NDACo Final Priorities Approved in Last Hours of Session

The 66th Legislative Assembly wrapped up its business at 10 p.m. Friday on Day 76. The final day marked the completion of several remaining ND County priorities. 

Lawmakers Restore Funding to County Extension Program; Increase Funding for Road Study

Lawmakers Friday approved HB 1020. This bill included $875,000 funding for the Upper Great Plains Transportation Institute study. This study is necessary to provide the level of detailed data needed to identity local road project funding priorities across the state. The UGPTI road study has also been used as a basis to calculate the distribution of county road funds in the past as was as in the future through HB 1066, Operation Prairie Dog, which was approved earlier this session. 

The bill also includes $870,000 that will go to restore the funding formula between Extension and Counties for County Extension Agents. Due to the budget cuts in 2017 and allocations, Extension was left with a shortfall. Counties negotiated a one-year agreement to increase their portion of the funding. The restoration of these funds will allow the formula to be returned to a more equitable level. 

House and Senate Approve Bill that Improves Asset Forfeiture Process

HB 1286 has had many transformations since being introduced. As introduced in the House, law enforcement opposed the bill. However, they worked diligently through the process to offer suggestions for improvements. The Senate made many changes to the bill, many of which law enforcement saw as positive. The conference committee expanded on the improvements made in the Senate. Overall, the bill increases transparency of the asset forfeiture process by: 

• Requiring an annual report
• Providing additional oversight of funds from forfeited property by requiring them to be deposited into the local political subdivisions asset forfeiture fund that can only be appropriated by the local political subdivision
• Increases the burden of proof to the highest level possible to “beyond reasonable doubt” the property was used in the commission of a crime or involved in criminal activity, for situations where there is no conviction

Lawmakers Approve Increase to Public Guardianship Program
Legislators approved an increase of $400,000 for the public guardianship program to bring the total funding to $1.95 million. Although the request was for $2.33 million, this funding is a considerable increase to the current $1.32 million appropriation in this biennium. Public Guardians provides assistance to the state's most vulnerable adults. These are individuals who the district court has determined are incapacitated and unable to adequately make decisions on their health, finances and other affairs due to their age, dementia, physical disability, mental illness, addiction, etc. The current funding level has remained level for the past three bienniums. Due to that, caseloads have been frozen at 205, it is estimated there are about 150 additional individuals who would qualify for the assistance who are unable to receive it due to the lack of funding. 

DOCR Facility Changes to be Studied

During the Governor's budget speech, he introduced major shifts in Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (DOCR) system which included moving inmates from facilities and shutting down one of the prisons. Lawmakers instead voted to study a plan to conduct an assessment and review of the DOCR facilities and report it's findings to the 67th Legislative Assembly. This will allow DOCR and the State to thoroughly study the facilities available, the needs and best options for the future. 

The DOCR Budget also includes $750,000 and 7 FTE's to establish a pre-trial services pilot program.   

Legislators Approve Small Increase to Infrastructure Loan Fund 

The conference committee for the Industrial Commission Budget rejected the proposed $500 million bond to enhance the local government infrastructure loan fund. The bill however now contains a mechanism  to supplement the existing Bank of ND $150 million 2% interest revolving loan fund with an additional $40 million from the SIIF.  This addition will be after the balance of this oil royalty and tax fund reaches a $750 million balance, so it is essentially the “final bucket” and likely won’t be filled until near the end of the upcoming biennium.

House Rejects Change to Posted Land
The private property rights bill, SB 2315, failed in the House after lengthy discussion. The bill essentially closed all land except for to hunting. Posted signs would still be required to close land to hunting.  However, the ITD budget includes a provision to study access to private and public lands including trespass violations and penalties as well as explore a land access database with the capacity of electronic posting.

Day 73 Update

Compromises Reached on Feed Lot Zoning Regulation

Both chambers approved a bill relating to animal feed lot zoning regulation, HB 2345. This bill makes a change from the House version. The House originally struck the counties ability to vary setback distances as established under State law but after some negotiations the county’s 50% variation was restored. The only change in the final bill is that the county must establish by compelling evidence the need for the variation and that decision can be reviewed by the Agricultural Commissioner and the Attorney General. It also retains the "shot-clock" for decisions at 60 days.

