N.D. House Update: March 29, 2021

Last week, members of the North Dakota Legislature received the fiscal forecast for the upcoming months. Although the forecast provides a more upbeat assessment, mainly due to a rise in oil prices, it doesn’t provide the projected increase many were hoping for, as we look ahead. The legislature will need to continue their conservative approach to the budgeting process, as we work to complete the constitutionally required, balanced budget, before we adjourn later in April.

The House and Senate Appropriations Committees received the March 2021 Revenue Forecast from two firms on Tuesday. The Executive Branch forecast was presented by Moody’s Analytics, and the Legislative Branch forecast was presented by IHS Markit. After receiving these two reports, both committees work together to adopt a revenue forecast for the 2021-2023 biennium. This forecast is used when developing the final budget numbers for the next biennium. Before hearing the forecast reports, the committees were presented the revenue figures for the current biennium through February. Remarkably, general fund revenues were above projections through 20 months of the 24-month period. Revenue collections to date are $56 million or 1.4 percent above forecast. Considering the economic effect of the pandemic was right in the middle of this period, the state’s revenues being above projection is impressive. With spring approaching and economic activity accelerating, the state should end the biennium in good financial condition.

Moody’s Analytics and the Executive Branch estimate that in the next biennium, the state will collect an additional $73.6 million from the four major tax types; sales and use tax, motor vehicle excise tax, individual income tax, and corporate income tax. This increase is measured against the legislative forecast, which was adopted in January of this year. Oil revenues are also estimated for the next biennium. The Moody’s forecast calls for an additional $1 billion to be collected over the January legislative forecast. This is primarily due to the rise in the WTI oil price, which is hovering in the $60 - $65 per barrel range. If this projection is met, the funding for cities, counties, and townships provided through HB1066, the Prairie Dog bill, would likely be partially fulfilled near the end of the 21-23 biennium.

IHS Markit has been providing a revenue forecast for the Legislative Assembly during the last few sessions. The reason to have a second forecast is to have another set of eyes on our economic landscape. This firm gives more detail on the agricultural sector, and they forecast through 2024. U.S. farm cash receipts are expected to grow during the forecast period for both livestock and crops. Farm expenses are expected to remain relatively flat through 2024. Income will drop due to an expected decrease in government payments. Farm assets and equity are forecast to be at a record level in 2024-2025. Soybean prices are currently at a high level, and are expected to remain high due to lower stocks. Another contributing factor is that China’s imports are forecast to rise to a record level during the forecast period.

U.S. wheat acreage will remain relatively flat, but lower stocks and production in 20-21 will help boost prices in 21-22. North Dakota remains the top wheat producing state followed by Kansas. U.S. corn acreage will increase sharply in 20-21, due to higher prices, as stocks were drawn down. The U.S. share of world exports is expected to be steady, partly due to likely increased exports to China.

COVID-19 has caused disruptions for the U.S. meat industry. The supply chain has been disrupted, consumers have found limited availability, and consumers have faced higher prices. North Dakota cattle ranchers are slowly rebuilding their herd inventory of cattle and calves, now totaling 1.95 million head, up 3.7 percent from a year ago. U.S. boxed beef cutout returns are expected to rebound during the forecast period.

The IHS Markit revenue forecast for the next biennium is slightly more optimistic than Moody’s. They are forecasting an increase of $92.4 million over the legislative revenue forecast from January, $18.7 million higher than Moody’s.

The House continues to work on Senate bills in committee. There were 252 Senate bills and 12 resolutions for the various House Committees to review.

On Monday, the House passed SB 2211, which will give pharmacists statutory authority to administer more immunizations and vaccines to children ages three and up. Later in the week, they passed a companion bill, SB 2279, which will allow pharmacy technicians to administer vaccines under the direction of a pharmacist. These are two of several bills the legislature has passed this session to help the citizens of our state have easier access to immunizations including vaccines.

