(1) The Legislature hereby finds that the federal Driver's Privacy Protection Act of 1994, with an effective date of September 13, 1997, provides for mandatory release in some instances and restrictions on release and use in other instances of certain personal information from state motor vehicle records and also provides numerous exceptions from those restrictions. Some of the exceptions are dependent on state legislation, and the purpose of the Uniform Motor Vehicle Records Disclosure Act is to enact choices permitted under the federal legislation in the interest of ensuring that motor vehicle record information which is a matter of public record shall remain a matter of public record in this state to the maximum extent permitted under the federal law.

(2) The Legislature intends that to the extent permitted by the federal law, Nebraska law pertaining to motor vehicle records should continue to recognize such records as public records to the extent it has done so prior to the effective date of the federal legislation and the terms of the Uniform Motor Vehicle Records Disclosure Act should be construed liberally to effect that purpose.