- A Nebraskan legislator received a formal conflict of interest complaint.
- The complaint said she should have filed a conflict of interest statement about having a transgender child before she voted against a bill restricting transgender care.
A Nebraskan state senator received a conflict of interest complaint and is now under investigation after she advocated against a bill restricting care for transgender children, including her own.
"Today I was informed that because of a complaint filed by David Begley, I am under official investigation for a conflict of interest for standing for trans rights," Nebraska state Sen. Megan Hunt tweeted on Wednesday. "My colleagues stood up offering support, but I don't need their words. I need their vote."
According to Nebraska Public Media, Omaha attorney David Begley filed the complaint against Hunt for not filing a potential conflict of interest statement before she voted against LB 574, a bill restricting gender-affirming care for minors. The outlet reported Begley said if LB 574 doesn't become law, Hunt's transgender child's health coverage could then be covered by Medicaid, potentially financially benefitting her, even though Hunt has said Medicaid refused to cover her son's treatments.
"This, colleagues, is not serious," Hunt said on the floor on Wednesday. "This is harassment. This is using the legal system that we have in our state to stop corruption, to increase transparency, to hold governments accountable, and using it to harass a member of the legislature who you all know is trying to do the right thing, is trying to parent her child in a way that keeps that child alive."
Following her impassioned speech, several members of Nebraska's legislature — both Republicans and Democrats — spoke out against the complaint.
"I do not endorse this offensive complaint," Republican state Sen. Tom Brandt said. "It is so far out of bounds that it does not merit discussion."
Democratic state Sen. Wendy DeBoer said that the logic used in the complaint could reasonably be used against her as well.
"Every time we have a tax bill, I'm a taxpayer," DeBoer said. "So I may be involved in that every time. We have a bill that involves families, well, I have a family. So I may be involved. Every time we have a bill on basically anything in here, I'm involved because I care about my state. I care about the people in my state, and I'm involved with them, just like Senator Hunt is.