Human trafficking penalties, drug overdose immunity and voting rights for ex-felons were all topics of debate this week in the Nebraska Legislature, as senators advanced bills relating to each.
    LB289, sponsored by Sen. Patty Pansing Brooks of Lincoln, would impose stronger penalties for human trafficking offenses. An amendment to the bill, adopted 41-0, incorporated provisions of four other bills related to sexual assault and domestic violence.
    The amended bill would allow victims of sexual assault to file for civil protection orders against their assailants and prevent gaps in protection for victims of domestic abuse by allowing them to file for renewal of protection orders up to 30 days before existing order expires. These provisions were originally included in LB178, sponsored by Sen Kate Bolz of Lincoln, and LB191, sponsored by Pansing Brooks, respectively.
    Provisions of LB188, sponsored by Sen. Sara Howard of O! maha, and LB394, sponsored by Sen. Adam Morfeld of Lincoln, were also included.
    The first would allow victims of sexual assault to seek termination of parental rights of their attackers in cases where a child is conceived as a result of sexual assault. The second would prohibit people under a domestic violence protection order from possessing a deadly weapon.
 

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