60-480.01. Undercover drivers' licenses; issuance; confidential; unlawful disclosure; penalty.

(1)(a) Undercover drivers' licenses may be issued to federal, state, county, city, or village law enforcement agencies and shall be used only for legitimate criminal investigatory purposes. Undercover drivers' licenses may also be issued to the Nebraska State Patrol, the Game and Parks Commission, deputy state sheriffs employed by the Nebraska Brand Committee and State Fire Marshal for state law enforcement purposes, persons employed by the Tax Commissioner for state revenue enforcement purposes, the Department of Health and Human Services for the purposes of communicable disease control, the prevention and control of those communicable diseases which endanger the public health, the enforcement of drug control laws, or other investigation purposes, the Department of Agriculture for special investigative purposes, and the Insurance Fraud Prevention Division of the Department of Insurance for investigative purposes. Undercover drivers' licenses are not for personal use.

(b) The director shall prescribe a form for agencies to apply for undercover drivers' licenses. The form shall include a space for the name and signature of the contact person for the requesting agency, a statement that the undercover drivers' licenses are to be used only for legitimate criminal investigatory purposes, and a statement that undercover drivers' licenses are not for personal use.

(2) The agency shall include the name and signature of the contact person for the agency on the form and pay the fees prescribed in section 60-4,115. If the undercover drivers' licenses will be used for the investigation of a specific event rather than for ongoing investigations, the agency shall designate on the form an estimate of the length of time the undercover drivers' licenses will be needed. The contact person in the agency shall sign the form and verify the information contained in the form.

(3) Upon receipt of a completed form, the director shall determine whether the undercover drivers' licenses will be used by an approved agency for a legitimate purpose pursuant to subsection (1) of this section. If the director determines that the undercover drivers' licenses will be used for such a purpose, he or she may issue the undercover drivers' licenses in the form and under the conditions he or she determines to be necessary. The decision of the director regarding issuance of undercover drivers' licenses is final.

(4) The Department of Motor Vehicles shall keep records pertaining to undercover drivers' licenses confidential, and such records shall not be subject to public disclosure. Any person who receives information pertaining to undercover drivers' licenses in the course of his or her employment and who discloses any such information to any unauthorized individual shall be guilty of a Class III misdemeanor.

(5) The contact person shall return the undercover drivers' licenses to the Department of Motor Vehicles if:

(a) The undercover drivers' licenses expire and are not renewed;

(b) The purpose for which the undercover drivers' licenses were issued has been completed or terminated;

(c) The persons for whom the undercover drivers' licenses were issued cease to be employees of the agency; or

(d) The director requests their return.

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