*WATCH* NDACo Legislative Video Update Week 4

NDACo Legislative Update 1-28

 Update for Week 4 at the Capitol  (Schedule for Week 5 at bottom of page)

Public Safety

Law enforcement testified about the dangers of expanding the medical marijuana program to allow for edibles and a separate bill allowing patients to grow up to 8 plants in their home. The Senate defeated the home-grow bill SB 2234 Thursday.  The Sheriff's Association also testified in support to increasing the fees related to civil service. There were also a few bills that could aid in the recruiting and retention of law enforcement by providing student loan forgiveness and establishing a retention fund. 

Election

We weighed in on numerous election related bills. These ranged from limiting the length of time an individual has to vote after polling locations close to an election reform bill HB 1253. The election reform bill is 80 pages long and makes changes to 101 sections. The North Dakota Auditors Association reviewed the bill and offered support as well as further suggestions to address items of their concern. 

Highlights of this bill include: 

• Updating of outdated language
• Outlines the procedure for signature verification
• Addresses questions regarding candidates residency & vacancies

Many of the election related bills introduced and heard in the past two weeks are not responding to issues experienced in North Dakota but rather reacting to fears related to observations during the prior election across the country. One such bill would eliminate counties use of absentee, vote by mail or early vote in North Dakota. NDACo opposed HB 1312. 

Bonding - One of the bonding bills (SB2040) was heard in the House Appropriations. Cities joined counties in testifying to the need to inject funding into local infrastructure. Obviously, with multiple bonding proposals still under discussion, we have a long way to go on this issue. 

Highway Tax – Road Levy Clean Up: The Senate Transportation Committee voted 6/0 Do Pass on SB2260 which is a bill that removes outdated language in 24-05-01(5) that prohibits the co-mingling of Highway Tax Distribution allocations with County Road and Bridge funds when paying bills related to roads. Counties have historically considered Highway Tax Distribution allocations as a revenue source available for their road budgets. Updating the language with this bill allows counties to continue combining Highway Tax allocations and county road levy funds when paying bills from their Road and Bridge fund. SB2260 also updates the names of two road levy funds that will expire in 2024, and replaces them with the current road levy fund names used in the ND Tax Department’s Levy Limitations Publication and property tax code.

Value Reduction and Freeze for Seniors: SB2270 is one of several bills that expand property tax relief for seniors through valuation and/or tax caps. Efforts to freeze or cap values result in a shift of the tax burden to remaining taxpayers in the community. NDACo testified that the best way to accomplish expansion of senior tax relief would be through the current Homestead Credit program by increasing the income and/or asset thresholds so that more taxpayers qualify for a tax credit through the program. The Senate Finance and Tax Committee agreed and voted 7/0 Do Not Pass on SB2270.

Click here to view schedule for Week 5 - Feb. 1-5

*WATCH* NDACo Legislative Video Update - Week 3 Jan. 22

Click here to view video

Legislative Update on Week 3 - Jan. 21

The deadline for House bill introductions hit this week and they topped out at HB1500 – so they introduced and even 500 bills (plus so far 12 resolutions). Not an all-time record, but quite a few more than in recent sessions – so our hope that a pandemic would slow things down was not realized. The Senate still has until next Monday at 5 pm to introduce legislation, and they are currently at 275 bills and 6 resolutions.

Unfortunately, quite a number of the bills we dealt with in the House this week were retreads from many past sessions to include: caps on county taxes, caps on valuation, restrictions on assessment practices, shifting taxes from one group to another, and redirecting the proceeds of foreclosures.

But fortunately, we had timely and well-constructed testimony provided by county officials from across the state through: electronically submitted written testimony,  LIVE remote testimony via zoom, and
a number of officials in the (fairly empty) halls of the Capitol.  Our friends in the cities and schools showed up to these as well, to fight the good fight. HB 1200 was one of those bills, which proposes to cap political subs from levying more than 2% more from the previous year. This bill received a Do Not Pass recommendation. We expect to see that on the House floor early next week. 

Excellent testimony was also given to oppose a bill requiring that local officials not get paid if they hindered any business – an incredibly vague and disturbing bill.

The House Judiciary committee heard a bill to eliminate bail for misdemeanor crimes. Sheriffs & Chiefs testified in opposition. The committee hasn't taken action on HB 1123 The committee did pass out two other important public safety bills. HB 1112, that requires DOCR to pay for housing and medical costs for state-sentenced inmates if they are being held in county jails will be voted on the House Floor as soon as Friday, it received an unanimous Do Pass recommendation. HB 1104 reduces the mandatory time served from 85% of sentence to 65%. The bill received a Do Not Pass recommendation from the committee. That bill will be voted on in the House early next week. 

A proposal to merge Department of Health and Department of Human Services got the support of the House Human Services Committee. There is also a requirement in HB 1247 that the state health officer be a physician. The committee also acted on HB 1163 this bill allows supplies to be included in the syringe exchange program. It will go to the bill received a Do Pass recommendation with a 7-6 vote. 

NDACo offered testimony on several election related bills this week. SB 2142 would extend the number of days to process ballots to three business days prior to the election. The Senate GVA unanimously voted to give the bill a Do Pass recommendation. There were three bills that sought to restrict the Governor's authority to make election related decisions. This stems from the executive order in the spring, which allowed counties to go "all vote by mail" for the June election due to the pandemic. NDACo provided testimony explaining the reasons for the executive order request from auditors and the necessity for the Governor to have those emergency powers. The Senate Judiciary gave SB 2193 a DNP recommendation. The House GVA committee will further discuss HB 1171 and HB 1198. 

Also, look for SB 2026 to hit the Senate floor early next week. This is the proposed Road Train Pilot project. We are happy to report, the bill received a Do Not Pass recommendation. 

