Nebraska Public Service Commission

{{Short description|Public utility commission in Nebraska, USA}} {{Infobox government agency | name = Nebraska Public Service Commission | logo = | logo_width = | logo_caption = | formed = 1906 | headquarters = Lincoln, Nebraska | jurisdiction = Nebraska | chief1_name = Tim Schram<ref>{{cite web|title=Commission Elects 2025 Leadership|url=https://psc.nebraska.gov/for-consumers/commission-elects-2025-leadership|website=Nebraska Public Service Commission|date=2025-01-07|access-date=2025-02-13}}</ref> | chief1_position = Chair | chief2_name = Kevin Stocker | chief2_position = Vice Chair | num_staff = | employees = | budget = | website = {{URL|https://psc.nebraska.gov/}} }}

The '''Nebraska Public Service Commission''' regulates railroads, household goods and passenger carriers, telephone companies, grain warehouses and construction of manufactured housing.

==History== The first iteration of the Public Service Commission was established as a statutory body in 1885, when the legislature established the Board of Railway Commissioners, which consisted of the Attorney General, Secretary of State, and Auditor of Public Records. In 1887, the legislature abolished the Board and reconstructed it as the Board of Transportation. The Board consisted of the Attorney General, Secretary of State, Auditor of Public Accounts, Treasurer, and Commissioner of Public Lands and Buildings and was responsible for regulating the railroad industry.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Steely|first1=James|last2=Witt|first2=Thomas|last3=Driver|first3=Christian|last4=Gibson|first4=Barb|date=2014|title=Railroad Development in Nebraska, 1862–1980: A Historic Context|publisher=Nebraska State Historical Society|pages=72-73|url=https://ia801509.us.archive.org/28/items/NebraskaRRsHistoricContext/NebraskaRRsHistoricContext.pdf|access-date=2025-02-13}}</ref> In 1884 and 1896, the legislature attempted to create a railway commission as a constitutional entity, but the amendments were not ratified by the voters because too many voters abstained from casting ballots on the amendments.<ref name="Nebraska constitution">{{cite book|last1=Miewald|first1=Robert D.|last2=Longo|first2=Peter J.|date=2011|title=The Nebraska State Constitution|url=https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Nebraska_State_Constitution/kvZMAgAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1|publisher=Oxford University Press|page=18-19|isbn=978-0-19-977931-4|access-date=2025-02-13}}</ref>

In 1901, after previously holding that the Board of Transportation's existence did not violate the state constitution,<ref>{{cite court|litigants=Nebraska Tel. Co. v. Cornell|vol=82|reporter=N.W.|opinion=1|pinpoint=2-3|court=Neb.|date=1900|url=https://case-law.vlex.com/vid/nebraska-tel-co-v-887508557}}</ref> the Nebraska Supreme Court struck down the 1887 law creating it, concluding that the law did not comply with the constitution's legislative process.<ref>{{cite court|litigants=State v. Burlington & M. R. R. Co.|vol=84|reporter=N.W.|opinion=254|pinpoint=255-57|court=Neb.|date=1901|url=https://case-law.vlex.com/vid/state-v-burlington-missouri-908573533}}</ref>

In 1906, voters ratified a constitutional amendment establishing the Railway Commission, and simultaneously elected three members to serve as the first commissioners.<ref name="Nebraska constitution"/> The Commission originally consisted of three members who were elected to six-year terms at statewide elections, with one commissioner's term expiring at every general election. In 1962, voters approved an amendment that allowed the legislature to expand the size of the Commission to up to seven members and mandated the election of the Commission by districts drawn by the legislature. The Nebraska Legislature established the commission as a five-member body and drew the first set of districts, which have been redrawn every ten years following the federal census.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Yeargain|first=Quinn|date=2023|title=Shadow Districts|url=https://cardozolawreview.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/YEARGAIN.45.2.7_WEB-compressed.pdf|journal=Cardozo Law Review|volume=45|issue=2|pages=424, 482-83|access-date=2025-02-13}}</ref> The name of the Commission was changed to the Public Service Commission in 1972 with the ratification of another constitutional amendment.<ref>{{cite web|title=History of the Commission|url=https://psc.nebraska.gov/administration/history-commission|website=Nebraska Public Service Commission|access-date=2025-02-13}}</ref>

==Commissioners== The commissioners are elected in partisan elections from districts drawn by the Nebraska Legislature for six-year terms. Following the 2023 appointment of Christian Mirch, all members of the Commission are Republicans.<ref>{{cite news|date=2023-01-30|title=Mirch appointed to fill Omaha-area vacancy on Public Service Commission|work=Nebraska Examiner|url=https://nebraskaexaminer.com/briefs/mirch-appointed-to-fill-omaha-area-vacancy-on-public-service-commission/|access-date=2025-02-13}}</ref>

{|class="wikitable sortable" |- !District !Name !Party !Start !Next Election |- |1 |{{sortname|Dan|Watermeier}} |{{Party shading/Republican}} |Republican |{{dts|January 9, 2019}} |2030<ref>{{cite web|title=Dan Watermeier|url=https://psc.nebraska.gov/administration/dan-watermeier|website=Nebraska Public Service Commission|access-date=2025-02-13}}</ref> |- |2 |{{sortname|Christian|Mirch}} |{{Party shading/Republican}} |Republican |{{dts|January 27, 2023}} (appointed) |2026 (retiring)<ref>{{cite web|title=Christian Mirch|url=http://psc.nebraska.gov/christian-mirch|website=Nebraska Public Service Commission|access-date=2025-02-13}}</ref> |- |3 |{{sortname|Tim|Schram}}, ''Chair'' |{{Party shading/Republican}} |Republican |{{dts|January 7, 2007}} |2030<ref>{{cite web|title=Tim Schram|url=https://psc.nebraska.gov/tim-schram|website=Nebraska Public Service Commission|access-date=2025-02-13}}</ref> |- |4 |{{sortname|Eric|Kamler}} |{{Party shading/Republican}} |Republican |{{dts|January 5, 2023}} |2028<ref>{{cite web|title=Eric Kamler|url=https://psc.nebraska.gov/administration/eric-kamler|website=Nebraska Public Service Commission|access-date=2025-02-13}}</ref> |- |5 |{{sortname|Kevin|Stocker|dab=politician}}, ''Vice Chair'' |{{Party shading/Republican}} |Republican |{{dts|January 5, 2023}} |2028<ref>{{cite web|title=Kevin Stocker|url=https://psc.nebraska.gov/administration/kevin-stocker|website=Nebraska Public Service Commission|access-date=2025-02-13}}</ref> |}

==References== {{Reflist}}

==External links== [https://psc.nebraska.gov/ Nebraska Public Service Commission]

Nebraska Public Service Commission, Nebraska