“If you’re going to convince somebody to move here from California or New York, they have to have connectivity,” Brandt said. “They have to have connectivity for their job, for their kid’s education, for telehealth, for their entertainment.”

Brandt says there are large pockets of his district, which includes Fillmore, Thayer, Jefferson, and Saline counties plus part of Lancaster County, that are underrepresented or have no decent fiber connection. He says the legislature will try to launch one-time build projects to do “transformative things” to improve access.

Brandt is working on his own bills, including LB 543, which is a Right to Repair bill for ag producers.

“You can go to a local downtown shop and have your (car) repaired because those mechanics have access to the diagnostics to fix stuff,” Brandt said. “We don’t have that ability yet in agriculture and that’s what that bill would ask for.”

He has also offered LB242, which would allow counties to pay for bridges on a payment plan.

A video report and more coverage is available in the article link above.