Lincoln Journal Star. August 24, 2023.
Editorial: Inspectors general fill vital role for all Nebraskans
This isn’t Kansas, where police seized — and later returned — computers, cell phones and other equipment used by the Marion County Record, after a search warrant was executed and then, after national outcry over a First Amendment violation, withdrawn.
But Nebraska has seen a slow and disturbing erosion of government transparency and accountability, even as politicians tout their devotion to those pillars of our government while on the campaign trail.
Public records requests are denied on broad grounds they involve pending litigation, ongoing investigations, or “executive privilege.” If they are granted, entities claim great difficulty in gathering them and charge exorbitantly for them. Government at all levels appears to believe that public records requests and open meetings laws are hardships that are better avoided than endured rather than an essential part of public service.
With that backdrop, Attorney General Mike Hilgers’ opinion that the creation of the inspector general offices to review the state’s child welfare and corrections programs violated the state’s constitution, while perhaps legally justified, raises important issues.
Hilgers’ opinion is that the offices ignore the separation of powers clause because the inspectors general have broad powers of investigation that can cut across branches of government and create hardships for agencies, essentially creating an imbalance in powers among the branches of government.
In a news story last week, Journal Star writer Chris Dunker noted the opinion is non-binding and will likely await resolution in the next legislative session.
The work of the inspectors general has turned up necessary reforms in both the child welfare and corrections systems — places where large amounts of taxpayer money are put to work protecting people the state has assumed direct responsibility for. Errors in either place are costly to communities and society.
The powers granted to inspectors general by the Legislature allow them to get answers and attempt to enforce prompt action. Government services and constituents are better served by an independent watchdog.
If there is, indeed, in the eyes of the Legislature, a constitutional issue to resolve, we hope it is done quickly and without removing the access and influence the inspectors general have.
Taxpayers deserve a window into how their government carries out its duties and as clear of an understanding as possible of how it treats the people placed in its care or custody.
The intent of the legislation to create the inspectors general offices seems clear. Politics shouldn’t get in its way.
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