Citing political violence, Nebraska senator wants secure parking garage access currently used by state employees

The Nebraska Legislature’s Executive Board is considering dedicating parking spots in a secure parking garage near the Capitol that connects to the Legislative chamber via an underground tunnel. The change would subsequently move state employees who currently park at the 13th and K streets garage to a new location not yet specified. Several state employees – including one who said her employment was recently terminated due to budget issues – voiced concerns during the Thursday hearing about losing their dedicated parking spots.

Sen. Robert Dover, who represents the city of Norfolk, Madison County and parts of Pierce County in the Legislature, introduced the bill following a situation in which he said he was assaulted near a restaurant by the Capitol building.

In the hearing for LB1245, Dover said he was walking near the Windsor Square condos, a block away from the Capitol, when someone attacked him. During the exchange, Dover, who was 66 at the time, said he pushed the person off him and shouted, “I’m a state senator. If you touch me, you will go to prison.”

Eventually, the person fled. Dover didn’t specify when the attack happened, but said it occurred during a legislative session. He’s served in the Legislature since 2022, when he was appointed to fill the seat by then-Gov. Pete Ricketts.

During his testimony to senators, Dover cited several statistics showing an increase in threats against public officials since the 2016 presidential election. The National Counterterrorism Innovation, Technology, and Education (NCITE), which tracks security threats under the Department of Homeland Security, has reported sharp increases in threats directed toward public officials since 2013.

While most public officials who receive threats are typically part of the legal system, from law enforcement officers to judges, elected officials and those running or managing elections make up the second most-targeted category, according to NCITE. Educators and health care workers are also common targets of threats.

Dover said he’d like to see more security measures sooner before someone is hurt. LB1245 is intended to pair with a separate measure that was introduced earlier this week. LB1237 would prohibit guns – and other weapons like knives, brass knuckles and tasers – from being brought into the State Capitol. Dover said both pieces of legislation would better protect senators inside and outside of the Capitol.

“I know a number of our fellow senators have received threats online, such as Sen. [Kathleen] Kauth, and a number of others that bring – I would say, bills that are, well, I guess – [bills that] just gets the emotions going,” Dover said. “I don't know that everyone always understands what we go through as senators and the votes that we cast, and the people that are very, very angry about those votes that we take. I just personally think the threat is real.”

Senators recalled their emergency exit from the chamber floors in 2023, when they voted to pass a controversial bill that combined stricter abortion measures and gender-affirming care for minors. Following the vote, upset constituents filled the rotunda, yelling “Shame! Shame!” as senators left the chambers. Some senators fled through the tunnel that connects from the chamber to the 13th and K streets parking garage.

“They said it was the worst demonstration since the Vietnam War, is what I heard,” Dover said. “I think you all remember the amount of yelling and chanting. And so we were, of course, escorted out. I wasn’t going to go, but we sort of had to protect the red coats, right? And so we went down under, and we came up in that parking lot for safety. So to me, that seems to be the place to go.”

But currently, all 108 parking stalls at that garage are taken by state employees, most of which work for the Office of the Chief Information Officer (OCIO) in the state’s 501 Building. That’s the state agency that provides information technology services, or ITS. State employees who work downtown are required to pay for their parking stalls, whether they are on public or private property. Senators do not pay for their parking.

OCIO employees currently pay $50 per month if they park on the lower level of the 13th and K parking garage, or $40 per month if they park on the upper level. The Legislative Fiscal Office estimated the state would suffer $15,228 in losses annually by transitioning the garage from paid employee parking to free senator parking. The current bill as drafted would also dedicate parking stalls to Supreme Court judges and Court of Appeals judges, but the State Court Administrator said the judges aren’t interested in switching parking areas.

Several OCIO employees referenced the difficulty for state employees when trying to find parking to attend work. Chad Daily said the garage doesn’t provide more security than other parking facilities that senators and their staff already use. And it would push OCIO workers farther from the buildings in which they work, forcing a longer commute for employees who need to access their workplaces as soon as possible in certain circumstances.

“These digital first responders that work in this building require immediate access to the 501 building at any time, given that we are the ones that respond to attacks from global attackers, not just in a local vicinity,” Daily said. “It's well understood that most of what we do can be performed remotely, but employees are prohibited by policy from working from home no matter the condition, even when sick. This means that if we're to work, we have to be present in our assigned facility. Assigned parking ensures timely, reliable access in any emergency. And if we're to believe that the state is to be run as a business, then time is money.”

Casey DunnGossin, said she was a state employee for 10 years before her job was terminated last fall “due to budgetary constraints within OCIO.” She asked the board to reconsider unnecessary spending that could eat into the state’s budget hole, which is estimated to be at $471.5 million.

“I would like to know how this bill takes that into consideration and ensures future state employees don't need to be laid off for future budget cuts,” DunnGossin said.

The former state employee also said that other employees face similar threats of violence when they walk to their vehicles, sometimes blocks away from their workplaces. And, if the proposal is approved, she asked how it would ensure only senators use the parking stalls.

“Because when I worked at the legislature, there were plenty of experiences where [senators’] staff would use their parking spot if they weren't there,” DunnGossin said. “There were other times where their staff would drop them off at the front of the door. I would like to know how that would be ensured, to make sure that it's used for the purpose that it is intended for, but also so that it wasn't abused by people within the system that have access to it.”

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