Attorney General Jon Bruning said Tuesday he wants laws targeting child pornography, identity theft and pesty Web messages commonly called spam in his anti-crime arsenal.

The first would put a new onus on those who work with computers and photographs: That they be required to report to police any child pornography that they see in the course of doing their work. Computer technicians and service providers, commercial film processors and photographic print processors would all fall under the proposed bill, which will be carried by Sen. Nancy Thompson of Papillion.

"This is not treading new ground," said Thompson. Other states, such as South Dakota and South Carolina, have similar laws.

Immunity from civil charges would be granted to those that do report what appears to be child pornography. The stipulation could protect from civil charges those who report material that appears to be pornography but doesn't meet the legal definition, as well as those who participate in a criminal investigation or judicial proceeding.

The fear of civil charges, Bruning said, now causes some organizations to simply fire apparent child-porn offenders instead of reporting them to police.

"Right now they do nothing," Bruning said. "This is a way for them to have civil immunity."

 Technicians that willfully failed to report child pornography would be subject to Class 3 misdemeanor charges.

The second law, pertaining to identity theft, also mimics legislation in other states. It would possibly help shield people who have had their identities stolen from being victimized repeatedly by those who commit crimes while using their names.

Identification cards would be issued to those who have had their identities stolen, providing a quicker means of alerting law enforcement that crimes they are investigating could have been perpetrated under assumed names. The bill will be introduced by Sen.-elect Mike Flood of Norfolk.

The last law would prohibit senders of unsolicited e-mails, known as spam, "from using false, misleading or otherwise deceptive language in identifying information," according to Bruning's office. The bill will be carried by Sen. Adrian Smith of Gering.

Reach Nate Jenkins at 473-7223 or njenkins@journalstar.com