Nebraska Attorney General Jon Bruning Thursday unveiled a 4-measure legislative package he wants lawmakers to pass this year. Bruning says each will provide more protection for Nebraskans, but in different ways.

He says one bill helps protect against terrorism by restricting the direct investment of public funds in Iran, strengthening economic sanctions in response to Iran’s continued development of nuclear weapons. The federal government and 23 other states have similar restrictions.

One Bruning bills would help protect citizens against identity fraud by requiring companies whose computers are hacked to report those breaches to the Attorney General’s office.

He says that although companies have to notify consumers, they don’t have to notify his office…which can make it more difficult to pursue the hackers. 17 other states have similar laws.

Another of Bruning’s priorities is to make taking a police officer’s weapon from them a felony. Currently, the most that can be charged is misdemeanor resisting arrest or obstructing an officer unless the officer is injured. He says that “taking an officer’s weapon is a serious matter and should have serious consequences.”

Bruning also wants more serious consequences for intentionally taking a life than for accidentally taking one, doing that with a bill making voluntary and involuntary manslaughter be made separate crimes with a longer prison sentence for voluntary manslaughter. It’s a change suggested by the state Supreme Court in a ruling last year.

Bruning says that currently, accidentally crossing the center line in car and killing someone in an auto accident and carries the same range of sentence as intentionally killing…with both lumped under the single heading of manslaughter.

Bruning couldn’t escape his news conference without reporters posing at least one question about his political future.

Asked if he might run for governor next year, Bruning said he’s “as happy as I can be” being attorney general, hinting that he will seek a fourth term next year.

Bruning was the presumptive favorite to win the Republican nomination for U.S. Senate last year, but was upset in the GOP by eventual winner Deb Fischer of Valentine.

Lt Governor Rick Sheehy is the only announced candidate for governor with the withdrawal of former State Sen. Mike Flood because of his wife’s battle with breast cancer.