This is the second in a series of Research Notes written by our summer intern, Ethan Roth. Ethan had the opportunity to attend a weekend economics conference earlier this summer and incorporated some of what he’s finding in his housing research into what he learned at the conference. I recently had the opportunity to attend...
This is the first in a series of “Research Notes” compiled by our summer intern, Ethan Roth. We have him looking at an assortment of things related to housing in Nebraska. We thought others might be interested in some of the things that he is seeing. These findings will add to our base of knowledge...
NOTE: Before he left, our previous intern provided a blog post based on a paper he’d written for school, discussing the challenges of big cities (especially Omaha) in our state. For his inaugural post, our current intern, Ethan Roth, has provided a colorful discussion of some of the challenges in rural Nebraska below, based on...
Note: This is the final blog post by Jakob Myers, the Platte Institute’s intern for the last year. Jakob has made great contributions to important policy areas for us since coming on board. This blog post is adapted from a research paper he wrote for one of his courses this spring and kicks off a...
A couple of weeks before Christmas, following the President’s recent executive order on artificial intelligence (AI), the Nebraska Examiner published an article examining the potential implications for Nebraska. While the precise impact of the order remains uncertain, the state’s recent legislative activity related to AI suggests the possibility of conflict between state and federal approaches....
On Thursday, December 11, President Trump signed an executive order aimed at limiting state-level regulations on artificial intelligence (AI). The order is the latest in a series of efforts by the administration to centralize AI governance at the federal level. While it takes a distinctive approach, the order also introduces several practical and legal challenges. ...
[Note: This is the final in a series of Research Notes by Platte’s intern, focusing on county zoning and agriculture issues. A full paper dealing with these issues will be published later this fall.] Over the past decade, Nebraska’s legislature has repeatedly sought to address issues related to the Conditional Use Permits (CUPs) and Special...
[Note: This is the fifth in a series of Research Notes by Platte’s intern, focusing on county zoning and agriculture issues. The final (sixth) note will include discussion of a bill currently before the Legislature.] In addition to Iowa, Nebraska’s other neighboring states have faced zoning challenges related to permitting new livestock operations. While Iowa...
[Note: This is the fourth in a series of Research Notes by Platte’s summer intern, focusing on county zoning and agriculture issues] Thirteen years before Nebraska developed its Livestock Siting Assessment Matrix, its neighbor, Iowa, implemented a similar tool. In 2002, the Iowa Department of Natural Resources (DNR) introduced a scoring system, known as the...
Introduced in 2015, the Nebraska Livestock Matrix is a tool designed to help counties evaluate proposed livestock operations seeking conditional use or special exception permits. Created to promote consistency across county lines in the permitting process, the committee tasked with developing the matrix faced two significant challenges in aligning its objectives. First, the tool needed...
[Note: This is the second in a series of Research Notes by Platte’s summer intern, focusing on county zoning and agriculture issues] In Nebraska, conditional use and special exception permits are regulatory tools used by county commissions or boards to allow specific land uses that are not typically permitted under existing zoning rules but may...
Note: This is the first in a series of Research Notes authored by this year’s Platte Institute Summer Intern, Jakob Myers. Jakob is researching information related to zoning issues involving livestock facilities. The continued growth of Nebraska’s agricultural sector depends significantly on the development and expansion of livestock operations across the state. These projects typically...
Ratemaking is one of the oldest and most important responsibilities of many Public Service Commissions (PSCs) around the US. While the issue isn’t as important as other regulatory tools for the Nebraska Public Service Commission (NePSC) due to the state’s size and the commission’s limited jurisdiction, this research note will provide an overview of ratemaking...
While there are many aspects of institutional design to consider with Public Service Commissions (PSCs), like jurisdiction, responsibilities, and agency structure, the commissioner selection process is the most important because it affects who leads the agencies. Should decision-makers be representatives of the people’s will, political appointees who understand the broader system, or knowledgeable technocrats? State...