Legislature Approves Health Department BudgetThe Department of Health budget, HB 1004, passed both houses Monday after adopting the conference committee report. As when first introduced in the House, the question regarding vital records fee increases was brought forth. It was explained that fees for vital records have been stagnant for a few decades and that the increase aims for a break even scenario. The bill provides for excess funds to go the general fund. On the Senate side, the only change from the version that was previously passed was the addition of authority to apply for a CDC grant. The conference committee members decided to remove the CDC grant because of attached CDC requirements. The passage of this budget bill provides level state aid funding from the previous biennium to the local public health units.

Senate Defeats Firearms BillSenators defeated SB 2172, which had been changed to allow certain individuals to carry in public. The Senate bill was introduced to allow only retired Judges to carry in public, but was amended heavily in the House and later changed in conference committee. In the latest version, the bill allowed retired judges, staff members of the Attorney General's office, a member of Congress, and paramedics or emergency responders while on duty to carry in public buildings and public events. This would include county buildings, courtrooms, schools, school events and churches. There was a requirement for these individuals to obtain the same level of firearms proficiency as is required of law enforcement by the Peace Officer Standards and Training board. The bill failed with a 4-43 vote.

Counties Invited to Ceremonial Bill Signing for Social Service Redesign

The signing of the Social Service Redesign bill is an event worth celebrating! NDACo President Scott Ouradnik, Kim Jacobson of Agassiz Valley Social Services Director and NDACo Executive Director Terry Traynor were invited to a ceremonial signing of SB 2124. Special thanks to our partners who worked diligently on this important legislation. This bill will improve the quality of services, increase the speed of delivery, reduce cost and continue to provide property tax relief.

Lawmakers Approve SIRN Funding and other updates

Day 71...And Counting
We are in the last leg of the Legislative Session. We expect lawmakers to wrap up their work late next week.  Friday was Day 71. The Legislative Session is limited to 80 days, and it has been the goal of the legislature to avoid using all 80 days.
There are still several bills being worked out in conference committees. The NDACo legislative team has been busy sitting in these meetings monitoring the negotiations and helping to educate where we can. There are still a few of our issues yet to be decided. Funding for Public Guardianships (SB 2015) and funding for NDSU Extension & Upper Great Plains Transportation Institute (HB 1020) are two of the top budget bills we are watching. Asset Forfeiture reform (HB 1286) has had three conference committee meetings, but little movement. Overall there are about 50 bills we are tracking that we are still awaiting final action on.

SIRN funding bill, HB 1435, receives final approval
The House and Senate both gave final approval to HB 1435, the bill that authorizes the funding for the entirety of the Statewide Interoperable Radio Network (SIRN). The bill includes $40 million of state funds, which was a great accomplishment. NDACo and other public safety associations articulated the importance of state funding to demonstrate the state's commitment to the project. The project will be financed by a .50 9-1-1 fee that was approved during the 2017 Legislative Session, along with local dollars. The passage of this bill will result in an interoperable and dependable radio network for our public safety officials.

House defeats Cottage Foods bill

Lengthy and lively discussions concerning the state’s cottage food laws eventually led to the defeat of Senate Bill 2269 yesterday on the House floor.  The bill was initially brought forth to clarify language in the cottage food law which passed in 2017.  After amendments were made on both sides, the bill was further amended in conference committee and passed in the Senate.  Representatives in the House took issue with some of the final changes and felt the bill ultimately placed too many restrictions on cottage food producers.

Other updates

Governor Burgum signed the Social Service Redesign (SB2124) bill .This has been a top priority for ND Counties and has been an issue we have worked on for more than a decade. Here is the Governor's news release on the bill: Governor Burgum's Release on 2124

Also this week, the Senate defeated a bill that would have printed constitutional measures up to 500 words on the ballot. Auditors opposed this bill because of how this would make ballots longer in length or possibly multiple page ballots. 

A publication related bill was passed by both chambers. The bill shifts the cost of election notices for commodity groups to those commodity associations. The bill also included a date change for a notice for financial statements. 

