The Nebraska Legislature’s Judiciary Committee heard testimony from ACLU of Nebraska and Vision Zero Network on March 20, 2025 regarding LB 222, a bill aiming to reduce non-safety traffic stops in the state by reclassifying certain violations, such as expired registration tags, as secondary violations in which a driver would only be pulled over if they had a previous and more serious offense on record, such as speeding or a DUI. CPE also submitted written testimony in support of the bill:
“LB 222 represents an educated step towards focusing police time and resources where they are most effective,” said Chris Burbank, former Police Chief of Salt Lake City and consultant with CPE. “Of the more than 100,000 traffic stops reported in Nebraska in 2023, just 1.1% led to an arrest: clear evidence that pretext stops are not an essential crime-fighting tool. The economic and social cost of traffic enforcement for non-safety infractions outweighs any benefit. We can and must do better. The time has come for us to ask of policing, ‘should we?’ as opposed to ‘can we?’”
Read the full press release from ACLU on their website.