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1966 Blue Book

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under the Department of Insurance. The duties and powers of the State Fire Marshal are as follows:

 1. Shall have general charge of the inspection of buildings and premises.

 2. May examine any building or premise where a fire is in progress or has occurred and may cause origin of fires to be investigated.

 3. Shall order combustible and explosive materials to be removed from any building or premise and order the abatement of dangerous conditions which constitute fire hazards.

 4. May order exits and means of egress as are necessary to eliminate the dangers existing in buildings that do not afford reasonably safe escape in case of fire.

 5. May order the destruction, repair, or alteration of dilapidated buildings.

 6. With the Commissioner of Education, must prepare a book of instruction in fire dangers for use in the schools of the state.

 7. Has authority to promulgate rules and regulations and to adopt recognized safety standards for fire prevention and protection in Nebraska.

      The office of Fire Prevention is maintained by taxes paid by companies doing fire insurance business in Nebraska.

Total number of employees: 350. (This includes 337 employees in the Division of Employment.)

Publications: Biennial Report, Labor Laws, Safety Codes, Annual Report of the Division of Employment, Nebraska Labor Market News.

      The Legislature of 1887 created the Bureau of Labor, Census, and Industrial Statistics. The Governor was made the Commissioner, to comply with the requirements of the Nebraska Constitution forbidding the creation of more executive offices. The duties of the office were performed by a deputy commissioner and other employees. The Legislature of 1917 created the office of Deputy Compensation Commissioner, and the Civil Administrative Code of 1919 assigned the duties of the Compensation Commissioner to the Secretary of Labor. The Legislature of 1933 changed the title of the chief deputy to "Commissioner." The Legislature of 1935 set up a Workmen's Compensation Court and trans-

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ferred the administration of the Workmen's Compensation Laws to this court.

     Under existing Nebraska Statutes, as now constituted, the duties of the Commissioner of Labor and the functions of the department are to foster, promote and develop the welfare of wage earners; improve working conditions; advance opportunities for profitable employment; adopt and enforce codes relating to industrial safety; and enforce the laws of the state which pertain to working conditions, hours of labor, the employment of women and children and to administer the Employment Security Law.

     The work of the department is implemented through two divisions: (1) The Division of Safety, and (2) The Division of Employment.

     The current statutory duties of the Safety Division of the Department of Labor, which is under the direct supervision of the Commissioner of Labor may be summarized as follows:

     (1) To protect the working people in the state under the provisions of the Health and Safety laws and the regulations adopted by the Commissioner thereunder, to formulate safety codes and standards in order that all employment and places of employment in the state shall be operated and maintained as to provide reasonable and adequate protection to the lives, health and safety of working people.

(2) To enforce the provisions of the State Health and Safety codes by periodical inspections of all places of employment.

(3) To protect women and children through the provisions of the Female Labor Law and the Child Labor Law.

(4) To protect persons who are looking for jobs from abuses by private employment agencies under the law relating to Private Employment Agencies, and Foreign Labor Agents.

(5) To administer and enforce the provisions of the Service Letter Law, the Lunch Period Law, and the Discrimination Law.

(6) To administer the provisions of the state law relating to yearly inspection of all steam boilers generating steam pressure of more than fifteen pounds per square unit and school boilers.

(7) To administer the provisions of state law relating to the inspection of all freight and passenger elevators in the state at least every 12 months in order to determine if all such equipment is in a safe and satisfactory condition and properly constructed and maintained for the purpose for which it is used.

     The division employs an industrial safety engineer whose services are made available to Industry, Labor, and Safety Committees as a consultant in establishing in-plant safety educational programs.

     The inspection staff of the division consists of the Chief Boiler In-

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specter, plus an additional boiler inspector in Lincoln; three safety inspectors stationed in Omaha; two in Lincoln; and one in Grand Island.

     The Division of Employment is the outgrowth of measures enacted by the Nebraska Legislature in 1935 and 1937.

