LINCOLN — A bill inspired by the secret settlement of a sexual harassment claim against the former Papillion mayor was given resounding, first-round support Friday in the Nebraska Legislature.
On a 35-0 vote, lawmakers advanced from first-round debate a bill that would require cities, counties and other governmental bodies to disclose confidential legal settlements that involve public funds.
In the Papillion case, Legislative Bill 742 would have required the City of Papillion to place on its City Council agenda the existence of a $200,000 settlement with a former female assistant of then-Mayor James Blinn, said the sponsor of the bill, Omaha Sen. Beau McCoy.
The payment resolved the woman’s sexual harassment case against Blinn and the city. The settlement included a provision that allowed Papillion to deny its existence.
“This is an important issue about transparency,” McCoy said. “Citizens of Nebraska deserve to know how their taxpayer dollars are being spent and for what reason.”
Under LB 742, any insurance company involved in such settlements would be required to send a record of such an agreement to a government entity, which would preserve that as a public record.
The bill, under amendments adopted on Friday, also would require a public entity to maintain a record of such agreements.
An investigation by The World-Herald revealed the existence of the out-of-court settlement in Papillion.
In seeking out similar hidden agreements from other entities, the newspaper was told in at least two instances that no copy of the out-of-court settlements could be found.
McCoy said requiring entities to retain a copy would eliminate the possibility of claims that a copy of a settlement could not be found.
Another amendment to the law excludes smaller settlements from the agenda requirement. Only settlements of $50,000 or more, or those that represent 1 percent of a public entity’s annual budget — whichever is smaller — would have to be disclosed.
Omaha Sens. Tom White and Steve Lathrop, both of whom are lawyers, said they supported the bill but warned that there are reasons some lawsuits are settled with the stipulation that the terms remain secret.
For instance, White said, accusations of sexual harassment can ruin a person’s reputation, whether true or false, so it’s not uncommon to settle such claims for “go-away pay” before a lawsuit is filed, to keep it from becoming public.
Lathrop said disclosing such settlements might encourage others to make claims and might “set a bar” for monetary settlements while an undisclosed settlement might allow a city to settle for less.
Contact the writer:
402-473-9584, paul.hammel@owh.com
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