LINCOLN – Despite the backing of the state’s top lawmaker, a push to tighten Nebraska’s conflict of interest law is apparently dead.

Nebraska Watchdog has learned that a bill aimed solely at state senators—to try and keep them from voting on issues where they have a conflict— is going nowhere.

The bill, which was supported by Speaker Mike Flood, failed to get enough votes to make it out of committee, according to State Senator Bill Avery.

Avery tells Nebraska Watchdog because the legislation did not stop senators from voting if they have a conflict, some committee members felt the bill did little more than the current law. At the same time though Avery says no one offered an amendment to prohibit voting.

An ongoing Nebraska Watchdog investigation into the conflict question exposed an uneven state policy in which city councilman and county board members are prohibited from voting if they have a conflict, while state lawmakers are allowed to vote.

Avery says five votes were needed to send the bill to the floor. He says the Government Committee vote was 3-3 with two senators not voting.

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