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UPDATE: 1/3/2024 - LB 421 carried over to 2024.
UPDATE: 6/1/2023 - LB 421 failed to pass the Health and Human Services Committee before session ended on 6/1/2023. All bills on which no final action has been taken by the time of adjournment of the regular session in odd-numbered years shall be held over for consideration at the regular session convening in even-numbered years.
UPDATE: 2/8/2023 - LB 421 was scheduled for a hearing in the Health and Human Services Committee on 2/15/2023 at 1:30 pm in Room 1510. Written comments can be submitted here: https://www.nebraskalegislature.gov/bills/add_statement.php
Notice of hearing: https://www.nebraskalegislature.gov/FloorDocs/108/PDF/Journal/r1journal.pdf#page=478
UPDATE: 1/18/2023 - LB 421 was referred to Health and Human Services Committee on 1/18/2023.
LB 421 was introduced on 1/13/2023. This bill is sponsored by Senator Kauth.
This bill expands current Nebraska law, 71-1632, and gives a health director of a county, district, or city-county health department the power and duty "to issue and enforce directed health measures upon adoption by the city council or the county board" (p. 7 lines 18-19).
NVIC is opposed to this bill because directed health measures could include vaccination. NVIC is opposed to vaccine mandates and this bill would allow for local government in the form of a city council or county board to still mandate vaccination. While the bill limits the role of unelected health officials to only advising a local city council and county board, and we recognize the good intentions of the bill author to add some accountability to only allow elected officers to issue the mandate, the bill also codifies the right of city councils or county boards to mandate vaccinations through directed health measures and goes on to codify the power and duty of a health director of a county, district, or city-county health department "to issue and enforce directed health measures" put in place by a city council or county board. Vaccination is an invasive medical procedure that can cause injury and death for some, and should only be administered with full opt-in informed consent free from penalties, coercion or harassment and definitely not mandated by government regardless of the process for imposing the mandate. An improvement to this bill would be to exclude vaccination from directed health measures.
https://www.nebraskalegislature.gov/bills/view_bill.php?DocumentID=50453 - text, status and history for LB 421
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