LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — An advocacy group has filed a complaint against Nebraska Gov. Dave Heineman, alleging that the Republican improperly used state resources to promote the candidacy of presidential hopeful Mitt Romney.

The complaint by Common Cause Nebraska, a government watchdog, takes issue with a press release from Heineman’s office about the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling on the health care law. The release quoted Heineman as saying it was “more important than ever” to elect Romney, who has vowed to repeal the law if elected.

Heineman defended the decision on Tuesday, saying the health care law and the presidential election were inter-related issues. Heineman says he was making a statement of fact, and responding to press inquiries for his opinion on the ruling.

(Lincoln, Neb.) Gov. Dave Heineman today named Francie C. Riedmann of Omaha to the Nebraska Court of Appeals in the Third Judicial District.

Riedmann, 48, is currently practicing law with Gross & Welch, P.C., L.L.O. in Omaha. Her areas of legal practice include insurance disputes, construction law, contract disputes, employment, inverse condemnation, medical malpractice, admiralty law, and products liability, among others.

Riedmann has handled over 60 appeals to the Nebraska Supreme Court, Nebraska Court of Appeal, and the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit. She has briefed and argued hundreds of motions in the Nebraska State and Federal Courts.

Riedmann has received numerous awards and recognitions for her legal work, including being a fellow for the Nebraska Bar Association and the Litigation Counsel of America. She has earned the American Jurisprudence Award in three areas: Trusts & Estates, Property, and Insurance. Additionally, she is active in many community services and organizations including the Black Student Catholic Scholarship Fund, Friends of the Library for the Gretna Public Library, and Gretna Public Schools Citizens’ Committee.

Riedmann earned her Juris Doctor from Creighton University School of Law, and a Bachelor of Science from Kearney State College, now the University of Nebraska -Kearney.

The Third Judicial District of the State Court of Appeals includes several counties in northeast Nebraska (Antelope, Boone, Boyd, Burt, Cedar, Cuming, Dakota, Dixon, Dodge, Holt, Knox, Madison, Pierce, Platte, Stanton, Thurston, Washington, Wayne, and Wheeler Counties, in addition to portions of Douglas and Sarpy Counties).

The vacancy was created when Gov. Heineman appointed Judge William B. Cassel to serve on the Nebraska Supreme Court, Third Judicial District.

LINCOLN – The National Association of Secretaries of State (NASS) has honored Nebraska Secretary of State John Gale’s office for an online application regarding tracking of proposed state rules and regulations.

NASS presented Gale’s office with the first-ever IDEAS Award. The national award recognizes innovation, dedication, excellence and achievement in service in state member programming, as well as significant contributions to the mission of NASS.

Gale’s office was honored for its creation of a state tracking and email notification system for proposed rules and regulations. NASS said this cross-agency application has yielded significant results in government economy through operational time savings in many areas.

“My office has brought the legal process of creating, amending and repealing regulations into the 21^stcentury,” Gale said.

“In a process that can be very lengthy, following up on every proposal manually could be challenging,” he said. “Now, the three agency administrators involved in the regulation adoption process have a tool that will accomplish this for the public.”

The online application was developed in partnership with Nebraska.gov, the state’s official website.