If the Nebraska Equal Opportunity Commission and Attorney General Jon Bruning can’t cooperate, about 80 housing discrimination complaints a year will go to federal investigators.

And while Bruning has said Nebraskans would be better off if HUD took over, not everyone agrees it’s a good idea.

Real estate agents and civil rights agency leaders — who often oppose each other in discrimination cases — don’t think it’s the best solution for Nebraskans.

They say a federal takeover would move decisions out of Nebraska and eliminate education and outreach efforts.

State Sen. Ernie Chambers says consumers might be better off because federal investigations are perceived to be more rigorous, but he’s going to work to keep housing discrimination cases with the state agency.

Bruning and commission leaders have a history of conflicts.

They have fought over whether the attorney general has been willing to work with the agency, as required by federal and state law.

They have fought over his decision not to take cases where the person facing alleged discrimination is an illegal immigrant.

They’ve fought over whether the agency can hire its own attorney.

And they’ve even disagreed on the number of cases involved.

Last month, the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development temporarily ended the contract with the state commission for housing cases. It gave Bruning and the NEOC until May 24 to settle their differences.

NEOC would lose about $240,000 — 12 percent of its annual budget — if the federal agency takes over housing complaints permanently. The state agency would continue to handle employment and public accommodation complaints.

And the name calling continues.

On a trip overseas, Bruning attacked the NEOC in response to a reporter’s question during a telephone news conference Wednesday.

He said he thought there was a solution on everything but the illegal immigrant issue.

“But frankly, I don’t have a lot of faith in the agency and not a lot of faith in the board,” he said.

Realtors: Keep it in the state

Real estate agents prefer to have housing cases go to the state agency, said Fred Hoppe, general counsel for the Nebraska Realtors Association.

Commission members, who make decisions on the merit of the cases, are reasonable people who will listen to the issues. And they understand Nebraska, he said.

Realtors have found HUD to sometimes be inflexible, he said.

And they’re concerned about the continuing conflict between Bruning and the NEOC.

 “This should not be a political football,” Hoppe said.

“There should be no debate about whether the Fair Housing Act should be enforced. That’s a given,” he said.

Civil rights groups say the conflict and NEOC’s loss of the housing contract fuels a perception across the country that Nebraska doesn’t care about discrimination.

People are less likely to feel comfortable making complaints to a federal agency with an office in another state, said Jill Fenner, director of the Fair Housing Center of Nebraska. 

“I don’t think there is anything wrong with HUD doing investigations. But sometimes people are more comfortable with local investigations, she said. 

Nebraskans outside of the urban areas will feel the effect the most.

Lincoln and Omaha cases would likely be handled by city offices — the Lincoln Commission on Human Rights and Omaha Human Relations Department.

Since HUD took over housing cases temporarily, Lincoln has received at least three cases from HUD that had originally gone to the state, and Omaha is working on five cases from HUD, directors of the two agencies said. 

A spokeswoman at the HUD office in Kansas City said cases from residents outside the two cities would be investigated by Kansas City staff.

The ‘patrol car on the side of the highway’

The state will also lose valuable educational programs, because NEOC is the only agency doing statewide education and outreach, Fenner said.

This education helps residents who often have no idea of what constitutes discrimination. And it helps landlords, employers, and real estate agents who may also have questions.

In addition, a state agency involved in discrimination issues helps remind everyone it is against the law.

People slow down when they see a parked police car, Fenner said. “The NEOC is kind of that patrol car on the side of the highway.”

“The attorney general’s stand sends a message that our state is not serious about pursuing discrimination,” said Becky Gould, with the Appleseed Center for Law in the Public Interest.

Chambers says consumers would not be harmed by moving housing cases to HUD.

In fact “there might be the feeling that the federal government would be more thorough and more critical in their evaluation of the issue,” he said. 

“But I’m still going to do what I can to help resolve the issue,” he said.

“What he (Bruning) is doing is unjustified and I would apply the term stupid.”

Chambers said he is researching his course of action and will be talking with Gov. Dave Heineman.

Bruning: Not backing down on immigrant issue

The two agencies have been at odds for several years, primarily over the role the attorney general’s office should play.  The NEOC says the attorney general must take all cases sent to him for civil court action.

The attorney general says he has discretion, and the cases that come to him are weak. The NEOC says the attorney general could help build better cases but has not cooperated.

The conflict escalated publicly when Bruning rejected a case involving illegal immigrants, saying the case was not well researched and he would not work on behalf of illegal immigrants.

HUD has said in housing law a person’s immigration status is irrelevant.

One dispute — on how many cases Bruning has taken into court — is almost resolved.

The state’s Policy Research Office is working out the dispute and numbers should be available early next week, said Jen Rae Hein, spokeswoman for Heineman.

Any agreement on greater cooperation between the two agencies will go to the NEOC board at its May 16 meeting. 

Still, the leaders continue to take potshots at each other, particularly over Bruning’s insistence he won’t take cases that help illegal immigrants.

“Some people want to make this an illegal  immigration issue,” said Arnold Nesbitt, NEOC chair.

“It has never been an illegal immigration issue. It has always been a fair housing issue, and an issue about how the attorney general handles all cases that we send him.”

“The fact of the matter is that there has only been one identified case that involves an undocumented person out of all the cases and all the years,” Nesbitt said this week.

“He (Bruning) was trying to play gotcha and it bit him in the butt,” said Nesbitt.

Bruning has not backed down.

“I continue to hope we can find some sort of a solution, but I can tell you our office will not be a free lawyer for illegal immigrants and their suits for money damages against American citizens. It’s not going to happen,” he said.

Reach Nancy Hicks at 473-7250 or nhicks@journalstar.com.