The House has passed several education-related bills this session. Last week, they approved SB 2147, which will allow school districts to use GED scores to meet graduation credit requirements. According to education experts, the bill will allow districts to better serve some of the more at-risk students. The House also passed SB 2196, which sets up a North Dakota Learning Continuum, under the leadership of the Department of Public Instruction. If approved by the State Board of Education, the framework will allow schools to create alternate pathways toward graduation, outside of the one-size-fits-all system we use in the state now. The budget bills for K-12 and Higher Education, will be debated on the House Floor later in the session.

The House has dealt with several bills regarding changes to property tax in the state. On Tuesday, they passed SB 2202, which clarifies that an adult day care, or childcare service provider, will qualify for the property tax exemption, even if they are just renting a facility and do not own it. Some communities have run into problems with current law, as they tried to setup much needed facilities in their communities.

Tuesday, the House defeated SB 2143, which would have allowed florescent pink clothes to be worn for big game hunting. The bill was opposed by some hunting groups mainly for safety reasons. National experts have said that people who are color blind would not be able to see people dressed in florescent pink or pink camouflaged clothing. That was echoed by a number of hunters in the state who contacted the committee and individual legislators.

The House passed SB 2199, which will change how the state uses multi-state contracts dealing with substance abuse and mental illness treatments. It allows a state to enter into agreements with neighboring states to place their residents, who are in need of treatment, in facilities in either state depending on the occupancy space available. In many areas of the state, there would be considerable mileage and other transportation costs saved, if a person could be placed in a medical facility across the border in a nearby city.

The Representatives passed SB 2070, which expands the use of the environmental response fund to address environmental incidents, and the cleanup of contaminated properties. It would work like the national superfund, which is used to cleanup environmental sites nationwide. In North Dakota, it would be used for cleanup of sites like former dry-cleaning operations, gas stations, some agricultural storage facilities, waste oil disposal sites and others.

The House unanimously passed SB 2116, which will allow members of the armed forces to use deadly force when it appears reasonably necessary to prevent the loss, theft, destruction, sabotage or unauthorized control of a nuclear weapon, critical nuclear component or nuclear explosive device.

House members also passed SB 2187, which is a rewrite of the century code relating to the regulation and licensure of nutritionists and dietitians. The bill was supported by licensed dietitians in our District and included updated language, which had not been changed in many years.

On Wednesday, they passed SB 2112, which will expand the use of motor vehicle branch offices to enable them to handle more motor vehicle and drivers licenses, in order to meet the needs of residents throughout the state.

The House also passed SB 2297, which will name a portion of the Highway 57 from the intersection with Hwy. 281 to the intersection of Hwy. 20 as Akicita (Veterans) Memorial Highway. The 13-mile section of road runs through the Spirit Lake Nation, and will help recognize the veterans from Spirit Lake who have served our state and nation.

SB 2062, which will allow the North Dakota State Historical Society the authority to conduct criminal history record checks on employees and volunteers, was also approved. In requesting the approval, the historical society pointed out the background check would provide an additional level of safety to further safeguard citizen information, and the valuable items entrusted to the agency.

The House approved SB 2291, which will put into law a policy that will keep the State Investment Board from making investments in companies that have a policy against investing in energy and agriculture projects. Some financial institutions have a policy to divest themselves from fossil fuels, and the bill seeks to stop state money from being invested in those type of institutions.

Thursday, the House passed SB 2117, which will provide death benefits to beneficiaries or next of kin, of a national guard service member who dies while serving in a state active-duty status. The payment of the death benefit may not exceed $15,000, and is subject to available funds.

They also gave approval to SB 2241, which will help speed up the process for a health facility to complete a construction or renovation project. The state department of health has not always been able to complete life safety surveys, which are needed before construction can start, in a timely fashion, due to a shortage of personnel. This legislation will allow third parties to do the survey work. The experts doing the surveys will need to be approved by the department of health, and paid for by the provider planning the project.

We look forward to hearing from our constituents during the closing weeks of the session. 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 is 1-800-366-6888 to reach a relay operator. Each of these numbers will reach the legislative telephone center. The telephone attendant will be able to give the latest information concerning bills and resolutions. If the caller wishes to directly contact the caller’s legislator, a message will be delivered to the legislator.