pillen appointed to the Legislature.

State Sen. Julie Slama of Dunbar. April 18, 2024. (Zach Wendling/Nebraska Examiner)

State Sen. Julie Slama of Dunbar, who supported LB 25, noted during debate that lawmakers have said they want to protect children and voted to do so, Slama said, through various other bills. Yet, they declined to support Wayne’s proposal. 

Pillen also said LB 25 does not achieve the goal of protecting children.

During debate, Slama took aim at allegations of increased taxes, asking, “How many child molesters is your school district employing if it’s going to impact your bottom line?”

“Public schools shouldn’t have special immunity from being held responsible when a child is sexually assaulted in their care,” she added Wednesday. “Nebraska’s kids deserved so much more than today’s veto.”

If you need help…

If you are a victim/survivor of childhood sexual assault and need to reach out please contact the National Sexual Assault Telephone Hotline at 800.656.HOPE (4673).

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