60-480.01 Undercover drivers' licenses; issuance; confidential; unlawful disclosure; penalty.
60-480.01. Undercover drivers' licenses; issuance;confidential; unlawful disclosure; penalty.(1)(a) Undercoverdrivers' licenses may be issued to federal, state,county, city, or village law enforcement agencies and shall be used only forlegitimate criminal investigatory purposes. Undercover drivers' licenses mayalso be issued to the Nebraska State Patrol, the Game and Parks Commission,deputy state sheriffs employed by the Nebraska Brand Committee and State FireMarshal for state law enforcement purposes, persons employed by the Tax Commissionerfor state revenue enforcement purposes, the Department of Health and HumanServices for the purposes of communicable disease control, the preventionand control of those communicable diseases which endanger the public health,the enforcement of drug control laws, or other investigation purposes, the Department of Agriculturefor special investigative purposes,and the Insurance Fraud Prevention Division of the Department of Insurancefor investigative purposes. Undercover drivers' licenses are notfor personal use.(b) The director shall prescribe a form for agencies to apply for undercoverdrivers' licenses. The form shall include a space for the name and signatureof the contact person for the requesting agency, a statement that the undercoverdrivers' licenses are to be used only for legitimate criminal investigatorypurposes, and a statement that undercover drivers' licenses are not for personaluse.(2) The agency shall include the name and signature of the contact personfor the agency on the form and pay the fees prescribed in section 60-4,115.If the undercover drivers' licenses will be used for the investigation ofa specific event rather than for ongoing investigations, the agency shalldesignate on the form an estimate of the length of time the undercover drivers'licenses will be needed. The contact person in the agency shall sign the formand verify the information contained in the form.(3) Upon receipt of a completed form, the director shall determine whetherthe undercover drivers' licenses will be used by an approved agency for alegitimate purpose pursuant to subsection (1) of this section. If the directordetermines that the undercover drivers' licenses will be used for such a purpose,he or she may issue the undercover drivers' licenses in the form and underthe conditions he or she determines to be necessary. The decision of the directorregarding issuance of undercover drivers' licenses is final.(4) The Department of Motor Vehicles shall keep records pertaining toundercover drivers' licenses confidential, and such records shall not be subjectto public disclosure. Any person who receives information pertaining to undercoverdrivers' licenses in the course of his or her employment and who disclosesany such information to any unauthorized individual shall be guilty of a ClassIII misdemeanor.(5) The contact person shall return the undercover drivers' licensesto the Department of Motor Vehicles if:(a) The undercover drivers' licenses expire and are not renewed;(b) The purpose for which the undercover drivers' licenses were issuedhas been completed or terminated;(c) The persons for whom the undercover drivers' licenses were issuedcease to be employees of the agency; or(d) The director requests their return. SourceLaws 1997, LB 256, § 6; Laws 2007, LB296, § 228; Laws 2009, LB28, § 2; Laws 2009, LB331, § 9.