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LEGISLATURE OF NEBRASKA
ONE HUNDRED NINTH LEGISLATURE
SECOND SESSION
LEGISLATIVE BILL 1145
Introduced by Lonowski, 33; Andersen, 49; Sanders, 45.
Read first time January 20, 2026
Committee: Government, Military and Veterans Affairs
A BILL FOR AN ACT relating to the Open Meetings Act; to amend section1
84-1411, Revised Statutes Supplement, 2025; to change provisions2
relating to notice requirements for a meeting of a public body under3
the act; and to repeal the original section. 4
Be it enacted by the people of the State of Nebraska,5
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Section 1. Section 84-1411, Revised Statutes Supplement, 2025, is1
amended to read: 2
84-1411 (1)(a) Except as provided in subsection (9) of this section,3
each public body shall give reasonable advance publicized notice of the4
time and place of each meeting by a method designated by each public body5
and recorded in its minutes as provided in this subsection. Such notice6
shall be transmitted to all members of the public body and to the public.7
(b)(i) Except as provided in subdivision (1)(b)(ii) of this section,8
in the case of a public body described in subdivision (1)(a)(i) of9
section 84-1409 or such body's advisory committees, such notice shall be10
given at least twice a year of the regular meeting schedule, location,11
and the method designated by the public body to provide reasonable12
advance publicized notice. Such notice shall be given by publication in a13
legal newspaper of general circulation within the public body's14
jurisdiction. by: 15
(ii) Subdivision (1)(b)(i) of this section shall not apply in the16
case of the governing body of a city of the second class or village, any17
advisory committee of such governing body, or the governing body of a18
rural or suburban fire protection district. 19
(iii) Failure to comply with subdivision (1)(b)(i) of this section20
shall not cause any motion, resolution, rule, regulation, ordinance, or21
formal action of a public body made or taken at a meeting of the public22
body to be void or voidable. 23
(A)(I) Publication in a newspaper of general circulation within the24
public body's jurisdiction that is finalized for printing prior to the25
time and date of the meeting, (II) posting on such newspaper's website,26
if available, and (III) posting on a statewide website, if available,27
established and maintained as a repository for such notices by a majority28
of Nebraska newspapers. Such notice shall be placed in the newspaper and29
on the websites by the newspaper; or 30
(B)(I) Posting to the newspaper's website, if available, and (II)31
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posting to a statewide website, if available, established and maintained1
as a repository for such notices by a majority of Nebraska newspapers if2
no edition of a newspaper of general circulation within the public body's3
jurisdiction is to be finalized for printing prior to the time and date4
of the meeting. Such notice shall be placed in the newspaper and on the5
websites by the newspaper. 6
(ii) In the case of the governing body of a city of the second class7
or village, any advisory committee of such governing body, or the8
governing body of a rural or suburban fire protection district, such9
notice shall be given by: 10
(A)(I) Publication in a newspaper of general circulation within the11
public body's jurisdiction that is finalized for printing prior to the12
time and date of the meeting, (II) posting on such newspaper's website,13
if available, and (III) posting on a statewide website, if available,14
established and maintained as a repository for such notices by a majority15
of Nebraska newspapers. Such notice shall be placed in the newspaper and16
on the websites by the newspaper; 17
(B)(I) Posting to the newspaper's website, if available, and (II)18
posting on a statewide website, if available, established and maintained19
as a repository for such notices by a majority of Nebraska newspapers if20
no edition of a newspaper of general circulation within the public body's21
jurisdiction is to be finalized for printing prior to the time and date22
of the meeting. Such notice shall be placed in the newspaper and on the23
websites by the newspaper; or 24
(C) Posting written notice in three conspicuous public places in25
such city, village, or district. Such notice shall be posted by the26
public body in the same three places for each meeting.27
(iii) In the case of a public body not described in subdivision (1)28
(b)(i) or (ii) of this section, such notice shall be given by a method29
designated by the public body. 30
(c) For a public body that decides to publish notice in a newspaper31
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of general circulation within the public body's jurisdiction to meet the1
notice requirement in subdivision (1)(a) of this section, in (iv) In case2
