Public Service Commission Opens Complaint On Nebraska Republican Party 'Robocalls'
Automatic dialer company says it reported its mistake to the Public Service Commission
By News Channel Nebraska
LINCOLN – The Nebraska Public Service Commission agreed Tuesday to issue a cease and desist order against the Nebraska Republican Party regarding some automatic calls with political content.
The commission has set an Oct. 20 hearing regarding the complaint.
Earlier, the Janet Palmtag campaign for state Legislature said she was the target of robocalls that did not comply with state regulations requiring a script to be submitted beforehand to the Public Service Commission.
Representatives of the Republican Party say the script was submitted, but a little late.
The Nebraska Republican Party hired a vendor referred in the complaint as Remington Research Group and provided a statement from Titus Bond of the company.
Remington: “We have always worked to be in compliance with all state laws across the country. After almost a billion calls across the country this is our first issue with a government body. Upon discovering we were not in compliance, we immediately contacted the Public Service Commission to report the mistake and applied for a license. We will continue to work with PSC to come into compliance. We apologize to both the Nebraska Public Service Commission and the Nebraska Republican Party for these issues.”
A Palmtag press release says robocalls on Sept. 30 falsely claimed that the first district state Legislature candidate was lying about being endorsed by multiple Republican leaders, including former Gov. Dave Heineman, Congressman Jeff Fortenberry and former state sens. Roger Wehrbein and Dave Pankonin.
Ryan Hamilton of the Nebraska Republican Party said the complaint is politically motivated.
Hamilton: “Petty procedural complaints will not help Palmtag outrun her liberal record and Never-Trumper supporters. She is a Lincoln liberal who is seeking to silence the Nebraska Republican Party from exposing her beliefs to the voters of the first legislative district. We are not and will not be intimidated or silenced by her bureaucratic schemes and will continue to use every available avenue to tell the truth about her political positions. “