49-14,101.01 Financial gain; gift of travel or lodging; prohibited acts; violation; penalty; permissible activities and uses. - Nebraska Statutes

49-14,101.01. Financialgain; gift of travel or lodging; prohibited acts; violation; penalty; permissible activities and uses.(1) A public official or public employee shall not use orauthorize the use of his or her public office or any confidential informationreceived through the holding of a public office to obtain financial gain,other than compensation provided by law, for himself or herself, a memberof his or her immediate family, or a business with which the individual isassociated.(2) A public official or public employee shall not use orauthorize the use of personnel, resources, property, or funds under his orher official care and control other than in accordance with prescribed constitutional,statutory, and regulatory procedures or use such items, other than compensationprovided by law, for personal financial gain.(3) Unlessotherwise restricted by an employment contract, a collective-bargaining agreement,or a written agreement or policy approved by a government body, a public officialor public employee may use a telecommunication system, a cellular telephone,an electronic handheld device, or a computer under the control of a governmentbody for email, text messaging, a local call, or a long-distance call to achild at home, a teacher, a doctor, a day care center, a baby-sitter, a familymember, or any other person to inform any such person of an unexpected schedulechange or for other essential personal business. Any such communication shallbe kept to a minimum and shall not interfere with the conduct of public business.A public official or public employee shall be responsible for payment or reimbursementof charges, if any, that directly result from any such communication. An agencyor government body may establish procedures for reimbursement of charges pursuantto this subsection.(4) Apublic official shall not accept a gift of travel or lodging or a gift ofreimbursement for travel or lodging if the gift is made so that a member ofthe public official's immediate family can accompany the public official inthe performance of his or her official duties.(5) A member of the immediatefamily of a public official shall not accept a gift of travel or lodging ora gift of reimbursement for travel or lodging if the gift is made so thata member of the public official's immediate family can accompany the publicofficial in the performance of his or her official duties.(6) This section does notprohibit the Executive Board of the Legislative Council from adopting policiesthat allow a member of the Legislature to install and use with private fundsa telephone line, telephone, and telefax machine in his or her public officefor private purposes.(7) Except as provided insection 23-3113, any person violating this section shall be guilty of a ClassIII misdemeanor, except that no vote by any member of the Legislature shallsubject such member to any criminal sanction under this section. SourceLaws 2001, LB 242, § 19; Laws 2002, LB 1086, § 4; Laws 2005, LB 242, § 44; Laws 2009, LB626, § 4.