Judiciary Committee will decide fate of county elected court seat

A Nebraska Judiciary Committee will soon make the decision whether or not to take a county elected position and consolidate it into an existing state agency.

In Cheyenne County the Clerk of the District Court is an elected seat. In some states, the position is a state governed position under the existing Court Magistrate.

Under Legislative Bill 544 (LB544) the office of Clerk of the District Court would be phased out in counties where an Ex officio acts as clerk, serving elected clerks would remain in office and continue to be re-elected until a vacancy, at which time the responsibilities would then be transferred to the Court Magistrate.

According to current District Court Clerk Deb Hume there are currently 39 Ex officio District Clerks in Nebraska.

Consolidation of county property in LB 544 provides that property remains owned by the county, but books, files and records transfer to the state court administrator.

If LB544 is passed, employees under the District Court Clerk become state employees, with the assurance that transferred county employees will not incur a loss of income or benefits as a result.

However, the consolidation of District Clerk into a state position does take away the peoples’ right to vote a clerk of their choosing into the position.

Subscribe to the Sidney Sun-Telegraph to read the rest of the story.

(308) 254-2818

817 12th Ave. Sidney, NE 69162

http://www.suntelegraph.com/subscribe