of refusal, neglect, or inability of the newspaper to publish the notice,3
the public body shall (i) (A) post such notice on its website, if4
available, (ii) (B) request the newspaper submit a post on a statewide5
website, if available, established and maintained as a repository for6
such notices by a majority of Nebraska newspapers, and (iii) (C) post7
such notice in a conspicuous public place in such public body's8
jurisdiction. The public body shall keep a written record of such posting9
pursuant to subdivision (1)(c)(i) (1)(b)(iv)(A) and (iii) (C) of this10
section and a written record of the request to the newspaper pursuant to11
subdivision (1)(c)(ii) (1)(b)(iv)(B) of this section. The record of such12
posting shall be evidence that such posting was done as required and13
shall be sufficient to fulfill the requirement of publication.14
(c) In addition to a method of notice required by subdivision (1)(b)15
(i) or (ii) of this section, such notice may also be provided by any16
other appropriate method designated by such public body or such advisory17
committee. 18
(d) Each public body shall record the methods and dates of such19
notice in its minutes. 20
(e) Such notice shall contain an agenda of subjects known at the21
time of the publicized notice or a statement that the agenda, which shall22
be kept continually current, shall be readily available for public23
inspection at the principal office of the public body during normal24
business hours. Agenda items shall be sufficiently descriptive to give25
the public reasonable notice of the matters to be considered at the26
meeting. Except for items of an emergency nature, the agenda shall not be27
altered later than (i) twenty-four hours before the scheduled28
commencement of the meeting or (ii) forty-eight hours before the29
scheduled commencement of a meeting of a city council or village board30
scheduled outside the corporate limits of the municipality. The public31
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body shall have the right to modify the agenda to include items of an1
emergency nature only at such public meeting. 2
(2)(a) The following entities may hold a meeting by means of virtual3
conferencing if the requirements of subdivision (2)(b) of this section4
are met: 5
(i) A state agency, state board, state commission, state council, or6
state committee, or an advisory committee of any such state entity;7
(ii) An organization, including the governing body, created under8
the Interlocal Cooperation Act, the Joint Public Agency Act, or the9
Municipal Cooperative Financing Act; 10
(iii) The governing body of a public power district having a11
chartered territory of more than one county in this state;12
(iv) The governing body of a public power and irrigation district13
having a chartered territory of more than one county in this state;14
(v) An educational service unit; 15
(vi) The Educational Service Unit Coordinating Council;16
(vii) An organization, including the governing body, of a risk17
management pool or its advisory committees organized in accordance with18
the Intergovernmental Risk Management Act; 19
(viii) A community college board of governors;20
(ix) The Nebraska Brand Committee; 21
(x) A local public health department; 22
(xi) A metropolitan utilities district; 23
(xii) A regional metropolitan transit authority; and24
(xiii) A natural resources district. 25
(b) The requirements for holding a meeting by means of virtual26
conferencing are as follows: 27
(i) Reasonable advance publicized notice is given as provided in28
subsection (1) of this section, including providing access to a dial-in29
number or link to the virtual conference; 30
(ii) In addition to the public's right to participate by virtual31
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conferencing, reasonable arrangements are made to accommodate the1
public's right to attend at a physical site and participate as provided2
in section 84-1412, including reasonable seating, in at least one3
designated site in a building open to the public and identified in the4
notice, with: At least one member of the entity holding such meeting, or5
his or her designee, present at each site; a recording of the hearing by6
audio or visual recording devices; and a reasonable opportunity for7
input, such as public comment or questions, is provided to at least the8
same extent as would be provided if virtual conferencing was not used;9
(iii) At least one copy of all documents being considered at the10
meeting is available at any physical site open to the public where11
individuals may attend the virtual conference. The public body shall also12
provide links to an electronic copy of the agenda, all documents being13
considered at the meeting, and the current version of the Open Meetings14
Act; and 15
(iv) Except as otherwise provided in this subdivision, subsection16
(1) of section 70-1014, subsection (2) of section 70-1014.02, or17
