Legislative Report: March 1, 2021

The Senate is almost finished with its first half work. We will complete our voting on all Senate bills by next Tuesday morning, so I will not be providing a legislative report next week, but instead join my colleague in the House, Rep. Josh Boschee, to provide a first half summary to all newspapers across the state.

Appropriations completed our agency budgets and other bills with fiscal effects. I carried the information for the Highway Patrol and Judiciary Branch to the floor as well as a bill to increase the funds in the Challenge Grant College Scholarship program.

We increased the Highway Patrol budget to reflect salary increases according to the Senate package. The $55,000 removed in the last two sessions was restored so the Police Officers Standards and Training Board can continue its work training peace officers. This funding reaches out to our local political subdivisions and will be welcomed by the POST Board. Appropriations also added $27 million from the Strategic Improvement and Investment Fund to begin work on a new Highway Patrol training academy. The funding for this academy has been requested since 2011 and at that time was estimated to cost $18 million. As time goes on, the cost continues to escalate, so the subcommittee, with approval of the full Senate Appropriations Committee, felt it was time to get this built before the costs increases more. Also, their lease for the current facility was up in 2018 and the land it sits on is owned by four different entities which adds to the legal work necessary to secure the land/facility.

The Judicial Branch budget had a few changes. There was funding for two new computer information systems needed by the courts. The child support and enforcement duties were moved to the Department of Human Services along with 3.5 staff to join that with the work that DHS already does with child support. We also continued some funding for juvenile services in the Judicial Budget even though program delivery is not in the court’s purview. The funding, amounting to nearly $1 million divided into two programs, will hold a place in this budget until the second half and a place for these services can be determined.

My subcommittee work on the Commerce budget and the Information Technology Department finished Thursday. Both of those budgets focused on a needs-based budget along with 19 additional staff for Information Technology to support cybersecurity issues.

I also completed work on the budget for Research and Extension services. Included in this budget were the funding for extension, Northern Crops Institute, Upper Great Plains Transportation Institute, the main research centers, and the agronomy seed farm. The subcommittee supported maintaining the base budget, increased funding for livestock research for $500,000 plus two staff, funded Big Data for $280,000 for one staff and expenses with $800,000 to support data initiatives including NDAWN which assists farmers/ranchers track weather patterns, $500,000 for deferred maintenance, $500,000 for Carrington Research station for a feedlot support facility, $525,000 for Streeter including funding for a house and authority to raise additional funds, and a machine storage shed at Hettinger. Agriculture research does not cost, it pays, and the subcommittee and full Senate Appropriations agree.

You may have heard that on Friday, the President of the Senate, the Lieutenant Governor, broke ties on two bills. The first bill, SB 2218, would establish annual sessions of the legislature. One Senator was absent and when the tally was taken on this bill, there was a 23-23 tie. The Lieutenant Governor voted yes, and the bill passed.

The second bill Lieutenant Governor Sanford voted on was SB 2275 which would provide money to hire a full-time director for the child sexual abuse task force. This bill came out of the policy committee with strong support, but with a split vote from Appropriations. The final vote, with Sanford’s vote, also passed 24-23.

I would suspect that both bills will be called back Monday, Feb. 22 when the absent member returns. There is a provision in both chambers that if a member is absent, they can call a bill back for consideration so they can cast their vote.

Just to reaffirm information from last week’s report, the legislature begins a short break either Wednesday, Feb. 24 or Thursday, Feb. 25. We do believe the Senate may finish on Tuesday, Feb. 23. This break time is known as cross over and seems to be more a literal expression than a figurative one. In the earlier days of the legislature, this is the time when staff would prepare new bill books for both chambers as well as all the committees. Now, with everything electronic, only a few committees use bill books. Senate Appropriations is one that continues to use bill books because of the ability to flip back and forth between pages, jot down notes, and lay out amendments before us on our workspaces. Our staff will have all the agency budgets heard in the first half of the session from the House, placed in our bill books, ready for us March 3 when we return.

My next report will be in two weeks. You may reach me at [email protected] or by phone at (701) 302-0355.