Nebraska Furries Communications
| Submitted | March 28, 2022 |
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Communications
From: Adrien Salzberg
To Whom It May Concern:
Pursuant to the Nebraska Public Records Act, I hereby request the following records:
Communications sent to, from, or copied to State Sen. Bruce Bostelman, as well as any staff that report directly to the State Sen. Bruce Bostelman, concerning his comments made during the floor debate of LB852 in the Nebraska State Senate concerning "furries" and related allegations concerning Nebraska schoolchildren in several schools across the state.
The scope of this request should include but is not limited to emails, attachments, both sent and received, draft records, notes, minutes, scheduling records, text messages, and other correspondence, both internal and external.
While performing a search for responsive documents, please include emails and text messages containing any of the following non-case-sensitive key-strings sent from 03/25 to the day this request is processed:
"furries", "furry", "litter box", "litterbox" "meow", "bark"
I am open and amendable to appropriate redactions as long as corresponding exemption(s) are cited. Additionally, if any aspect of the search for these records is unduly burdensome or unclear, please notify me ahead of time and I will be happy to talk about the scope of my request and what is reasonable for the records officer to produce.
The requested documents will be made available to the general public, and this request is not being made for commercial purposes.
In the event that there are fees, I would be grateful if you would inform me of the total charges in advance of fulfilling my request. I would prefer the request filled electronically, by e-mail attachment if available or CD-ROM if not.
Thank you in advance for your anticipated cooperation in this matter. I look forward to receiving your response to this request within 4 business days, as the statute requires.
Sincerely,
Adrien Salzberg
From: Nebraska Legislature
Adrien,
Your request has been received and delivered to the proper entity.
Unicameral Information Office
--
Kate Heltzel
Director, Unicameral Information Office
Office of the Clerk of the Nebraska Legislature
State Capitol Building, 10th Floor
Lincoln, NE 68509
402.471.2216
update.legislature.ne.gov
www.NebraskaLegislature.gov
From: Nebraska Legislature
Mr. Salzberg,
Your request for Senator Bruce Bostelman’s records has been forwarded to
me, as Chairperson of the Nebraska Legislature’s Executive Board. I am
denying your request for the following reasons:
Nebraska Revised Statutes §84-712.05, provides that the following records,
unless publicly disclosed in an open court, open administrative proceeding,
or open meeting or disclosed by a public entity pursuant to its duties, may
be withheld from the public by the lawful custodian of the records:
(13) Correspondence, memoranda, and records of telephone calls related to
the performance of duties by a member of the Legislature in whatever form.
The lawful custodian of the correspondence, memoranda, and records of
telephone calls, upon approval of the Executive Board of the Legislative
Council, shall release the correspondence, memoranda, and records of
telephone calls which are not designated as sensitive or confidential in
nature to any person performing an audit of the Legislature. A member's
correspondence, memoranda, and records of confidential telephone calls
related to the performance of his or her legislative duties shall only be
released to any other person with the explicit approval of the member;
Furthermore, the Nebraska Attorney General has opined that, in addition to
the statutory language above, members of the Legislature possess a
privilege derived from Article III, Section 26 of the Nebraska
Constitution. (Attorney General Letter to Dr. Paul Von Behren, File
No.16-R-133 – 2016). This provision of the Nebraska Constitution states
that “[n]o member of the Legislature shall be liable in any civil or
criminal action whatever for words spoken in debate.” The Nebraska Attorney
General concluded that this provision of the Nebraska Constitution grants
“immunity from the disclosure of any records”, which in that instance also
included a request for email and text messages.
Pursuant to the above information, a senator is the lawful custodian of his
or her email correspondence, and so you need to contact Senator Bostelman
directly to request his communications.
Please be advised that as chairperson of the Executive Board, I am
responsible for the decision to deny your request. Nebraska Revised
Statutes §84-712.03 provides that any person has the right to an
administrative or judicial review based on the denial of all or certain
portions of a request.
If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me.
--
Senator Dan Hughes
Chair, Executive Board
District 44
dhughes@leg.ne.gov
402-471-2805
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