  

Social Services Redesign Heads to Governor

One of the greatest legislative priorities for ND Counties this session has been to continue the Legislature's efforts to fully fund the direct costs of county social services with state resources rather than property taxes. We are pleased to report that the legislature has made it's final action on SB 2124, the Social Service Redesign bill. The Senate voted to "concur" with the House changes with a vote of 46-1. The bill now goes to the Governor for his signature.

We have reported at length on this legislation, but it goes beyond just permanent state funding, it redesigns the system allowing for enhancements to be made in delivering services across the state. The Social Service Directors worked tirelessly with the Department of Human Services on this bill through the session and during the interim to develop the redesign plan.
Some highlights include:
The development of up to 19 multi-county zones
Local decision-making in zone creation
Zones to be approved and implemented by Jan. 1, 2021
Employment and salaries of existing employees will be preserved

This bill is the culmination of more than a decade of work. The work will now shift to guiding counties and social service departments to implementing the changes set forward in SB 2124. Thank you to all of you who have been involved in providing input and dedicating time to guide the legislative effort.

The House approved the Secretary of State budget, SB 2002 with a vote of 84-6. This bill includes the $12 million requested for election equipment. The bill also included an emergency clause so the work to purchase the equipment can start as soon as the Governor signs the bill. The Secretary of State's office has said counties will be provided training and the equipment will be ready for use for the June Primary. There are not many changes between the Senate and House versions, it is unknown at this point if the bill will go to conference committee. 

Legislative Update for 4-11

Next week will be very busy with conference committee action. As this schedule is very fluid, it is difficult to plan ahead. Below is the schedule for Friday and Monday. You will notice two of our priority bills are listed. HB 1435 - SIRN funding will have it's first hearing at 11:00 Friday. HB 1286 - Asset Forfeiture Reform will be heard for the first time in conference committee 9:30 Monday morning.  See updates on other action below the schedule...

The House Thursday afternoon divided SB 2315 which relates to private property and posting. All private land is automatically posted unless you are hunting. Because this version is different from the Senate version, we expect it to go to conference committee.

The House also passed SB 2172 - which they amended to allow for a new class 1 exempt firearms license to allow those individuals to carry in public buildings and public events including courthouses, schools and churches. This bill will go to conference committee.

This week, the House Appropriations began a discussion of the extraordinary road costs incurred by some local governments due to heavier than normal snowfall. Struggling with an appropriate means to address the concern, the Adjutant General/DES Budget (SB2016) was amended to include a $5,000 allocation out of the Disaster Relief Fund for each non-oil township. As with such past allocations, we understand that the amounts for unorganized townships would be granted to the county. We suspect there will be much more discussion of this in conference.

Also this week, the Senate Appropriations Committee amended the Industrial Commission Budget (HB1014) to add Sen. Wardner’s local government infrastructure loan program that was killed as SB2275 in the House. Obviously a big conference committee debate to follow.

House Appropriations passed out SB2012, the DHS Budget, with a new section segregating the funding for county social service for the first time. The bill now contains $173.7 million as appeared to the $161 million allocated for the current biennium. This correlated with the fiscal note approved with SB2124, the Redesign bill.

SB2124 has not made it to the Senate floor with the house amendments, but there are indications that the Senate is likely to “concur” and not take it into conference.

On the other hand the Senate has decided to Not Concur with the House changes to SB2345, regarding feedlot zoning. Amendments are being drafted to restore the 50% variance on setbacks allowed to counties and township zoning authorities. The role of the Ag Commissioner in reviewing and mediating zoning conflicts is expected to also change. This may take a rapid response if changes aren’t made as hoped.

The House passed its amended version of SB 2139 which clearly restores eligibility for state cost share for snagging and clearing of watercourses. Supporters are urging the Senate to concur with the House version.

House Passes Feedlot Bill Restricting Local Zoning

House members voted 71-19 to pass SB 2345 which relates to animal feeding operations. Amendments made in committee restricts local zoning authority by repealing the 50% variance on setbacks that is currently allowed and requires a local decision within 60 days. During floor debate, members of the House Agriculture Committee acknowledged the push back on the setback changes but stressed that they would like the chance to address this concern in conference committee. 