     The first law passed in 1935 established a system of free public employment offices in the state to be known as the Nebraska State Employment Service. The funds appropriated by the state for the maintenance of the State Employment Service were matched by the federal government under the provisions of the Wagner-Peyser Act.

     In 1937 the Legislature passed the Nebraska Unemployment Compensation Law and established the Unemployment Compensation Division as the administrative agency of the law. Both the State Employment Service and the Unemployment Compensation Division functioned as separate administrative entities within the Department of Labor, each headed by a director responsible to the Commissioner of Labor.

     In 1941 the Legislature provided for the establishment within the Department of Labor of a new Division of Placement and Unemployment Insurance. The new division was created so that a single state agency would be responsible for both the placement o workers and the payment of unemployment insurance benefits. All persons employed in the division, which is headed by a director responsible to the Commissioner of Labor, are appointed to their positions under regulations of the Nebraska Merit System.

     In 1949, again by legislative action, the name of the division for purposes of simplification, was changed to the Division of Employment Security. The 1961 Legislature changed the name of the division to the Division of Employment. The division is now financed entirely by federal money, appropriated by Congress and allocated to the state through a budget approved by the Bureau of Employment Security of the United States Department of Labor.

     By action of Congress in 1954 employers of four or more workers were made subject to the Federal Unemployment Tax Act. (Prior to 1954 only employers of eight or more workers were subject to this Law). The 1955 session of the Nebraska Legislature amended the Nebraska Employment Security Law to conform to the Federal Act.

     Other additional programs added to division operations in the 1955-1956 biennium under the joint federal-state administration were expanded programs for the placement of physically handicapped and older workers, and for providing placement service to the state's farmers and ranchers including both full-time and seasonal workers.

     Under the terms of the Unemployment Compensation for Federal Employees Law enacted in 1954 the state acts as the agent of the

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federal government in the processing and payment of unemployment insurance to eligible 'unemployed federal workers and under the Veterans' Readjustment Act to eligible discharged servicemen. Expenditures by the state under these two federal programs is reimbursed to the state by the federal government on a monthly basis.

     The Division of Employment, in addition to providing security for Nebraska workers involuntarily unemployed through the payment of weekly unemployment insurance checks, maintains an active free placement service, for all types of workers, provides special service to veterans, occupational counseling and aptitude testing to individuals interested an developing skills in new fields of work, and extensive labor market information to employers, workers and organizations throughout the state.

     The 1963 Legislature amended the law to permit election of coverage under the law by governmental subdivisions.

     Since 1963, the division has joined with the State Department of Education, and with the United States Labor Department and Department of Health, Education and Welfare in administering the national Manpower Development and Training Act. Under this act, the division screens applicants for training and distributes training allowances to qualified trainees. In addition, the division screens and refers applicants for training to contractors and local agencies operating under the various titles of the federally financed Economic Opportunity Act.

     Approximately 13,500 employers and 245,000 employees in the state are now covered under the insurance features of the Employment Security Law.

     Through its twenty area offices located in every major city in the state, the division provides a central source of labor supply and information.

     The Legislature of 1937 enacted a law which created a state advisory council of six members appointed by the Commissioner of Labor for a fouryear term. Two of the members are representatives of employers, two are representatives of employees, and two have no interest either as employers or employees and are representatives of the public. The council meets on the call of the commissioner and advises him in carrying out the purpose of the Employment Security

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Law. The members receive a fee of twenty dollars a day for each day of active service on the council plus necessary travel and other expenses.

     To hear and decide disputed claims, the Legislature of 1937 authorized the commissioner to appoint one or more impartial appeal tribunals, consisting in each case of either a salaried examiner, who must be an attorney, or a body consisting of three members, one of whom must be a salaried examiner, who serves as chairman, one of whom must be a representative of employers, and the other one of whom must be a representative of employees. The members serve at the pleasure of the commissioner and are paid a fee of not more than twenty dollars a day of active service on such tribunal plus necessary expenses.

