AI-assisted research summary: The Public Counsel has broad power to investigate administrative agencies, inspect records and premises, request subpoenas, and issue reports and recommendations.
The Public Counsel shall have the power to: (1) Investigate, on complaint or on the Public Counsel's own motion, any administrative act of any administrative agency; (2) Prescribe the methods by which complaints are to be made, received, and acted upon; determine the scope and manner of investigations to be made; and, subject to the requirements of the Office of Public Counsel Act, determine the form, frequency, and distribution of the Public Counsel's conclusions, recommendations, and proposals; (3) Conduct inspections of the premises, or any parts of such premises, of any administrative agency or any property owned, leased, or operated by any administrative agency as frequently as is necessary, in the Public Counsel's opinion, to carry out duties prescribed under the Office of Public Counsel Act; (4) Request and receive from each administrative agency, and such agency shall provide, the assistance and information the Public Counsel deems necessary for the discharge of the Public Counsel's responsibilities; inspect and examine the records and documents of all administrative agencies notwithstanding any other provision of law; and enter and inspect premises within any administrative agency's control; (5) Request the issuance of a subpoena, enforceable by action in an appropriate court, to compel any person to appear, give sworn testimony, or produce documentary or other evidence deemed relevant to a matter under the Public Counsel's inquiry as provided in section 50-2018; (6) Undertake, participate in, or cooperate with general studies or inquiries, whether or not related to any particular administrative agency or any particular administrative act, if the Public Counsel believes that such general studies or inquiries may assist the Legislature in enhancing knowledge about or making improvements in the functioning of administrative agencies; (7) Make investigations, reports, and recommendations necessary to carry out the Public Counsel's duties under the State Government Effectiveness Act; (8) Investigate allegations of violation of subsection (2) of section 84-908 by an administrative agency pursuant to a complaint made to the Public Counsel's office and make a determination as to whether such administrative agency has violated such subsection. The Public Counsel shall report the Public Counsel's determination in writing to the Governor, the Secretary of State, the Attorney General, the Executive Board of the Legislative Council, and the director or chief executive officer of the agency. The report to the executive board shall be submitted electronically; and (9) Investigate and address the complaint and case of: (a) Any juvenile committed to the custody of a youth rehabilitation and treatment center; and (b) Any juvenile released from a youth rehabilitation and treatment center for reentry into the community, while that juvenile is subject to the Community and Family Reentry Process and a service or treatment program in which the juvenile may be involved after the juvenile's release from a youth rehabilitation and treatment center, whether that service or program is administrated by the Office of Juvenile Services or a private provider in the community. The Office of Juvenile Services and private providers in the community shall cooperate with any investigation conducted by the Public Counsel pursuant to this subdivision and provide all documentation and information requested by the Public Counsel in connection with such an investigation. History: Laws 1969, c. 762, § 6, p. 2880; Laws 1976, LB 687, § 2; Laws 1993, LB 44, § 11; Laws 2012, LB821, § 44; Laws 2013, LB242, § 1; Laws 2013, LB561, § 62; Laws 2015, LB598, § 21; R.S.1943, (2024), § 81-8,245; Laws 2025, LB298, § 7.