Several members expressed that they would be voting against 2345 because of the restriction this would have on local control. The bill will now more than likely end up in a conference committee with house and senate members. 

Call to Action: No on 2345 - Restricting Local Zoning Authority

As you may be aware from our Legislative Blog postings, we have followed closely SB2345 that would modify some of the zoning and siting requirements for “animal feeding operations”. At the direction of our Legislative Committee, we had not engaged in the debate, as it was felt that some of the requests for greater certainty were reasonable, and the stakeholders had worked with everyone to advance changes that did not directly diminish local land use control. The changes primarily dealt with timely decision-making.
The bill was amended this week in the House Committee, and many of these changes were also reasonable. However, the elimination of the local zoning authorities’ (counties’ and townships’) ability to modify setbacks by 50% was viewed by our legislative committee (many of them producers themselves) as unacceptable. After meeting today, they unanimously directed that we now oppose the bill.
As this bill is on Monday’s HOUSE floor calendar, we are asking our membership to contact their Representatives urging a NO vote. The link to each House member’s email address can be found below – although don’t hesitate to talk to them personally if you see them this weekend.
Please communicate your own thoughts, but ask that they “VOTE NO (RED) on SB2345 to preserve reasonable local zoning control.”

Click here for list of House Members

Update includes - Social Services, Extension, Criminal Trespass and Feedlot Zoning

SB2124, Social Service Redesign, passed the House today with only 3 votes against, and virtually no debate. Human Services Committee Chairman, Robin Weisz, provided a high level explanation, and there were no questions or other comments. As there were some changes from the Senate version of the bill, it will now go to the Senate Human Services Committee to review and determine if a conference committee is warranted.

The Senate Appropriations passed out HB 1020 the NDSU Extension and Upper Great Plains Transportation Institute. The committee restored the cuts made by the 2017 budget cuts effecting the funding formula between the state and counties to fund Extension program. $870,000 was added to the NDSU Extension budget to restore the funding which would return the formula to the more equitable method. The committee also fully funded the UGPTI road and bridge study. These two funding priorities were of high importance for counties. This bill will go to the House floor and more than likely be further negotiated in conference committee.

The House Agriculture Committee voted 9-3-2 Do Pass today on SB2315 – Criminal Trespass/Posting. The amended version leaves private land open for hunting unless posted and establishes a “Land Access Committee” tasked with studying access to public and private lands in the 2019-2020 interim. The Committee shall provide recommendations regarding electronic posting of land by August 1, 2020 or all land will be considered closed (posted) on that date. The approved version also provides for law enforcement to issue citations for trespassing on private land.

The House Agriculture Committee voted 11-2-2 Do Pass yesterday on SB2345 – Animal Feeding Operations/Zoning. Amendments in the approved version included a requirement for local zoning authority decision within 60 days, repeal of the fifty percent variance on setbacks currently allowed, and added in grandfather permit language for existing operations.

The Week Ahead... Includes Appropriations Committee Work and Conference Committees

There has been a lot of work in Appropriations this week as committees are working to kick out bills. 

Conference committees started meeting today and will really pick up next week. Those meetings are set a day in advance or maybe even in a matter of hours. Stay tuned for updates. 

The House Appropriations passed out SB 2002, the Secretary of State's budget which included $11.2 million for new election equipment. They also passed out the Social Service Redesign bill, SB 2124. Watch for both of those on the House floor next week. 

The House also approved SB 2278 Thursday which relates to the farm residence exemption. This bill requires the individual who wants the exemption to provide the information necessary to determine their eligibility for the exemption, it also offers that the information is a confidential record. 

Follow the link to view a status of our priority bills: https://drive.google.com/open?id=1Pa3eViHjSCC_-7wO0fdIslXaUHtqeV7G

Legislative Update 4-3-19

Governor's Veto on Drivers License Fees Stands

The North Dakota House failed Tuesday to get enough votes to override the Governor's veto on a bill to increase Drivers' License fees. The bill sought to raise the cost of a non-commercial license from $15 to $30. The cost has not increased in 32 years. Currently, the state is subsidizing the cost of driver's license because the fees do not cover the cost of a drivers' license. the DOT has stated that they will be $5 million short of running the program in the 2019-21 biennium. NDACo supported the bill because that $5 million is being taken from road funding to make up the loss. The House's 47-44 vote fell short of the two-thirds majority needed to override the Governor's veto. The Senate voted last week to challenge the Governor. 

