ACLU says drug test changes in Nebraska prisons a step toward reform

LINCOLN, Neb. (KOLN) - On Tuesday, Governor Jim Pillen signed a bill into law giving more protections to Nebraska’s prisoners accused of having contraband drugs.

The bill, LB 519, allows incarcerated individuals to request secondary independent drug tests, to confirm results of field tests currently used by the Nebraska Department of Corrections.

One of the senators behind the bill, Omaha’s Terrell McKinney, said the bill came on the heels of a 2024 report by the Office of Inspector General for Corrections.

“It was found by the OIG that some of those tests were coming back positive when they really weren’t and it was affecting individuals as far as where they’re housed, programming, and also if they could be released,” McKinney said.

According to the report, between 2022 and 2023, several inmates complained to the OIG about disciplinary actions they were facing after alleged faulty drug tests done by NDCS. They individuals said the department tested items suspected of being drug contraband using field or “spot” tests.

The report said the “spot” tests were commonly made by the company “DetectaChem” which say on the label it should not be used as a sole means of detection. The complaints said the department did not do any additional testing, like blood or urine tests, to confirm the accused person was using drugs.

The American Civil Liberties Union of Nebraska, who supported the bill, said this was not a fair or accurate process for those individuals.

“If you’re using a test and its showing ‘Oh, your legal document is testing positive through a spot test we’re going to destroy that, write you up, and here’s the consequence. But there’s no recourse to challenge that—that’s the problem,” Jason Witmer, policy fellow for the ACLU of Nebraska said.

Now that LB 519 is passed, people who feel they received a false positive test can request an independent retest or confirmatory test.

To help get the bill across the finish line, Senator Margo Juarez included a term in the bill that requires the inmate who requested the independent test to pay for the test if the specimen is positive for drugs. If it’s negative – NDCS will front the bill.

Witmer said it’s a step in the right direction for reform.

‘The fight is not completely over; our correction system across our country is always place we need to work on to get the best work out of,” Witmer said.

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