LINCOLN — The Nebraska officials elected to regulate phone, gas and other industries regularly get campaign dollars from the companies they oversee.
The practice has long troubled State Sen. Bill Avery of Lincoln.
In 2007 he introduced a bill to prohibit Public Service Commission officials from accepting campaign contributions from the industries they regulate.
The bill went nowhere.
Now, after a new law put the commission in charge of the siting of major oil pipelines through the state, Avery is trying again.
"The pipeline industry is large, it is wealthy, and they have deep pockets," he told the Government, Military and Veterans Affairs Committee on Thursday.
He said Legislative Bill 1025 should be put in place before any pipeline applications are filed as a way to prevent any perception of impropriety.
"It's important these commissioners be perceived to be representing the public interest, not the interests of the businesses they regulate," Avery said.
Commissioner Anne Boyle of Omaha said she is troubled by the allegations that commissioners are being influenced by campaign contributions.
"My conscience is absolutely clear," she said. "All we do is enforce the laws the legislators make."
Commissioners serve as consumer advocates and make their decisions based on the best interests of all parties, Boyle said.
While parties that are unhappy with the decisions can go to court, she said, it is rare that courts have overturned a commission decision.
Jack Gould of Common Cause spoke in favor of LB 1025.
He said a Common Cause study found that 90 percent of the incumbent commissioners' campaign funds have come directly from regulated companies, or indirectly from people with ties to those companies.
He pointed to the money raised by the two incumbents re-elected in 2010 as an example.
In six years, Jerry Vap got $21,301 from regulated companies and individuals with ties to those companies. Rod Johnson raised $15,564. Telecommunications companies accounted for the bulk of the donations.
Boyle said she already gets campaign funds from friends and other supporters, as well as regulated industries.
She questioned why the commission should be singled out for limits on campaign contributors.
Avery said the difference lies in the purpose of the agency. Commissioners deal directly with industries as regulators. State lawmakers, by contrast, work with a much broader set of issues and constituencies.
The Public Service Commission regulates a wide range of industries, including telecommunications carriers, electric transmission lines, natural gas utilities, railroads, taxicabs and private water companies. The agency is run by five elected officials who serve six-year terms and are paid $75,000.
The committee took no action on LB 1025.
Contact the writer:
402-473-9583, martha.stoddard@owh.com
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