Legislative report

I have been invited to be on the task force to address rural emergency services and funding. We have met to look at the immediate issue, which is to formulate the distribution of state appropriated funds to the rural EMS services. Our second meeting was held April 4 in Bismarck. At that meeting, we approved a funding formula, which addresses issues affecting many of the services. The task force determined that there is a minimum amount of revenue necessary to run small, medium and larger services. At that meeting we approved a formula, which will now be forwarded to the North Dakota Department of Health for approval by their Emergency Services Association. It will be at that point that the Phase III funds will be distributed. The task force also encouraged the Department of Health to make the application process easier and more streamlined. I am encouraged that this will provide a short-term solution to the cuts experienced in the last round of grants.

The second part of the task force's responsibility will be to look at long-term solutions to the decreasing number of services and volunteers. That is an issue facing District 23. I will keep you updated on the progress of our work.

I attended Human Services and Health Services Committees to look at the work these committees are doing. Progress is being made in the areas of behavior health and substance abuse. However, that progress has been more directly addressed to the larger communities. Services in our rural areas continue to fall well behind those available in larger communities.

There is good work also being done in schools, but like all concerns, coordination between the providers who are not school employees and the schools has not progressed as well as many would like. This issue also came forward at the Governor's Autism Task Force meeting I attended on May 14. We can and should look at the coordination of possible services available, especially in rural areas to get necessary services to all.

The Human Services Committee also reviewed the status of the Social Services Redesign Project. Chris Jones, Department of Health Director, provided insight into the four work groups that are currently discussing not only the status of services in North Dakota, but are also looking to what they see as possibilities for better delivery and access to services across both rural and urban areas.

Health Services met the next day to discuss early intervention, developmental disabilities reimbursement, licensure of professionals, and care for individuals with strokes. A concern of many legislators, health care providers and developmental disabilities services are the hurdles that still exist when individuals try to access licensure in many workforce areas. Many are professionals with master’s degrees who wait months before getting approved. This will continue to be an issue the legislature needs to address in the 2019 session.

I was invited by a work group that convened in Bismarck to discuss Dental Therapists. This mid-level professional organization can provide services in Minnesota, but North Dakota does not recognize them as a service provider. We heard compelling information about the great opportunities to serve the underserved populations in our state. This work group will be meeting again to see if legislation should be introduced again this session. There was legislation last session that failed in the House, so it did not get to the Senate. There are some strategies that would be helpful in moving this forward.

The Higher Education Task Force met May 29 in Bismarck. At that meeting, we heard presentations from AGB Consulting. This firm provides consultation to states on what is new and emerging in the realm of Higher Education Governance. It seemed that at the end of the day, we found there are many factors that influence the success of a higher education system. It was also evident that no single system is the most successful. There are a number of states with a variety of governance systems; some with systems that are successful, while other states seem to be failing. At our next meeting in June, we will review the individual interviews that AGB Consulting completed on May 29 and 30. After that, we will continue to search for the best governance plan. Discussion by the committee included the possibility that both short term and long term goals will be needed.

Legislative Management held a conference call to discuss the selection process for a new Director of Legislative Council. The Council consists of the attorneys and fiscal analysts that provide bill drafts, fiscal information, and rules and regulations for the legislature and the legislative session. That call resulted in a vote to open the position up internally to Legislative Council staff. We will meet later to look at applications and proceed with the hiring process. Jim Smith, current director, is retiring and a new director will need to be in place for the upcoming 2019 session.

On June 2, I presented to the Hugh O’Brien Leadership Youth (HOBY) and discussed leadership in society. On June 12, I participated on a panel on the legislative process at North Dakota Girls State in Grand Forks. I enjoy the enthusiasm and excitement our North Dakota youth have.

Legislative Procedures and Arrangements met in June to continue to work on arrangements for the 2019 session. It is good news that in recent sessions, the number of employees needed to hold a session has decreased. The number of calls fielded by staff and directed to legislators has also decreased from over 19,000 calls in 2001 to a little more than 600 calls last session. This alone is a reason staffing can be decreased. The committee approved a bid letting for photography and secretarial services for the session. Also, the committee is looking to expand the ethics policy for legislators, staff and volunteers during session. Two versions were reviewed with a direction to the Legislative Council to merge the two documents by the next meeting in September.

You can reach me at [email protected] or at my cell phone: (701) 302-0355.

Enjoy this beautiful weather!