LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) – The Nebraska Attorney General’s office would lose its oversight of a state environmental fund, under two proposals slated for a legislative hearing.
The proposals were introduced following criticism of a $100,000 grant by Nebraska Attorney General Jon Bruning, who approved the money for an industry-backed farm group. The Legislature’s Judiciary Committee will hear both bills Wednesday.
The money was awarded to We Support Agriculture, a group created to promote farming in the midst of what it perceives as threats to Nebraska’s agriculture industry. The fund is made up of money from state environmental fines and settlements.
The proposals were introduced by state Sens. Heath Mello of Omaha and Ken Haar of Malcolm. Both are Democrats in the officially nonpartisan Legislature. Bruning is a Republican running for U.S. Senate.