LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Cities, counties and school districts in Nebraska could be in for longer budget hearings under a bill designed to promote public awareness of how local governments spend tax revenue.

Sen. Mike Groene of North Platte presented a bill to a committee Thursday that would require local officials to hold special budget meetings with no time limits, in which anyone from the public could speak.

Local governments would also have to give detailed budget presentations and provide copies of their proposals to the public.

Groene says a lack of clarity in Nebraska’s open meetings law may prevent residents from realizing they already have a right to see the budget documents used by local elected officials.