N.D. House Update: April 12, 2021

Members of the House of Representatives are taking final action on bills coming from committee and making decisions on whether they should support bills that were amended in the Senate and are now back before us. We can accept bills as amended, or we can decide not to concur with the amendment, and establish a conference committee to work out the differences.

The House gave final approval to five budget bills on Wednesday, which contained raises of one and one-half percent in the first year of the biennium including a $100 minimum, and two percent in the second year based on merit. Budgets for the Secretary of State, State Treasurer, Security Department, Protection and Advocacy Project, as well as the Labor and Human Rights Department, were all approved. These budget bills are now on their way to the Governor.

House members passed HCR 3048 this past week. The resolution urges the President of the United States and the Department of Homeland Security not to transfer illegal aliens to North Dakota. Governor Burgum has announced his opposition to such a plan, as have members of our Congressional Delegation. There had been talk that the new administration was talking about flying or bussing illegal aliens to the northern states.

The House narrowly passed SB 2220, which will allow for the sale of alcohol Sunday mornings, starting at 8:00 a.m. Sponsors of the bill cited the need to open for sportsmen and others that might have activities planned in the morning. Opponents felt it was another attempt to limit family time and could also take time away from church activities.

Representatives passed SB 2278, which will give school districts, school board members, administrators, teachers and other school district personnel limited immunity from any civil liability from students or other individuals exposed to COVID-19 in a school, school-owned vehicle or sanctioned events. The immunity does not apply in cases of gross negligence or willful misconduct.

The House gave its approval to SB 2344, which will provide protections for gun stores, gun ranges or any other entities that engage in the lawful selling or servicing of firearms, components, or accessories from emergency declarations. It will also protect a person’s right to bear arms during a pandemic or other emergency.

House members passed SB 2308, which will allow the Ten Commandments to be posted in schools if they are part of a historical presentation. The bill also authorized schools with a district to permit students to recite the pledge of allegiance.

The Representatives defeated SB 2274, which would have allowed Naturopathic Doctors the authority to write prescriptions for a limited number of drugs. The bill generated a tremendous amount of email and comments. Regular medical providers were urging a no vote, saying the Naturopathic Doctors didn’t have enough training, to which the Naturopathic Doctors pointed to extensive pharmaceutical classes and training. After extensive debate, the bill was defeated with 43 votes in favor and 50 against.

The House also passed SB 2026, which would allow pilot projects and a Department of Motor Vehicle study on allowing truck-trains on smaller state highways and county roads. After objections from some rural legislators, the bill was taken back to committee to allow rural local officials to decide whether they want the project to take place on county or township roads. The truck trains cannot be used on interstates and other federal routes, so the project will have to take place on rural roads.

The House members defeated HB 2324. The bill caused a lot of concern in our area who were afraid proposed changes in culverts upstream would cause a lot of damage downstream. The issue will be studied over the interim.

HB 2233, which will establish a program for attorney recruitment in rural areas, also gained House approval. The new program will provide an incentive payment of forty-five thousand dollars to be paid in five equal installments. The agreement must require the attorney to practice law full-time in an eligible county or municipality for at least five consecutive years. If an attorney breaches the agreement, the attorney shall repay the funds.

HB 1326 came back from the Senate with a small amendment. It exempts federal stimulus payments that individuals received, from income used to determine eligibility for the Service Payment to the Elderly and Disabled Program. The Department of Human Services developed emergency rules in May of last year to exempt first round payments. This bill exempts the second round of the payments.

The House members also gave their approval to SCR 4011. This concurrent resolution urges congress to establish a 1776 Commission. The resolution urges the United States Department of Education to develop educational materials which will provide education for students in accordance with the principles of the founding of America, the unifying ideals stated in the Declaration of Independence, the United States Constitution and other founding documents.

The Government Operation Division has begun acting on the eleven agency funding bills assigned to the committee. After deciding on the funding level for each agency, the committee forwards the bills to the full House Appropriations Committee for final recommendation. The smallest budget before the division is SB 2023, the North Dakota Racing Commission. The agency’s major responsibilities include providing for horse racing under the certificate system, administration of the Breeders Purse and Promotion and Operating Funds, regulatory and licensing functions, and adopting and enforcing regulatory rules for all parimutuel licensees and events. The Breeders Fund was established to financially reward breeders or owners of North Dakota bred horses. There are currently 520 registered breeders/owners, and $300,000 will be paid out in 2021. The Purse Fund is established to supplement and improve purses at racetracks within the state, and $400,000 will be paid out in 2021. The Promotion Fund is established to assist in improving racetracks in the state, promote horse racing and developing new racetracks in North Dakota. Events planned for 2021 are four weekends of racing in Fargo in June, and four weekends of racing in Belcourt in July. The total budget for the Racing Commission for the next biennium is $407,894.

SB 2008 is the appropriation bill for the Department of Financial Institutions. The department supervises state-chartered banks, credit unions, trust companies, collection agencies, money brokers, payday lenders, money transmitters, mortgage loan originators and debt settlement providers. The department also has examination responsibilities for the Bank of North Dakota. DFI is a special fund, self-supporting agency, receiving no general fund dollars. Their budget consists of three cost centers: banks and trust companies, credit unions, and consumer licensees. They all pay annual assessments or fees that cover all direct examination costs and overhead of the respective cost centers. One of their important initiatives is expansion of their financial literacy program. They plan to be more intentional in reaching citizens, especially with the increased fraud that is targeting seniors. Additionally, more targeted outreach to the immigrant and refugee populations is necessary. SB 2008 authorizes DFI to have 31 employees and their total budget is just over $9 million.

We look forward to hearing from our constituents during the final days of the session. The process works best with citizen involvement, and we appreciate everyone who has reached out to us. District 23 residents who wish to contact us with legislative ideas or comments on what is being discussed can e-mail us at: [email protected] and [email protected]. During the session, mail can be sent to us at: ND House of Representatives, 600 East Boulevard, Bismarck, ND 58505-0360.

If you want to leave a phone message you can call the incoming toll-free number 1-888-NDLEGIS (1-888-635-3447). For hearing-impaired individuals, the TTY toll-free number is 1-800-366-6888 to reach a relay operator.