subsection (4) of section 79-2204, no more than one-half of the meetings18
of the state entities, advisory committees, boards, councils,19
organizations, or governing bodies are held by virtual conferencing in a20
calendar year. In the case of (A) an organization created under the21
Interlocal Cooperation Act that sells electricity or natural gas, (B) an22
organization created under the Municipal Cooperative Financing Act, (C) a23
governing body of a risk management pool and any advisory committee of24
such governing body, or (D) any advisory committee of any state entity25
created in response to the Opioid Prevention and Treatment Act, such26
organization, governing body, or committee may hold more than one-half of27
its meetings by virtual conferencing if such organization holds at least28
one meeting each calendar year that is not by virtual conferencing.29
(3) Virtual conferencing, emails, faxes, or other electronic30
communication shall not be used to circumvent any of the public31
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government purposes established in the Open Meetings Act.1
(4) The secretary or other designee of each public body shall2
maintain a list of the news media requesting notification of meetings and3
shall make reasonable efforts to provide advance notification to them of4
the time and place of each meeting and the subjects to be discussed at5
that meeting. 6
(5) When it is necessary to hold an emergency meeting without7
reasonable advance public notice, the nature of the emergency shall be8
stated in the minutes and any formal action taken in such meeting shall9
pertain only to the emergency. Such emergency meetings may be held by10
virtual conferencing. The provisions of subsection (4) of this section11
shall be complied with in conducting emergency meetings. Complete minutes12
of such emergency meetings specifying the nature of the emergency and any13
formal action taken at the meeting shall be made available to the public14
by no later than the end of the next regular business day.15
(6) A public body may allow a member of the public or any other16
witness to appear before the public body by means of virtual17
conferencing. 18
(7)(a) Notwithstanding subsections (2) and (5) of this section, if19
an emergency is declared by the Governor pursuant to the Emergency20
Management Act as defined in section 81-829.39, a public body the21
territorial jurisdiction of which is included in the emergency22
declaration, in whole or in part, may hold a meeting by virtual23
conferencing during such emergency if the public body gives reasonable24
advance publicized notice as described in subsection (1) of this section.25
The notice shall include information regarding access for the public and26
news media. In addition to any formal action taken pertaining to the27
emergency, the public body may hold such meeting for the purpose of28
briefing, discussion of public business, formation of tentative policy,29
or the taking of any action by the public body. 30
(b) The public body shall provide access by providing a dial-in31
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number or a link to the virtual conference. The public body shall also1
provide links to an electronic copy of the agenda, all documents being2
considered at the meeting, and the current version of the Open Meetings3
Act. Reasonable arrangements shall be made to accommodate the public's4
right to hear and speak at the meeting and record the meeting. Subsection5
(4) of this section shall be complied with in conducting such meetings.6
(c) The nature of the emergency shall be stated in the minutes.7
Complete minutes of such meeting specifying the nature of the emergency8
and any formal action taken at the meeting shall be made available for9
inspection as provided in subsection (5) of section 84-1413.10
(8) In addition to any other statutory authorization for virtual11
conferencing, any public body not listed in subdivision (2)(a) of this12
section may hold a meeting by virtual conferencing if:13
(a) The purpose of the virtual meeting is to discuss items that are14
scheduled to be discussed or acted upon at a subsequent non-virtual open15
meeting of the public body; 16
(b) No action is taken by the public body at the virtual meeting;17
and 18
(c) The public body complies with subdivisions (2)(b)(i) and (ii) of19
this section. 20
(9) This section does not apply to a meeting of the Nebraska Power21
Review Board or a public power district, a public power and irrigation22
district, an electric membership association, an electric cooperative23
company, a municipality having a generation and distribution system, or a24
registered group of municipalities if such meeting is subject to section25
70-1034. 26
Sec. 2. Original section 84-1411, Revised Statutes Supplement,27
2025, is repealed. 28
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