Nebraska - Public Broadband Ballot Initiative

Nebraska is the only state in the union served entirely by public power utilities. In 2005, the Nebraska Legislature passed a law prohibiting public power utilities from selling broadband or other telecommunications services for a two year period (Legislative Bill 645). The bill also created a task force to investigate broadband access in Nebraska and the implications of allowing public entities to provide broadband. A report from the task force is expected in late 2006.

A group of Nebraskans, including a member of the task force, has filed papers for a ballot initiative that would permit municipalities and public power companies to offer telecommunications services. Voters can decide for themselves if the petition gets 80,000 signatures by the end of August 2007.

More:

• Full statement on the Public Broadband Initiative
• Linda Aerni's statement before the Columbus, Nebraska City Council
• Brennan Center for Justice at NYU School of Law, The Need to Permit Broadband from Public Entitites, May 22, 2006.