Interim hearings cover wind, SIRN, DOCR facilities study, and land access

There were plenty of interim legislative hearings to keep us busy this week.

Natural Resources - The Natural Resources Committee held its second meeting addressing the land access study. On the agenda were presentations from the Department of Trust Lands on public access and signage, Game and Fish on trespass violation statistics and North Dakota Information Technology on technologies that could be developed to address the electronic posting pilot requirements of HB 1021. The committee seems to be trending towards a system that starts with all lands being open with land owners being required to register with a future land owner management system to designate their property as closed. As the committee turns its attention towards identifying as many as 3 counties to participate in the pilot, NDACo worked to gather as much detail on the scope of the pilot for county’s consideration. We are working to identify counties agreeable to pilot the project. The committee discussed that the electronic posting pilot would not replace signage requirements in the three counties selected for the pilot. It is also under the understanding that, during the pilot, a violation associated with electronic posting system would not be enforceable by law so hunters would still be required to follow the physical signage on the properties.

Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation Review - Committee members met the individuals from The Moss Group Inc, who will be conducting an assessment of the department's facilities and programs. They provided high level information to lawmakers including correction trends across the world. This committee is tasked with a comprehensive study of DOCR facilities. 

Information Technology - Committee members spent the day hearing about various ITD projects including the state unification IT project and SIRN. Chief Technology Officer, Duane Schell provided a high overview of the Statewide Interoperable Radio Network (SIRN). He explained how the project is in the beginning stages of being implemented and build-outs of the first round of PSAP's and towers are moving forward. Schell highlighted how the SIRN project will address three main challenges of the current system used by public safety including: aging infrastructure, lack of interoperability in using technology from 1970's and coverage challenges.
ITD representatives also provided the committee with an explanation of blockchain technologies and their potential use in state government. 

Energy Development and Transmission - This committee is focused on studying a comprehensive energy policy for the state but this meeting focused greatly on wind development and transmission. Tax Commissioner Ryan Rauschenberger provided the committee with a look at the property taxation of wind in North Dakota. Currently, local political subdivisions receive all the property tax generated from wind farms. However,  a bill passed last session will direct one-third of wind tax revenue to the state and two-thirds to counties for wind projects constructed after December 31, 2020 or that have been in operation for 20 years. Rauschenberger shared that an estimated $10 million was collected in wind property taxes in 2019.