Assistant Director and Chief Driver License Examiner--William J. Edwards
Supervisor of Financial Responsibility--Charles Kaufman
Supervisor of Registration and Titles--Ralph Saathoff
Assistant Chief Examiner and Vehicle Equipment Supervisor--Edwin Grubbs
Supervisor of Driver Records--Dean Wrede

Total number of employees: 117.

Publications: Manual containing the Nebraska motor vehicle laws; driver's license manual; annual report of Nebraska registrations; instruction manuals for county clerks and treasurers.

     The first statutory regulations of motor vehicles were made in 1905 when they were defined and required to be registered with the Secretary of State. The supervision of motor vehicles was transferred in 1919 from the Secretary of State to the Bureau of Roads and Bridges, then a part of the Department of Public Works. In 1921, responsibility was placed directly on the Department of Public Works where it remained until the creation of the Department of Roads and Irrigation in 1933, which took over certain of the functions of the Department of Public Works. The supervision of motor vehicles was by a division of these departments from 1919 until 1957, when the Legislature created the separate Department of Motor Vehicles.

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     The present department performs all of the functions previously administered by them Division of Motor Vehicles except with relation to the Motor Vehicle Dealers Licensing Act. Under previous law, the administration of the latter act was a responsibility of the titular head of the Department of Roads and Irrigation acting with a fiveman supervisory board. In 1957, a new Motor Vehicle Dealers License Board was created with the Director of the Department of Motor Vehicles as its chairman.

     The 1963 Session of the Nebraska Legislature abolished the Nebraska ports of entry where certain permits were issued for the Department of Motor Vehicles. The Department of Motor Vehicles established 62 truck stop stations throughout the state where trip permits and mileage permits are sold by members of industry who are hona fide employees of the Department of Motor Vehicles and are bonded.

     The department is responsible for the examination and licensing of drivers; administration of the point system, financial responsibility, and implied consent laws; issuance of certificates of title; the registration of motor vehicles, including proration and reciprocity for motor carriers; and approval of certain items of vehicle safety equipment. The county clerks and treasurers are the department's agents for issuance of titles, driver licenses, and registration certificates.

     The department's offices are in the State Capitol Building. Three permanent driver license examining stations and a financial responsibility office also are maintained in Omaha.

Total number of employees: 3,972 as of June 30, 1966.

Publications: Biennial Report.

     The Board of Commissioners was created by a constitutional amendment adopted November 5, 1912. The powers previously possessed by the Governor and the Board of Public Lands and Buildings with reference to the management and control of state institutions, were vested in the Board of Commissioners of State Institutions on July 1, 1913. This name was changed to Board of Control by constitutional amendment adopted September 21, 1920. In 1958, the Constitution of the State of Nebraska was amended to read:

     "The general management, control and government of all state charitable, mental, reformatory and penal institutions shall be vested as determined by the Legislature."

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     The 1961 Legislature created a Department of Public Institutions to have oversight and general control of thirteen institutions in Nebraska.

     The 1963 Legislature established the Nebraska Penal and Correctional Complex to include and consist of the physical properties under the control of the State Penitentiary and the State Reformatory, thus reducing the number of institutions to twelve.

     The Director of Public Institutions is appointed by the Governor, subject to confirmation by a majority vote of members of the Legislature. His appointment is made on the basis of recognized and demonstrated interest in and knowledge of the problems of public institutions. He shall have a minimum of seven years of institutional administrative work.

