LINCOLN- In a 38-page legal opinion issued Wednesday, Nebraska Attorney General Mike Hilgers argued that investigative powers conferred on the state's inspectors general, especially in the realms of child welfare and the state's prison system, violate the separation of powers clause of the Nebraska Consitution and "significantly impairs" the powers of the executive branch and state judiciary to govern their operations.

More specifically, Hilgers claimed that the Inspector General's power to obtain "immediate access to the Department's and Division's document, information, and facilities violates the rights bestowed upon by the state's executive and judiciary branches by the constitution. "The traditional tools of legislative investigations--voluntary requests for information and subpoenas for documents and testimony--allow each branch to protect its interests." stated the opinion drafted by the Attorney General.

Speaker of the Legislature John Arch responded to the argument almost immediately, and said that further review of the opinion must be undertaken before the Legislature develops a strategy to continue oversight of two agencies that carry "a high level of risk for the population served." The two offices being questioned by Hilgers, namely the office of the Inspector General for Child Welfare and the office of the Inspector General for Corrections, were established by the Legislature in 2012 and 2015 respectively, with the aim of providing more accountability in these two contentious areas.

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