Senators move to limit public power conflicts; puppy mill issue raised at Ag Director's confirmation

Jan. 27, 2015, 5:13 a.m. ·

A photo of the Nebraska Capitol from the north.
The Nebraska State Capitol (Archive Photo)

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The Nebraska Legislature moved Tuesday against potential conflicts of interest on public utility boards, and critics of puppy mills disagreed over the reappointment Ag Director Greg Ibach.

Sen. Ken Haar of Malcolm introduced the bill to prevent someone who works for one public utility from serving on the board of another. Haar said that in 2010, the manager of the Norris Public Power District ran for election to the Nebraska Public Power District board. He said that since Norris buys electricity from NPPD, that posed a conflict of interest for that person, whom he gave the psuedonym "Joe."

"Here’s the question: in the long-term power purchase negotiation between Norris and NPPD, would "Joe’s" first duty be to represent the interests of the public power board that that hired him, or the citizens that elected him?" Haar asked.

Although Harr did not name him, Kevin Pollard, then general manager and CEO of Norris Public Power District, ran unsuccessfully for the NPPD board. Pollard could not immediately be reached for comment. In its original form, Haar’s bill would have prohibited any public power district employee from serving on another district’s board. Sen. John Kuehn of Heartwell, a former member of the Southern Power District Board, said that was too restrictive. "For example, a lineman employed by the retail division of NPPD working in Kearney, Nebraska, who may live across the river on an acreage in rural Kearney County, Nebraska, would be ineligible to bring his expertise, knowlege and leadership to the board of Southern Public Power district," Kuehn said. As for a potential conflict of interest "the voters would not have the opportunity to make that judgment for themselves," he added.

Other senators said since the situation had apparently only come up once, the bill was an overreaction. But Omaha Sen. Ernie Chambers said senators needed to strengthen public’s trust by passing the bill. "We are policymakers. Caesar’s wife must be above suspicion. Judges must avoid the appearance of impropriety," Chambers said.

But Sen. Curt Friesen of Henderson suggested the prohibition on an employee of one district running for the board of another would be impractical in some areas of the state. "Out in rural Nebraska, we run out of good people who are willing to serve on boards. At one point I served on the city council and I also served on an NRD board. We entered into contracts with public works projects. There was a conflict of interest there. They sometimes can’t be helped in the smaller communities," Friesen said.

After about an hour of debate, senators agreed on a compromise that would prevent top management of one public utility from serving on the board of another. They then gave the bill first round approval on a vote of 36-8.

Tuesday afternoon, members of the Agriculture Committee heard support and opposition to Gov. Pete Ricketts reappointment of Greg Ibach as Director of the Department of Agriculture.

Opposition came from people who said the Department has done a poor job enforcing laws against the mistreatment of dogs in so-called puppy mills, where dogs are bred. Among them was Carol Wheeler of Auburn, director and founder of Hearts United for Animals.

Wheeler cited reports from the department’s own inspectors about overcrowded and unsanitary conditions. "Most of the reports deal with repeated offenders. And what happens is that … the inspector notes the most obvious problems on the report, and when he goes back for a re-inspection, those items are corrected, but then later, it all happens all over again," she said.

But Nebraska Humane Society President and CEO Judy Varner supported Ibach’s reappointment. "Greg Ibach has reached out to the Nebraska Humane Society and pledged a renewed effort to do what’s right for the animals. He has listened to my concerns, and more, importantly agreed that his department needs to get better when it comes to removing dogs from horrendous situations," Varner said. "This will not happen overnight, but he is moving the department in the right direction."

Ibach’s reappointment also won support from a wide range of farm groups. John Hansen of the Nebraska Farmers Union summed it up this way. "I appreciate the fact that he is inclusive of all members of the ag community…if you can get the Nebraska Farm Bureau and the Nebraska Humane Society and the Nebraska Farmers Union all to support his confirmation, that that would be considered broad based, he said.