     The Department of Public Institutions began its operations on January 1, 1962. Two of the twelve institutions are children's correctional institutions, namely: Girls' Training School, Geneva; and Boys' Training School, Kearney. There are four institutions for the mentally ill: The Hastings State Hospital, Lincoln State Hospital, Norfolk State Hospital, and the Nebraska Psychiatric Institute, Omaha. There are, in addition, five mental health clinics where treatment is given on an outpatient basis. They are located at Hastings, North Platte, Scottsbluff, Lincoln, and Norfolk. The Beatrice State Home, Beatrice, provides custodial care, training, and rehabilitation for the feebleminded. There are two penal institutions, namely: Nebraska Penal and Correctional Complex, Lincoln; and State Reformatory for Women, York. In addition, the Department of Public Institutions has supervision of the Nebraska Soldiers' and Sailors' Home, Grand Island; the Nebraska Hospital for the Tubereulous, Kearney; and the Nebraska Orthopedic Hospital, Lincoln. A history of these institutions will be found in earlier Blue Books. Statistical information concerning them will be found in Section IV of this book.

     There are four functional divisions of the Department of Public Institutions having supervision of various phases of the activities in the institutions. They are: Finance and Accounts, Engineering, Psychology and Education, and Procurement and Agriculture. The last division provides an organized system of handling institutional requisitions and for establishing standard specifications for items in common use.

     The Department of Services for the Visually Impaired, of the Department of Public Institutions, worked with 457 blind persons during the 19651966 fiscal year. Programs include: rehabilitation services, vending stands, home industry products, home teaching, and the talking book machine service. The rehabilitation services are cooperative ventures of the state and federal governments.

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ADVISORY COMMITTEE

     The 1961 Legislature created an advisory committee to the Department of Public Institutions and the Department of Public Welfare. It is the duty of the committee to study needs of the institutions and recommend departmental policies; recommend a system of accounting and purchases; arrange for periodic inspection of institutions; and help correlate operations and problems between the Department of Public Welfare, the Department of Public Institutions, and the Governor.

     The committee consists of five members appointed by the Governor, subject to confirmation by a majority of the members elected to the Legislature. After the first committee their successors shall serve for a term of five years. Members of the committee shall receive twenty dollars per day for each day engaged in the duties of the committee, and shall be reimbursed for their actual and necessary expenses incurred in the performance of their official duties, but not more than twentyfive hundred dollars per member per year.

     The 1955 Legislature enacted a law which created advisory boards for the Beatrice State Home, Hastings State Hospital, Lincoln State Hospital, and the Norfolk State Hospital.

     Five members appointed by the Governor for fiveyear terms constitute each committee. Each appointed member must be from that part of the state served by the particular institution, and must be a citizen of the state. Each must have a broad community leadership experience, professional and technical knowledge, and a willingness and desire to serve the area of human welfare. Not more than three members of each board must be members of the same political party. Members of the board receive no compensation but are reimbursed for actual expenses. Each board must hold meetings at least four times a year, and at least once a year must hold a combined meeting at such time and place as provided by the Director of the Department of Public Institutions.

     The purpose of each board is to serve in a consultant and advisory capacity to the Department of Public Institutions and the mental health facility for which appointed. The membership of each board is as follows:

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BEATRICE STATE HOME ADVISORY BOARD

     The 1951 Legislature enacted a law which created an Alcoholics Advisory Board to consist of three members, appointed by the Governor, to serve threeyear terms. The members do not receive compensation. The board advises and counsels with the Department of Public Institutions and the superintendent of any state hospital on the care and treatment of patients admitted to that institution on account of the excessive use of intoxicating liquors. The regular meetings of the board are held

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at the Hastings State Hospital once every three months at such time as may be fixed by the board.

Director -- F. Clinton Belknap

Total number of employees: 808 (605 of these are county employees and 68 are employees at the Home for Children).

Publications: Annual Report of Agency Activities; Quarterly Statistical Report; Quarterly Health Service Statistics; Informational Pamphlets covering the program of Aid to the Aged, Blind or Disabled, Aid to Dependent Children, Child Welfare Services, Services for Crippled Children and Medical Assistance.

