N.D. House Update: March 15, 2021

Members of the North Dakota House of Representatives returned to the capital on Wednesday, March 3, 2021, to start the second half of the session. Other than a few resolutions that we needed to act upon the first day back, everything else involved working on the bills that came over from the State Senate. They will be doing the same thing in that chamber, as they work on House bills.

There will need to be many compromises made on financial matters as we work together in the second half. We look forward to working with our fellow legislators to produce the best budget possible. We also need to come together on the various policy bills. There is no question that many of them will end up in conference committees before the session ends later in April. Some of us are still hopeful that we can end a few days early in case we need to come back to deal with some statewide issues.

The Government Operations Division of the House Appropriations Committee, chaired by Rep. Don Vigesaa, will address eleven state agency budgets in the second half of this legislative session. They are Legislative Assembly/Council, Judicial Branch, Aeronautics Commission, Financial Institutions, Highway Patrol, Department of Transportation, Trust Lands, Industrial Commission, Information Technology Department, Legal Counsel for Indigent Defense, and Racing Commission.

Lynn Helms, Director of the Department of Natural Resources, gave an overview of North Dakota’s oil and gas activity to the full House Appropriations Committee. The recent rise in oil prices gives some level of optimism to the energy sector in our state. However, the impending decision concerning the Dakota Access Pipeline tempers that enthusiasm. In early April, a judge will decide if oil can continue to flow through the pipeline, while a full environmental review is completed. If pumping oil through DAPL is denied during the review, oil must travel via rail which will impact the transportation costs negatively. This lowers the actual price the state receives for the oil by several dollars per barrel.

On their first day back after crossover, the House defeated HCR 3033, which would have called for a convention to the United States Constitution to impose term limits on members of congress. Such a convention is allowed under section 5 of the US Constitution. There has always been a concern among many people, including many legislators, that such convention could not be limited to just that issue. The other concern with the resolution calling for congressional term limits, for many legislators, is the feeling that it would really hurt rural states, where they rely on seniority of congressional members to be the most effective.

The House members gave approval to HCR 3005. It will allow the legislature to call itself back into session for up to twenty days to deal with an emergency or other urgent situations. The extra time could also be used to deal with a Governor’s veto that took place after the session has ended. The resolution must be approved by the Senate and then citizens of our state for the final decision.

On Friday, the House defeated HCR 3037, which would have possibly led to a study of whether the legacy fund should be used to offset primary residential property taxes. Two other bills on Friday also dealt with study resolutions. SB 2151 asks for a legislative study to get an accurate count of uninsured drivers in the state. SB 2287 provides for an insurance commissioner’s study of the lignite coal insurance requirements. It will look at the availability, cost and risks associated with insurance coverage in the lignite coal industry. Both of these bills passed.

The House and Human Services Committee gave a do pass recommendation to several bills on Wednesday. They gave their unanimous support to SB 2039, which will make some changes to the Brain Injury Advisory Council, to provide more representation from brain injury survivors and family members of brain injury survivors.

The committee also gave their support to SB 2123, which will allow a genetic sibling to receive a certified copy of a complete death record. The bill is to help family members researching family health-related issues.

The committee approved HCR 3044, which is a study resolution. If it is selected by legislative management, legislators would study the impact of COVID-19 on various population groups in the state during the next interim. It also requests a review to see if certain populations were more susceptible to the virus and do an analysis on any preexisting medical conditions and other medical factors.

SB 2089 was also discussed at length in committee. It is a proposal by the Department of Human Services dealing with the Autism Spectrum Disorder Voucher Program. As introduced by the department, the bill proposed changes to the way the voucher program is funded. It is currently funded by General Funds, but under the bill, it would be moved into the Medicaid program and funded under a Medicaid Autism Waiver. The bill, as presented, was opposed by providers of services to people with autism as well as many families who deal with the issue. The committee is looking at several proposed amendments.

The House Energy and Natural Resources Committee reviewed SB 2065, a very important bill dealing with the underground storage of natural gas. A company proposing an ethane-fired power plant in western North Dakota wants to store its fuel source underground. Supporters of the plan said it will help establish a petrochemical industry in the state. Landowners expressed some reservations with the bill because they feel they might not get fairly compensated for the storage space used under their land. The two sides will meet to see if the differences can be worked out before the committee takes final action.

The committee gave a do-pass recommendation to SB 2066 which will make some changes to the fossil excavation and restoration fund. The ability to work with the state experts, as they look for fossils in certain areas, is attracting searchers from across the nation. Over 600 people took part last year. They pay a fee of $30 to participate. The changes in the law will allow that fee money to help pay for expenses of the digs.

They also heard SB 2070 which seeks to expand the Environmental Quality Restoration Fund to provide for the restoration of sites contaminated by fuel, dry cleaning fluids or other contaminants. The state uses money from the federal super funds, but needs additional funds for smaller sites. The committee took no action on the bill.

We look forward to hearing from our constituents during the second half. The process works best with citizen involvement and we appreciate everyone who has reached out to us. District 23 residents who wish to contact us with legislative ideas or comments on what is being discussed can e-mail us at: [email protected] and [email protected]. During the session, mail can be sent to us at: ND House of Representatives, 600 East Boulevard, Bismarck, N.D. 58505-0360.

If you want to leave a phone message you can call the incoming toll-free number 1-888-NDLEGIS (1-888-635-3447). For hearing-impaired individuals, the TTY toll-free