Legislature faces communications issues
Following the introduction of more than 700 legislative bills last week, Nebraska Sen. Tom Baker is ready to get down to the business of committee hearings.
Baker, the chairman of the Transportation and Telecommunication Committee for the Nebraska Legislature, said one issue that will be debated in his committee is the establishment of a statewide En-hanced 911 system.
Baker told the McCook Chamber of Commerce Legislative Committee this morning he could not support a bill that would provided funding for a statewide E-911 system until the shortcomings of cellular phone service in Southwest Nebraska are addressed.
Baker said he was also concerned with a proposal by Sen. Mike Foley of Lincoln that would place all but $20 million from the Universal Service Fund into the state's cash reserve fund. The Universal Service Fund is used to subsidize phone service to rural areas. One community receives as much as $300 per customer per month in subsidies.
Jerry Vap, Nebraska Public Service Commission chairman, said a court case now being heard in the Nebraska Supreme Court claims that the Universal Service Fund is an illegal tax because the legislature transferred taxing authority to the Public Service Commission by allowing it to set the rate of the surcharge
If the court rules against the Public Service Commission, the state will no longer be allowed to collect the surcharge. "If you think your phone bills are high now, just wait until the Universal Service Fund money is gone," Vap said.
Baker told the committee the Legislature is expecting to receive Gov. Mike Johanns' resignation this afternoon and Lt. Gov. Dave Heinemann will be sworn in tomorrow morning. "I still have no idea who the new lieutenant governor is going to be," he told the group.
The consolidation of Class I Schools with larger Districts is most likely to be forwarded to the full legislative floor this week. "This issue won't be a slam-dunk," Baker said.
Members of the Legislative Committee attending Thursday's conference call with Sen. Baker included Angus Garey, Pam Harsh, Leon Kuhlen, Jerry Vap, Larry Eisenmenger, John Bingham, Raleigh Haas, Marv and Dixie Lorentz, Gloria Masoner, Jerda Garey, Mike O'Dell, Brent McMurtrey and Jim Coady.