ND Senate Update April 15, 2019

The week began with committee work and hearings. The Senate accepted the House version of the pay package for state workers. That proposal is a 2 percent the first year with a minimum of $120 per month and a maximum of $200 per month with a 2.5 percent increase the second year of the biennium. Because of that acceptance, the first agency bill came to the floor of the Senate for approval. Agency budgets began rolling to the floor of the House and Senate for approval after the adoption of that package. Most of these bills will eventually end up in Conference Committees because of other differences in the House and Senate versions.

Monday noon we all enjoyed the Capitol Classic hoop shoot for Special Olympics. Eight teams of five players each, shot hoops at small baskets. I was on the organizing committee for this event and participated on the Senate Dems team. We should have final figures in a week or so, but we hope to raise about $10,000 through this shoot-out. It was great fun while raising dollars for an important cause.

Also, on Monday, Senate was honored to have Rajan Zed, President of the Universal Society of Hinduism present the opening prayer for the session. I had the privilege to visit with him before he offered a calming opening prayer for us.

Tuesday morning the North Dakota School Nutrition Association provided "Grab and Go" breakfasts for us. Students from school across the state decorated bags that had fruit, juice and nuts in them for us to enjoy. My bag was decorated by a second grade student from Washington Elementary in Fargo.

Tuesday our first Senate bills that were amended in the House were voted on in the Chamber to Concur with the House amendments. We also appointed Conference Committees on the Do Not Concur recommendations. Conference Committees are an opportunity for the House and Senate appointees to meet for 30 minutes to iron out the differences in the bill's content. A Conference Committee can meet as many times as it needs to come to a compromise on the language in a bill. We have over 55 bills scheduled for Conference Committees.

Legislators continue to receive updates from the Legislative Council Fiscal Analysts on oil/gas revenues, General Fund revenues, and a current budget status of bills as compared to expected revenues. The oil/gas revenues indicate revenues are $1.163 billion more than expected. That is good news for all entities that receive dollars from these taxes. Overall, revenues continue to be strong. The bad news is, bills with expenditures outweigh the revenues by over $800,000,000 at this point in the session. The next few weeks are crucial to bringing those expenditures in line with expected revenues before we can adjourn this session.

Bills that saw action in the Senate this week were the Second Cousin Corporate Farming bill. This bill adds second cousins to the structure of who may participate in a Corporate Family Farm. That bill passed.

There are several bills addressing reduction of penalties for the possession of small amounts of marijuana. These bills will focus on keeping the individuals in the workforce rather than incarceration.

Bills that continue to be sticky include the land owner/hunter bill, pore space ownership bill, education funding, ethics, and several resolutions related to making the initiated measure process more difficult for the public.

Work is also being done with funding for section DOT shops, behavior disorder initiatives, non-public school tax reduction, teacher shortage loan forgiveness program, blockchain technology and additional medical conditions under the medical marijuana program.

Please contact me if you have questions on any bills. You may reach me at [email protected] or by calling (701) 302-0355.

Spring is here!