Staying the course on broadband

Much of this week’s activity focused on broadband and the Nebraska Department of Transportation, along with some controversy relating to education policy. The Transportation and Telecommunications Committee heard three of my bills this week.

LB1038 would make a small change to the membership requirement of the Nebraska Information Technology Commission, which develops and reviews our state’s information technology plans. The commission currently has nine voting members and one member from the Transportation and Telecommunications Committee who serves as a nonvoting participant. Of the nine voting members, one represents elementary and secondary education; one, postsecondary education; one represents communities; one is the governor or his or her designee; and the last five members represent the general public with experience in strategic planning and high-level business decision-making. The bill would simply require that one of the five members representing the general public be from agriculture. Agriculture is one of the primary sectors of our state’s economy and adding a member with an agriculture background would help address gaps with rural representation.

LB1336 would transfer the administration of the Nebraska broadband Bridge Act from the Nebraska Public Service Commission to the newly-created Nebraska broadband Office. I introduced this bill to open up a conversation regarding the relationship between the PSC and the broadband Office. Nebraska now has two separate entities involved in distributing funds relating to the expansion of broadband in our state, which could result in the duplication of projects and overbuild. I introduced this bill to ensure a discussion could happen on whether we are being as efficient with our resources as possible.

LB966 was brought on behalf of the NDOT and is a simple technical bill. LB966 would update the meaning of a steady red arrow and provide a definition in state law for a flashing yellow arrow indication at traffic lights in order to comply with federal law. The bill would also adjust the way the NDOT calculates the state’s variable fuel tax rate by shifting a decimal place from the current one-tenth of a percent to one-hundredth of a percent so that it is more precise. This change just corrects a few internal calculations for the NDOT.

During floor debate, Sen. Brandt’s LB61 was considered for several hours this week. LB61 would permit the leasing of so-called dark fiber. Dark fiber are fiber optic cables that, like an unlit light bulb, are dark because they are generally not in use. Many of these cables were put into place by Nebraska’s public power district to monitor rural electric grids and connect irrigation systems. LB61’s purpose is to lease out these existing, underused fiber optic cables to accelerate the process of connecting remote parts of Nebraska to the internet with usable speeds. After several hours of debate, the bill was advanced to the second stage of debate on a 34 to 2 vote, with 13 senators not voting.

Two hotly-contested bills were also heard by the Education Committee this week: LB1064 and LB1330. LB1064 would remove the ability of state universities, colleges and community colleges to grant tenure for faculty members. Several college administrators and professors testified in opposition to LB1064, claiming that tenure is a valuable tool that attracts faculty to come to our state and that the tenure system guarantees freedom of expression for unpopular speech. In contrast, several members of the public who supported the bill argued that those who have gained tenure have “rested on their laurels” and some of those tenured faculty have abused their protected status to suppress the free speech of their students.

LB1330 would restrict publicly funded universities, colleges and community colleges from funding programs for diversity, equity and inclusion. Similar to LB1064, LB1330 had impassioned testimony from both advocates and opponents.

In his introduction, Sen.Murman contended that DEI is “the natural result of… public institutions put(ting) ideology into policy.” Advocates of the bill followed and argued that DEI inflames the current divisiveness of our politics and culture. Opponents of the bill testified that DEI initiatives emphasize the importance of different identities. Since neither bill was prioritized, however, there is likely little chance either bill will be considered by the full legislature this year.

You can always contact me with your thoughts and opinions on bills that have been introduced. Call my Capitol office telephone number at 402-471-2801 or send email to [email protected]. My mailing address is: Senator Barry DeKay, District #40, P.O. Box 94604, State Capitol, Lincoln, NE 68509.