Official Newspaper of Eddy County since 1883

Legislative Report: April 26, 2021

Conference committees were working hard this week to resolve differences between the House and Senate versions of bills. A lot was accomplished, but as of April 16, there are still over 60 conference committees that need to complete their work. We are hearing that the session may end as soon as Saturday, April 24 or early the next week, on April 26 or 27.

I had several conference committees this week. We worked on the Public Employees Retirement system budget, the Agriculture Commissioner’s budget, the budget for Career and Technical Education, and the budget for the Judicial Branch.

Bills that we heard on the Senate floor this week and voted on, included the controversial transgender athlete bill. This bill would prohibit transgender females from competing on female teams. The issue went deeper than that, with the outcome on the bill passing on a vote of 27-20. It now goes to the governor for his signature or his veto.

We approved SB 2304, which would require schools to offer Native American studies as part of the social studies courses. There was a lot of testimony in support of this bill and I was pleased to see it pass both the Senate and the House.

HB 1246 passed, which provides that federal impact aid money to the Air Force base schools does not have to be counted in the base funding for those schools. This is important, not only for the funds available to the districts that support these schools, but also to keeping those bases open and viable, as future rounds of base closures continue.

We have had several bills addressing pharmacy benefits and the cost of prescription drugs. HB 1492 addressed the limitations on pharmacy benefits managers. This bill helps with transparency of costs/benefits in drug plans.

HB 1012 is the budget for the Department of Human Services. This bill provides for the funding of our human service centers, local social service programs, Medicaid coverage, aging and disability programs, abuse and neglect of vulnerable adults, behavioral health services, and child support. While this is a huge general fund budget, the special funds coming from the federal government to assist North Dakota in serving its citizens is expected to be higher than last biennium, because our federal matching rate has increased. This budget will go to conference committee with another vote expected mid-week.

Senate Appropriations still has two bills in committee to work on. HB 1395 is the bill with the turnback money ($108 million) from the CARES ACT that needs to have the dollars expended for other uses. I expect that bill to come out of committee early next week. Also, the budget for the Office of Management and Budget will take place early next week. These two bills contain the items that remain controversial between the chambers and hopefully we can get these resolved so the conference committees can act on these.

Another topic of high interest is the American Rescue Act money, with North Dakota now expected to get nearly $2 billion total over the next four years. There are no guidelines out yet, but if early looks at these dollars are any indication, North Dakota will be well positioned to use these dollars to fund infrastructure and service programs for our residents. I look forward to learning more about these dollars soon.

I had special guests this week. Chad Henningsgaard and his mom, Margie, came from Valley City on Thursday for the Governor’s signing of HB 1196. Chad’s testimony was instrumental in getting this bill passed. This is an excellent example of the importance of the public’s participation in the legislative process. I am proud of Chad for his testimony and for helping other North Dakotans who will be affected by this bill. The bill seals criminal records if an individual is found guilty of a misdemeanor, and has had no new crimes for the last three years, or has had no further felony for the last five years. This bill is important in enabling individuals to start a new life.

Friday, I was honored to be invited to the office of Scott Davis, current Indian Affairs Commissioner for North Dakota, to visit with him and his family on his term as Commissioner. He is leaving in a couple of weeks to purse a new career as a liaison for Sanford Health. We have appreciated the work he has done which has enabled government to government relationships to improve with the five federally recognized tribes in North Dakota, as well as his work to build relationships with legislators. Scott will be missed, but I have valued his expertise and passionate work for North Dakota.

Our work continues and your input continues to be important. You can reach me at [email protected].

Have a great week!

 
 
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