On the state level the Department of Public Welfare is responsible for the Home for Children and the programs of Assistance to the Aged, Blind or Disabled, Aid to Dependent Children, Medical Assistance, Child Welfare Services, Services for Crippled Children, Commodity Distribution and Food Stamp Distribution,

The Legislature in 1937 transferred the administration of the State Assistance Funds from the Board of Educational Lands and Funds to the Board of Control with provision for a Director of Assistance to be appointed by the Governor. At the same session the Legislature transferred all the functions of the Bureau of Child Welfare to the Board of Control. The Department of Assistance and Child Welfare was established; and the Board of Control determined the policies and supervised at the state level the work of the department in the categories of old age assistance, aid to dependent children, blind assistance, child welfare services, and services for crippled children. The 1953 Legislature changed the administration of the laws relating to public welfare. It

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provided that the members of the Board of Control serve as the State Board of Public Welfare, and created the State Division of Public Welfare to consist of the State Board of Public Welfare, a State Director of Public Welfare, and such additional employees as are necessary to carry out efficiently the functions of the division. The Legislature in 1953 transferred the functions and responsibilities formerly vested in a Department of Assistance and Child Welfare to the Division of Public Welfare. The 1961 Legislature abolished the Board of Control and established the Department of Public Welfare as an executive department, effective January 1, 1962. At this time the administration of the Home for Children was transferred to the Department of Public Welfare. The administration of public welfare is the responsibility of the county divisions of public welfare with policyforming, regulatory, advisory, and supervisory functions performed by the State Department of Public Welfare. In Part IV of this book tables will be found which show the number of recipients of assistance and the cost of this program since 1935. A complete history of the Child Welfare Bureau will be found in earlier editions of the Nebraska Blue Book.

     An Advisory Committee to the State Board of Public Welfare was created by the 1947 Legislature which consisted of five members appointed by the Governor from members of the several county boards or commissioners. This committee was to advise with the State Board of Public Welfare regarding general rules and regulations relating to assistance, child welfare, and other welfare activities in which the state and counties were mutually concerned. The 1961 Legislature created a new Advisory Committee to the Department of Public Welfare. This same committee serves the Department of Public Institutions. The committee consists of five members, appointed by the Governor, for a term of one, two, three, four or five years. Thereafter, their successors shall serve for a period of five years. At least one member shall be appointed from each congressional district, and no more than three members may be from the same political party. Each member receives twenty dollars a day for each day engaged in the duties of the committee and is reimbursed for his actual and necessary expenses incurred in the performance of his official duties but not more than twentyfive hundred dollars a year.

     The duties of the Advisory Committee are to: (1) Study needs of state institutions and recommend departmental policies; (2) Recommend a system of accounting and purchases; (3) Arrange for periodic

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inspection of institutions; and (4) Help correlate operations and problems between the Department of Public Welfare and the Department of Public Institutions, and the Governor.

     The Legislature of 1937 provided for a Crippled Children's Committee to be composed of nine members appointed by the Governor. Two of the members shall be duly licensed practicing physicians and surgeons in the State of Nebraska. Three members are to be appointed in each fourth year beginning with 1938, and two members are to be appointed in each other year. All appointments are for four years. Members of the Committee serve without salary.

     It is the duty of the Crippled Children's Committee to serve in an advisory capacity to the Department of Public Welfare, or any board, commission, division, agency, officer or employee of the State of Nebraska, legally charged with the duty of exercising supervision over and administering services to crippled children of the State of Nebraska.

     The Medical Care Advisory Committee consisting of 15 members is appointed by the Director of the Department of Public Welfare for consultative service concerning the development and maintenance of the medical assistance program.

     The membership for this committee is chosen from professional and lay groups who are interested in and familiar with the health needs of lowincome groups, resources available for their care, and the provision of health services.

     Appointments to this committee are made to provide continuity and rotation of membership. Members receive no remuneration but are reimbursed for actual expenses incurred in performance of official business.

     The State Department of Public Welfare administers certain Child Welfare Services, Services to Crippled Children, Surplus Commodity

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