LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — A former Nebraska state senator and an Omaha community college faculty member have been chosen as new board members for a tax policy think tank.

Sen. John Harms of Scottsbluff and Tulani Grundy Meadows of Omaha will serve on the board of the OpenSky Policy Institute. The group provides research on state tax and education-funding policies.

Harms finished an eight-year term in the Legislature earlier this month. As a senator he served on legislative committees that focused on state tax incentives, tax modernization and the state budget.

Tulani is a faculty member at Metropolitan Community College in Omaha, teaching political science and human relations skills. She holds a law degree from the University of Pennsylvania Law School and a bachelor’s degree from Spelman College.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — A Washington state prisons administrator with 32 years of experience has been chosen to lead Nebraska’s Department of Corrections.

Gov. Pete Ricketts announced Tuesday that he has named Scott Frakes to the position. Frakes was chosen from three finalists after a national search.

Frakes, of Olympia, worked in six different positions in Washington’s corrections department, starting as a correctional officer. He has served as the department’s deputy director since April 2012. In his current role he oversees six prisons, a staff of 2,800 and about 8,000 offenders.

Ricketts says Frakes will help chart a new course for the department, which has faced criticism for miscalculating prison sentences and other scandals.

A Ricketts spokesman says Frakes’ salary information will become available once he takes office on Feb. 2.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Nebraska cycling advocates are asking lawmakers to increase bicycle safety on public roads.

More than a dozen cyclists testified before the Legislature’s Transportation and Telecommunications Committee Tuesday in favor of a bill by Sen. Rick Kolowski of Omaha.

The bill would require vehicles to follow the same principles passing a bicycle as when passing another vehicle. In order to pass a cyclist, motor vehicles would merge left on a four-lane road and completely cross the center line on a two-way road.

The bill would also eliminate a 1968 law that requires cyclists to use a bike path if one exists next to the roadway.

Advocates say the bill is easier to for law enforcement to monitor and simpler for motorists to remember.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — A North Platte man has been sentenced to 10 years in federal prison for taking a young girl to Colorado for sex.

Officials say 23-year-old Michael Stansall pleaded guilty to charges of transportation of a minor with the intent to engage in sexual activity.

Court records say Stansall met with the 13-year-old girl in June in North Platte and drove her to Colorado, where he sexually assaulted her.

Stansall gets 15 years of supervised release following his 10 years in prison. He was also ordered to pay nearly $2,000 for the girl’s counseling services.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Nebraska Attorney General Doug Peterson has created a stand-alone bureau in his office that will focus on agriculture, natural resources and the environment.

The new bureau was pulled from an existing section of state’s Consumer Protection Division. Peterson said Tuesday that the bureau will focus on longstanding legal battles over water and federal regulations.

Justin Lavene, an assistant attorney general, will serve as the bureau’s chief.

Lavene supervises the litigation support for Nebraska state agencies and boards, including the Department of Natural Resources, Department of Environmental Quality, Department of Agriculture, the Game and Parks Commission, the Environmental Trust and state commodity boards.