Hughes: Flooding to have long-term effects

McCOOK, Neb. — The massive flooding in Nebraska will have repercussions on the state for years to come, including local future road improvements.

Dist. 44 State Sen. Dan Hughes confirmed that the budget of the Nebraska Department of Roads will be affected because of repair costs due to flooding. Speaking at the McCook Chamber of Commerce conference call Thursday morning, Hughes said some state dollars will be used to offset costs of repairing roads and bridges, as well as federal dollars from the federal disaster declaration. Federal funds will pay 75 percent of re-construction, he said, with the state responsible for 25 percent. For county roads, the state and county's share would be 12.5 percent each, Hughes said.

Projects that could be pushed back because of reduced state funds would include one and six year plans, including the scheduled re-construction of U.S. Highway 83 between McCook and North Platte, Neb. The $51 million project, where U.S. Highway 83 would be widened into a “Super 2 Highway” with passing lanes, was slated to begin in 2020.

There’s also $4 million in emergency cash that the governor can use at his discretion, Hughes said, along with the reserve fund of $370 million. But because of the sluggish economy, lawmakers are reluctant to use the reserve fund, Hughes said, with the economy growing only at a two percent rate compared to the 4 to 6 percent rate a few years ago.

With 700 bills introduced this year in the Nebraska Legislature, Hughes chose LB 268 as his priority bill. Introduced by Curt Friesen of Henderson, Neb., the bill would help customers in rural Nebraska access high speed internet.

It would change the criteria for the Public Service Commission when considering granting a telecommunications customer the opportunity to receive advanced telecommunications capability service from a telecommunications company, providing service in a local exchange adjacent to the local exchange area in which the customer resides. Currently, applicants are required to show that he or she is not receiving the services, and will not within a reasonable time in the future receive the services. This bill would allow the applicant to show that he or she is not, at the time of the application, able to receive the services requested, instead of waiting for “a reasonable time.”

At the bill’s hearing, speaking in favor of it was the Public Service Commission. Only one opponent spoke against it, a representative of Windstream.

The legislature is about halfway through of the 90-day session, with full-floor debate coming up, Hughes said. Two of his bills have already been approved by the legislature and are ready for the governor’s signature, LB 302 and LB 127. LB 302, that Hughes introduced on behalf of Gov. Ricketts, would authorize the merger of the State Energy Office into the Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) on July 1, 2019. The existing statutory duties of the State Energy Office would become the responsibility of DEQ.

LB 127 expands the definition of immediate family for purposes of limited deer permits. Current language includes the qualifying landowner’s spouse, children, and siblings sharing ownership of the property. The bill would expand the definition to include the spouses of a qualifying landowner’s children and grandchildren. And the children and grandchildren, and their spouses, of a sibling sharing ownership in the property.

Hughes said as of now, he is not overly optimistic about a property tax relief bill he could support coming out of the revenue committee this year. Talking to senators across the state and keeping the lines of communication open is vital, he said, in letting them know the “challenges of rural Nebraska and make it more clear in their minds.”

And sometimes, timing is everything. “The right words to the right person at the right time, can have an impact,” he said.