Legislative Testimony: LB839, Change provisions relating to truth and deception examinations and repeal the Licensing of Truth and Deception Examiners Act

Chairman Brewer and Members of the Government, Military and Veterans Affairs Committee, my name is Laura Ebke. I’m the senior fellow at the Platte Institute, and I come today in support of LB839.

LB839 would simply repeal the Licensing of Truth and Deception Examiners.

This committee has heard several bills over the last few years on this topic, and I appreciate the committee choosing this license for its Occupational Board Reform Act review in 2021.

In reading through the report generated by this committee, it seems clear that the need for licensing this occupation is no longer needed. As Mr. Tom Gorgen told this committee (quoted in your report): “Do I believe this law has served a purpose and benefited Nebraskans? Yes, I do. But as you can see, in my opinion, the original reasons for developing this law no longer exist.”

Mr. Gorgen, according to your report, was the first person in Nebraska to receive a Voice Stress Examiner’s License for Nebraska in 1981.

LB839 and LB169 (introduced by Senator Matt Hansen and signed into law last year) are fine examples of the value of the Occupational Board Reform Act. In both cases, committees of this Legislature fulfilled their responsibilities to conduct their quintennial reviews of licenses under their jurisdictions and found that these licensing statutes had outlived their original purposes or usefulness.

Thank you once again to the committee for introducing this bill, and I would urge you to find a means of advancing it.