107TH LEGISLATURE, 1ST SESSION – DAY 27 

LEADERSHIP WAYNE

We had a great time hosting Leadership Wayne during their visit to the Capitol this week. Thank you Luke Virgil and all the great leaders for coming to learn more about the Unicameral and touring the building. We enjoyed getting to know you!

BROADBAND IN RURAL NEBRASKA

The two key issues that I believe most significantly impact the lives of children, parents, farmers, and main street small businesses in District 17 today are property taxes and expanding high-speed internet access. This was a big week of discussion in regards to seeing broadband advanced in our area. I sit on the Transportation and Telecommunications Committee, to whom Governor Pete Rickets testified this week proposing significant changes that would be vital to seeing the constituents of Wayne, Thurston and Dakota Counties having strong, consistent access to the internet. It will obviously be a significant undertaking, but I believe there will be broadband bills on the Floor this year, and  if we come at the problem from several different directions over a period of time, solving this issue is certainly attainable. Below are excerpts from an article the Omaha World Herald published this week that highlights the hearings.

Ricketts pushes proposal for $40 million in state funds to expand broadband in rural Nebraska

Omaha World Herald- A long line of supporters testified Monday for a proposal by Gov. Pete Ricketts to spend $40 million in state funds to help expand high-speed internet service into Nebraska’s rural areas.

Representatives of telecommunications companies and school, business and rural organizations all said the COVID-19 pandemic has illustrated the importance of broadband, as people were forced to work and to do schoolwork at home. It also underscored the “digital divide” between the adequacy of service in urban and rural areas.

Ricketts and others said they’ve heard too many stories of families having to drive their kids to libraries in town, parking lots near schools or high hills near their ranch to access adequate internet service to do homework. Businesses, they said, won’t locate or expand in rural areas unless they have high-speed internet.

“We’ve got to have this infrastructure. It’s basic,” the governor said. “This investment will allow all of Nebraska to be able to grow.”

Expanding broadband internet service in rural areas has become one of the top issues in the Legislature this year. Legislative Bill 388, introduced on behalf of Ricketts, is one of 11 bills being considered this year to boost expansion of broadband.

The money earmarked by the governor — $20 million a year for two years — marks the first time he’s devoted general state funds to address the problem. It would be in addition to the $29 million in federal coronavirus relief funds that Ricketts designated for rural broadband projects last year.

And that’s on top of nearly $370 million that the Nebraska Public Service Commission has allocated to expand and maintain high-speed internet over the past decade, using money from fees charged on landline and cellphone bills.

Despite that spending, Broadband Now, a California-based research group, ranks Nebraska 48th among the states in coverage, speed and affordability of broadband access. And testifiers on Monday said that it will take several years to expand services.

Ricketts said his proposal would bring broadband to an additional 30,000 households in Nebraska.

Right now, he said, an estimated 80,000 households don’t have access to the internet that meets the federal definition of broadband set in 2015: 25 megabits per second download speed and 3 megabits per second upload speed, referred to as 25/3.

Under LB 388, state grants would cover 50% of the cost of a project and would have to provide internet speeds of 100/100, which Ricketts and others said represents “quality” internet for today’s needs. About 150,000 households in the state, he said, now lack access to 100/100 internet speeds.

The bill would give priority to broadband expansion projects in areas that lack 25/3 internet speeds and have no projects planned to change that, areas where projects are underway but cannot be completed within 24 months, and underserved areas that already have access to 25/3 broadband.

State Sen. Bruce Bostelman, who lives outside a rural community north of Lincoln, said current maps based on census tracts are often inaccurate when measuring the service. There’s regularly a disconnect, he said, between internet speeds promised by providers and the actual speeds delivered.

Ricketts’ bill, advocates said, would require testing to prove that speeds met the 100/100 requirement.

Four other broadband bills heard on Monday got more mixed testimony.

Utility companies denied that there have been problems negotiating permission to use power poles by internet companies, which was the focus of LB 455. Municipalities likewise said there was no need for additional regulation on placement of cell towers within cities, as called for in LB 520.

Six more broadband bills were the subject of public hearings on Tuesday. A comprehensive bill, combining aspects of all of the broadband proposals, is expected to advance to debate this year. By Paul Hammel, OWH

NEW TAX CREDIT BILLS

The Revenue Committee has heard many tax credit bills in the last couple of weeks. Soon we will be going into Executive Session to see which bills will advance to the Floor. I encourage you to take a look at them on the Nebraska Legislature website. 

They include:

LB176        Lindstrom     Agriculture Data Practices

LB254       Williams        Beginning Farmer 

LB364       Linehan         Opportunity Scholarships Act 

LB366       Briese            Nebraska Advantage Microenterprise 

LB531        Briese            Childcare and Early Childhood Education

LB596       Albrecht        Higher Blends of Ethanol

LB597       Albrecht        Parents of Stillborn

DISTRICT 17’S ROADS 

Kevin Domogalla, District 3 Engineer with the Nebraska Department of Transportation, met with our office this week to discuss current road conditions and future roadway projects in Thurston, Wayne and Dakota Counties. Mr. Domogalla shared with us that up to 20% of some highway projects are federally funded. I plan to stay in close communication with his office in the future.

FEDERAL REPRESENTATIVES

Our office has been receiving questions and comments about issues taking place on the Federal Government level. Although we are not in a position to address them, I thought it might be beneficial to include contact information for Nebraska’s Representatives.

District 1

Congressman Jeff Fortenberry

506 West Madison Ave, Ste 2

Norfolk, NE 68701

NE Phone: 402-379-2064

DC Phone: 202-224-3121

www.fortenberry.house.gov

District 2

Congressman Don Bacon

13906 Gold Circle

Omaha, NE 68144

NE Phone: 402-938-0300

DC Phone:202-225-4155

www.bacon.house.gov

District 3

Congressman Adrian Smith

1811 West 2nd Street, Ste 275

Grand Island, NE 68803

NE Phone: 308-384-3900

DC Phone: 202-225-6435

www.adriansmith.house.gov

U.S. Senator Ben Sasse

1128 Lincoln Mall, Ste 305

Lincoln, NE 68508

NE Phone: 402-476-1400

DC Phone: 202-224-4224

www.sasse.senate.gov

U.S. Senator Deb Fischer

440 North 8th Street, Ste 102

Lincoln, NE 68508

NE Phone: 402-441-4600

DC Phone: 202-224-6551

www.fischer.senate.gov

 As always, it is of great importance that I hear from my constituents to effectively do my job as your voice in the Legislature. I encourage you to contact me and I look forward to hearing from you. You can reach me by phone at 402-471-2716 or by email at jalbrecht@leg.ne.gov.