81-830.

Office of Homeland Security; created; Director of State Homeland Security; Homeland Security Policy Group; created; members; duties.

(1) The Office of Homeland Security is created. The Governor shall appoint the Director of State Homeland Security who shall serve at the pleasure of the Governor.

(2) The purpose of the office is to ensure preparedness by the State of Nebraska in response to or in mitigation of terrorist acts or threats from foreign adversaries. The office shall coordinate efforts regarding domestic security issues with the United States Department of Homeland Security. The Director of State Homeland Security shall serve as the contact between the state and the United States Department of Homeland Security.

(3)(a) The Homeland Security Policy Group is created. The Director of State Homeland Security shall serve as chairperson of the policy group. The policy group is charged with assessing state homeland security risks, threats, and hazards and recommending strategic alternatives and broad courses of action for the development of comprehensive strategies to eliminate or mitigate such risks, threats, and hazards.

(b) The Governor shall appoint other members of the policy group who shall serve at the will of the Governor.

(c) The Executive Board of the Legislative Council shall select one member of the Government, Military and Veterans Affairs Committee and one member of the Appropriations Committee of the Legislature to serve as ex officio nonvoting members of the policy group.

(d) The policy group shall report electronically by March 1 of each year to the executive board identifying federal funds sent to the state in support of its preparedness activities and indicating the use of federal funds received by the state for homeland security, including specific amounts allocated to any unit of state or local government and the use to which the unit shall apply the funds.

(e) The policy group shall not be subject to the Open Meetings Act or to sections 84-712 to 84-712.09.