The withdrawal of Rep. Porter’s GAP-Bonding proposal this week and its replacement by a House leadership bill that did not include prairie dog replacement revenue was a shock, but we are continuing to work on restoration of transportation funding through several other proposals.

We urge you to reach out to your legislator on any of these bills that will be voted on in the near future. You can find their contact information here: 67th Legislative Assembly

View the schedule for January 25th-29th Week 4

Primary Seatbelt Bill Passes Senate

A primary Seatbelt law in North Dakota is one step closer to happening. Senate Bill 2121 passed the North Dakota Senate this afternoon by a vote of 28-18.

Senator Michael Dwyer (Bismarck), who carried the bill to the Senate floor said “This bill is the only bill we will consider that will save lives without costing a dollar of taxpayer money.” Dwyer, who sits on the Senate Transportation Committee, referenced the committee testimony of law enforcement officers, particularly the testimony of the ND Highway Patrol, and Grand Forks Sheriff Andy Schneider. “This isn’t about writing tickets,” Dwyer said. “They know, and we all know that if we pass this bill people will increase their use of seatbelts – and it will save lives.”

The bill, which will update the current seatbelt law, will require all occupants in a vehicle to wear a seatbelt, and changes the violation from secondary to primary enforcement. Updating from a secondary to primary enforcement bill has had great success in the states that have implemented the law updates. Dwyer told the Senate of the positive changes Minnesota experienced after changing their law to primary enforcement in 2009.

After implementing the primary seatbelt law, Minnesota did a study of the next four years. Seatbelt use in Minnesota rose from 86% to 95%. Unbelted fatalities fell dramatically from 46% down to 30%. In those four years, Minnesota had 132 fewer seatbelt related deaths, and 434 fewer substantial injuries. 

“I believe all 47 of us in this chamber believe in personal liberties and personal responsibility. I try to vote against bills that control behavior through government regulation, rather than folks using their own good judgment,” Dwyer said. “Some might argue that failure to wear a seatbelt is only effecting the person choosing not to wear the seatbelt. However, law enforcement has implored us to recognize that this is simply not true. Law enforcement are the ones that find the bodies that are thrown from their vehicles, and are also the ones that must go to the homes of loved ones and tell them that they will never see their child, their sibling or their parent again.”

Senator Brad Bekkedahl (Williston), who sponsored and introduced the bill, asked a simple question to the floor. “What is the value of this bill if it doesn’t pass?”, to which Bekkedahl answered his own question. “Nothing.” He continued, “What is the value of this bill if it does pass to the family planning a welcome home to a crash survivor that wore a seatbelt instead of planning a funeral?” “Priceless,” he answered.

The bill now goes to the North Dakota House for consideration.

Other NDACo Priority Bills to be Voted on Soon

We encourage you to reach out to your legislators in the respective chamber where the following bills will be voted on yet this week or early next week. 

HB 1200 - Limits Counties to 2% growth - DNP recommendation (VOTE NO)  - HOUSE 

HB 1112 - Prioritization Inmate Reimbursement - DP recommendation (VOTE YES) - HOUSE

HB 1104 - Changes min time served from 85% to 65% - DNP recommendation (VOTE NO) - HOUSE

*WATCH* NDACo Legislative Video Update - Week 2 Review

 NDACo highlights some of the county related issues tackled in Week 2 of the ND Legislative Session. 

NDACo Legislative Update Jan. 14th

NDACo Legislative Update for Week 2 - January 14th, 2021

There was an uptick in activity this week as more and more bills are “dropped” into the process. Everyone expects next week to be very busy, with over-full hearing schedules for all committees. The technology for remote viewing and remote participation has had some glitches, but overall have allowed for clear, understandable testimony.

Two of the most significant things this week for counties were actions that DIDN’T happen. An extensive bill (HB1115) to rewrite county, city and township feedlot zoning authority, moving oversight to the Agriculture Commissioner, was withdrawn. Likewise, a second proposal to greatly increase local government liability limits, SB2129. Both had challenges for counties that would have taken significant effort to address, so this was very good news.

Monday’s hearing on HB1116, was quick and had no opposition. This bill expands the use of the county capital improvement ten mill (20 with vote) levy to include roads and bridges and permits counties to borrow against both their road levies and their capital improvement levies. The committee gave it an immediate 13-1 ‘Do Pass’ recommendation and it was passed on the House floor by 64-26.

The rest of Monday and Tuesday was spent mostly seeking sponsors for county bills, and monitoring some of the “big political issues” like the debate regarding the Governor’s emergency powers.

Wednesday brought some major agency appropriation bills, including the OMB budget which the Governor would like to ultimately contain his version of the infrastructure bonding proposal. A small piece in that budget is the continued state support for public administrators, which NDACo explained and supported.

The House Judiciary held a hearing on the bill (HB 1112) worked on by the Sheriff’s and Deputies’ Association regarding NDDOCR's “inmate prioritization plan.” The existing statutory authority allows DOCR to keep state-sentenced inmates in county jails. This bill says DOCR must enter into an agreement with counties if they need to house state-sentenced inmates in local facilities. The agreement would include DOCR paying for housing and medical costs. NDACo, Sheriff Kelly Leben and Sheriff Jahner testified in support. DOCR testified in opposition. The committee seemed receptive to the bill but did not discuss or take action on HB 1112. 

A bill initiated by county Auditors (HB1108) seeks to remove the requirement to publish county expenditures was heard Thursday in the House Political Subdivisions Committee. This proposal was unsuccessful last session, but with the many changes in the publication cycles for newspapers, we feel there may be more of an appetite for change.

Friday, NDACo will be asking the Senate Transportation committee to support a primary seatbelt law which is SB 2121.

Click here to view the schedule for next week - January 18th - Week 3