Nebraska bill opens government legal settlements

Nebraska has enacted a law that will require government bodies to keep public records of legal settlements, The Associated Press reported.

Nebraska Gov. Dave Heineman signed the bill, LB 742, this week. It will make it more difficult for government entities to keep costly legal settlements secret and will prevent them from arguing that confidentiality agreements prohibit public access to settlements.

The bill was proposed by state Sen. Beau McCoy of Omaha after a secret settlement last year that paid $200,000 to a former mayoral aide who claimed she had been sexually harassed and assaulted by the mayor.