N.D. Legislative Report: February 13, 2023

The 68th Legislative Assembly will be very busy, as a total of 929 bills and 30 resolutions have been introduced in the House of Representative and the Senate. These will all be heard before committees and receive a vote on the floor. This work must all be completed by February 24 which is the crossover date.

Following a few days break, each chamber will begin the task of holding hearings and floor votes on the bills and resolutions that passed in the previous chamber. The legislature will complete its work in late April.

The House Appropriations Committee is currently working on 25 agency funding bills. House Appropriations is divided into three divisions; Government Operations, Human Resources and Education and Environment. The Government Operations Division is responsible for 12 budgets in this first half. The largest of these are Judicial Branch, Highway Patrol, Department of Transportation, Industrial Commission, Information Technology, Agriculture Experiment Station and Extension Service.

HB1014 is the budget for the Industrial Commission. The Commission is comprised of several entities that have their individual missions and budget requests. The Bank of North Dakota, Department of Mineral Resources, Housing Finance Agency, State Mill and Elevator, Pipeline Authority, Public Finance Authority, and Transmission Authority comprise the Industrial Commission. In the following weeks, as the budgets are finalized, a brief overview of selected agencies will be highlighted.

Bills with more discussion and debate are now starting to come before the legislative body. HB1256 would make it so that a person 18 years of age or older would be guilty of a Class A misdemeanor if that individual makes an allegation of sexual harassment or of discrimination based on sex, gender, sexual orientation, race, disability, or religious affiliation against another individual under the policy of a public institution and the allegation is found to have no basis in fact or law. HB1256 passed 53-41.

HB1232 provides a $500,000 appropriation for the purchase of career exploration virtual reality software to be used in schools and career and technical education centers. Through the use of virtual reality headsets or computers, students can experience real world work environments in the classroom. The purpose is to expose students to vocations at an early age. HB1232 passed the House floor easily.

United States citizenship is a requirement for voting in this country. HB1431 provides the opportunity for an individual to prove citizenship following the vote being cast. The ballot is set aside and the voter can return to the polling place before the poll closes or before the meeting of the canvassing board occurring on the thirteenth day after the election. Upon satisfactory evidence of citizenship being provided, the proper election official shall update the information in the central voter file and the ballot is deemed valid. HB1431 passed 90-4.

HB1202 would allow edible medical marijuana in North Dakota. The edible product would be limited to a soft or hard lozenge in a square shape and would be limited to a THC level of 5 milligrams per serving. Because HB1202 is being proposed within seven years of the approval of the initiated measure allowing medical marijuana usage, the bill would need to garner a two-thirds vote or 63 yes votes for passage. After much debate, the final vote tally was 60 Yes and 33 No. HB1202 failed because it did not reach the necessary 63 vote threshold.

HB1280 grants the ability for an individual to have their revoked or suspended driving privileges reinstated following successful completion of an approved adult drug court program. A reinstatement fee is not required. HB1280 passed unanimously.

House bills 1120 and 1172 dealt with the pledge of allegiance. HB1120 states that county commissions, school boards, governing boards, the public service commission, the emergency commission, and the industrial commission must give their members the opportunity to participate in a voluntary recitation of the pledge of allegiance. HB1172 states that the governor or an executive branch officer or employee may not alter the language of the pledge of allegiance. There have been reported instances around the country where "one nation under God" been altered or removed. Both bills passed easily.

HB1456 drew much discussion on the House floor. This bill would've added installation charges to the gross receipts of a sale, therefore making installation charges taxable. Currently, they are not. Many of the assembly thought that this change could eventually lead to labor charges being taxed. HB1456 was defeated 31-61.

HB1234 says that a county or city may not adopt or enforce an ordinance, resolution, or policy that prohibits or impedes the connection or reconnection of an electric, natural gas, propane, or other energy utility service based on fuel source. HB1234 passed 93-0.

During the session, we can be reached by e-mail or by leaving a message with the legislative telephone message center at 1-888-635-3447. Email addresses are; dwvigesaa@ndlegis.gov, cheadland@ndlegis.gov, tmwanzek@ndlegis.gov. Those of you that wish to watch the floor sessions and committee hearings can access the videos at http://www.ndlegis.gov.

A legislative bill tracking system is also available on that website and will allow users to follow individual bills. The legislative branch video capability will allow users to watch live video of committee hearings and floor sessions as well as archived and indexed videos of past committee hearings and floor sessions.

(Photos provided by the North Dakota Legislative Assembly)