What is Amendment 1?

Amendment 1 is a proposed amendment to the Nebraska State Constitution that will appear on the May 13, 2008 Primary Election Ballot.

The amendment would remove outdated restrictions on investment choices that have been placed on Nebraska public endowments.

What is a public endowment?

A public endowment is made up of funds from gifts to a community or proceeds from the sale of such things as public buildings or land.

Typically, the money is invested and the interest is spent on projects to improve the quality of life in the community such as building parks and libraries or helping health care and public education without raising taxes.

What restrictions would the amendment remove?

Currently, Nebraska's public endowments are limited to investing their funds in bonds or placing them into savings accounts. These restrictions were put in place in 1875 because of concerns about cities investing in the railroads.

What will this change mean?

The average annual return for a bond investment is 5%. The average annual return for a mixed-fund stock investment is 9% - almost twice that of a bond. By earning more on its investments, public endowments will have more funds available to spend on their community projects.