Legislative Report: July 26, 2021

This report provides a summary of the Council of State Governments Midwest Legislative Conference that I attended in Rapid City, S.D. on July 10-14.

This Midwest Conference provides learning opportunities for state legislators from 11 states, and legislative assembly members from four Canadian provinces, to get updates on what current issues are in these jurisdictions. Several hundred legislators were in attendance along with CSG staff, presenters, and conference supporters. Only two assemblymen from Canada were in attendance because of the regulations at the border. We sat with one of them at lunch one day and he said he did not have trouble getting into the states, but he was concerned about getting back into Canada. It is great to hear that the borders will open in August for us to go north.

FISCAL AFFAIRS:

My committee work began Sunday morning, July 11, with a new committee I was appointed to. The Fiscal Affairs Committee met to hear Carl Sims and Christina Gordley from CSG present on key fiscal issues in states, as well as a look at the American Rescue Plan Act. States are appropriating their ARPA funds in three different ways. Some states will distribute entirely through the executive branch. Some will distribute through the executive proposals with legislative approval, and some will hold special legislative sessions. Others have convened task forces to look at the current needs to get those funds working for the good of their states. North Dakota has the $1.1 billion in ARPA funds already in the Bank of North Dakota, but have not approved a method of distribution yet. So, while those funds are here and ready for distribution, there is no plan at this point to get the funds out.

There are concerns about what happens when states use these funds for programs, and these funds are no longer coming to states. States need to be careful in selecting eligible projects, how these funds may overlap with other federal funds, and that these funds affect offsets to any current taxes levied.

Our second Fiscal Affairs session focused on current revenues and expenditures in several of the states represented at the conference. In eight Midwest states, tax collections were above expectations despite the pandemic. Since this is the first time a pandemic has hit states, there is no historic data as to how a pandemic affects revenues and expenditures, so data collection is now very important.

We heard that individual and corporate income taxes had some of the highest increases during the pandemic. All states will also see a slight increase in the federal matching money received to assist with the Medicaid programs. This increase from a 50% match to about a 56% match will certainly help North Dakota fund some of the programs administered through the Human Services Department.

ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT:

I also attended sessions on economic development where there was emphasis on developing programming/training for workforce development. One issue common in all states present was the need to fill open positions in most, if not all workplaces. Another common issue was the need for quality, affordable childcare. The signs are positive for recovery and robust growth in all sector jobs, but there continue to be barriers for workers to return to the jobs that were lost due to COVID. One main issue is the uncertainty of what K-12 schools will be doing in the fall. Parents are not certain if their child or children will have a return to face-to-face full time, part-time face-to-face with part-time virtual, or full-time virtual classes. The issue is whether there will need to be a parent/caregiver in the home to care for those students who are in the lower elementary grades, who cannot be left alone while parents are at work.

The issue of remote work continues to be at the forefront of the workforce, too. Some companies/agencies are having their employees return to the office, others have a hybrid model of their workplace, and some are allowing remote work into the future. These models also affect the office space needed, and as a result, some individuals who have property to rent are finding their income decreasing as their rental spaces are no longer needed.

UNEMPLOYMENT ISSUES:

We also heard several solutions to the unemployment issues across jurisdictions. Some of these solutions include developing private/public partnerships, connecting with nonprofits, developing business services, increase career and technical retraining opportunities, holding local hiring events, and surveying local needs for employment. Increasing apprenticeship programs helps individuals find meaningful employment in areas they are interested in, but do not have the certifications needed to work in that area of employment. One legislator from Michigan said in his state, even if every high school graduate or unemployed worker is trained/retrained and enters the workforce, they will still be short as new employment opportunities and new businesses open. He also mentioned that Michigan has a “Great Start” initiative for childcare that provides funding for early childcare programs to increase readiness for school.

We learned that of the 22.2 million jobs lost due to COVID, most were in that two-month period, a year ago, when the pandemic resulted in closure of businesses. Of those jobs, 64% were in low wage jobs and the resulting unemployment insurance funds were critical to the sustainability of those families affected. More women than men became unemployed.

Through all the pandemic and returning to work, it has been the hardest to quantify the effects on self-employed individuals. Some have not been able to access any of the CARES Act funds, and the questions arise as to whether they will be able to access any of the ARPA funds.

LAND CONSERVATION:

A session on land conservation provided information on ethics, resilience, and economic opportunities that incentivize conservation practices. Every jurisdiction seems to have increased focuses on water issues, reducing flood issues, enhanced habitat needs, and recreational needs. Ohio has a H2Ohio plan to improve drinking water and recreational water needs by following science and data to develop their plan. Ohio pays farmers for nutrient management plans to maintain soil viability.

We also heard that other states are looking at supply chain issues in moving product from farm to market, and then to the consumer. Improved conservation practices are important to producers so they can improve their conservation practices while still improving productivity.

ELECTION SESSION:

A session on election solutions indicated there is much misinformation/disinformation about election issues in the 2020 elections. Significant work has been done to match signatures on early/mail-in ballots and absentee ballots. States took action to assure election workers had the necessary protective precautions and equipment for their safety.

We heard that the 2020 elections were the most secure, most observed, most transparent, most audited, most litigated, and had the highest number of voters. During the past legislative sessions across all states there were 3,100 bills introduced into legislative sessions addressing elections.

So, what do we expect from the 2022 elections? States can leverage intergovernmental systems to improve data, especially through the Department of Transportation, and the Driver’s License Bureau. They can ensure that the voter systems and equipment are tested prior to the election. (North Dakota already does this). Look to states that do a good job auditing their elections. Place regulations in administrative rules rather than in state laws, so adjustments can be made if a problem arises.

We heard from Paul Pate, the Secretary of State for Iowa, that to ensure safe and secure elections, we need to talk about participation and integrity because they both are important. Iowa still uses paper ballots that are fed into counting machines. He talked about the importance of keeping paper ballots for back-up audits. He reported that every machine is validated in Iowa and both political parties are invited to attend those validation sessions. The Dominion machines that have been in the news were used in Iowa without any incidents.

That concludes my report on the CSG conference. I want to make sure you have an opportunity to watch Interim Committee meetings. Go to the Legislative web page at http://www.legis.nd.gov and click on the video link on the top of the page. It will give you access to any meetings in progress and any archived meetings that have been held. On the left side of the web page, you will find a list of upcoming Interim meetings and a link to their agendas. Also, there is a link to future monthly meeting schedules.

You can reach me at [email protected] or by phone at 701-302-0355.