Bill
LB 358
LB358 lets inmates access their own department file via written request to the facility CEO, with confidentiality preserved and contents listed; medical records access separate.
LB358 — Summary
Overview
- Bill number and title: LB358, relating to the Nebraska Treatment and Corrections Act.
- Purpose: To amend 83-178 to provide committed offenders (inmates) with access to their individual departmental file upon written request to the chief executive officer of the facility where they are housed, while preserving confidentiality and existing oversight mechanisms.
- Introduced and status: Introduced January 16, 2025; Committee: Judiciary; Hearing notice for January 31, 2025 (One Hundred Ninth Legislature, First Session).
What the bill would do
- Access to individual file
- Requires the Nebraska Department of Corrections to allow a committed offender to access their own individual file through a written request to the facility’s chief executive officer (CEO).
- This access is in addition to, and alongside, existing protections and confidentiality provisions.
- Contents of the file
- The individual file would include, where available and appropriate:
- Admission summary
- Presentence investigation report
- Classification report and recommendation
- Official records of conviction and commitment and prior criminal records
- Progress reports and admission/orientation reports
- Disposition
- Reports of disciplinary infractions and their dispositions
- Parole plan
- Other pertinent data regarding background, conduct, associations, and family relationships
- Confidentiality and public access
- The file content remains confidential and not accessible to the public except by court order for good cause.
- Medical vs mental health records
- Inmates may access medical records by request to the medical provider under applicable Nebraska statutes (sections 71-8401 to 71-8407), even if those records are part of the department file.
- The department retains authority to withhold mental health and psychological records when appropriate.
- Departmental and judicial oversight
- Decisions about classification, reclassification, transfers, preparole, or parole remain subject to the file review process.
- The chief executive officer has final authority on treatment classification within the facility and can recommend transfers to the director.
- The director may order additional examinations for further recommendations.
- The Public Counsel retains its oversight rights to inspect records, with protections for medical/mental health records as described.
Procedural and timeline details
- Legislative actions:
- 2025-01-22: Notice of hearing for January 31, 2025
- 2025-01-21: Referred to Judiciary Committee
- 2025-01-16: Introduced
- Sponsor: Primary sponsor listed as Senator Guereca (documented as Guereca; one version notes “Dunixi Guereca” as introducer).
Potential impacts and considerations
- Beneficiaries: Offenders under the Nebraska Department of Corrections, facility administrators, and the Public Counsel.
- Practical effects: Improves transparency and due-process considerations by enabling inmates to review their own records, while maintaining confidentiality of sensitive information and public access restrictions.
- Implementation: Requires updating the statutory language to replace the previous framework with explicit access provisions and preserves existing medical-record access pathways.
This summary captures the bill’s core intent, key provisions, affected parties, and the procedural steps and timeline associated with LB358.
Compiled from official sources — confirm details with the bill’s official record.
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