HB 1534 - DUI Clean Up Receives Final Passage

The Senate approved a bill to clean up the DUI statute and comply with recent Supreme Court cases. HB 1534 does not address penalties but only seeks to modify the procedures officers must undertake during the DUI arrest process. Unfortunately, as there are approximately 6500 DUI arrests each year in North Dakota, the Courts are constantly being asked to interpret our DUI statutes. A prime example of this came in 2017 when the North Dakota Supreme Court determined urine tests fall into the category of tests requiring a warrant. This decision modified our current statute thereby causing confusion for officers on the street.

This bill seeks to take a different approach. As opposed to specifying the procedure by statute which may have to be modified after every court case, this bill simply says officers should comply with the requirements of the State and Federal Constitution as expressed by the Courts. That way if or when a court case changes the procedure we do not have to come back and again rewrite the statue.

This bill also makes some changes which were missed in the last couple of sessions which has caused for confusing with suspects, officers and the courts. It also includes an emergency clause so the changes will take effect as soon as the bill is signed by the Governor. 

Senate debates bill to prohibit sale of E-Cigs to Minors

The Senate debated an amendment to engrossed House bill 1477 prohibiting the sale of flavored e-liquid to minors.  The proposed amendment

would have made sale or furnishing of tobacco in any form to minors a class B misdemeanor.  The bill was ultimately divided and the Senate amendment failed.  The Senators then passed the remaining section of bill which was as received from the House.  As passed, HB 1477 provides for a $500 fine for each e-liquid product or device sold or offered for sale to a minor. 

Appropriations Committees Act on Priority Bills  HB 1004, the ND Department of Health budget, passed out of Senate Appropriations today. No changes were made to Local Public Health funding, meaning the $525,000 reduction in the Governor’s budget which was added back in by the House remains. Senate amendments to the health department budget include $200,000 in general funds for sexual violence primary prevention and intent language to implement electronic access to vital records through web access or kiosk in cooperation with other state agencies. The vital records electronic access was added with regards to the increased fees for obtaining the records. HB 1004 now moves to the Senate Floor. 

The House Appropriations passed out the Social Service Redesign bill, SB 2124 with a vote of 18-2. This includes amendments discussed in a prior blog post from changes made in the House Human Services committee. This bill now moves to the House floor.

SIRN & other law enforcement related bills have successful outcomes

There were four major bills impacting law enforcement that had floor action on Monday. We were successful in getting the bills amended and passed out that we wanted to see advance and we were able to kill two that were very concerning. 

First off, the Senate unanimously approved HB 1435 which has been a high priority for not only law enforcement and our public service community but counties as well. This is the Statewide Interoperable Radio Network (SIRN) bill. The bill provides the last step in the 10 year collaborative to study, develop and fully fund a replacement public safety communication system. The Senate amended the bill to restore $40 million that was included as introduced but was later removed by the House Appropriations. This bill will go to the House to decide if they will concur with the change or not concur, which will then trigger a conference committee of House and Senate members to negotiate. 

The Senate passed HB 1286 (46-1), asset forfeiture reform as amended. Law enforcement worked closely with the Senate Judiciary chair on amendments to address concerns by the prime sponsor but yet provide support from law enforcement. While this was a success for today, the work on this bill is not over. HB 1286 will go back to the House for the Judiciary committee to decide if they will concur with the change or not concur with the senate changes. I would encourage those of you with members on the House Judiciary to urge them to support the Senate version of HB 1286. The bill as it stands now, is about as much of a compromise as our law enforcement community is willing to make.

The Senate killed HB 1290 (4-43), the bill restricting law enforcement on private property without permission. The bill was amended into a study and then defeated.

The Senate also defeated HB 1206, which would have allowed for a new firearms license (Class 1 Exempt) and allowed those individuals with the additional training to be allowed to carry firearms at public events, and in public buildings and churches.


Law enforcement had a strong presence on the Senate floor Monday, thank you to those who were engaging with legislators in person and via email.