Legislative Report: May 17, 2021

The 67th Legislative Session adjourned April 30, after approving a budget of over $16 billion dollars. To balance the budget as required by law, HB 1015 transferred $410 million from the Strategic Investment and Improvement Fund. As the Senate adjourned, two important bills were the last two approved before adjournment. HB 1012, which is the budget/appropriation and programming for the Department of Human Services, and HB 1015, which is the agency budget for the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) were the final two bills to come before us for a vote.

HB 1012 is one of the largest budgets in the state, with services and funding from the general fund, along with a significant portion coming in as federal funds. Core services in the Department of Human Services budget include funding for aging services, behavioral health, children and family services, criminal background checks, public assistance, Medicaid and Medicaid Expansion, and services to individuals with disabilities.

In addition to the funding, several studies and reports were proposed to gather more information for the 68th Legislative Session in January of 2023. The studies in this bill include a study of the acute psychiatric hospitalization needs in the state; a report to legislative management on refugee resettlement services; a study of the early periodic screening, diagnostic, and treatment program for children; a report on the payment methodology revisions for basic care facilities; a report regarding the status of the four-year old program approvals and early childhood grants for four-year old experiences; a quarterly report to the budget section on the status of the substance use disorder treatment voucher program; and a study on the autism voucher and waiver program, utilization, and the Governor’s Autism Task Force as provided in SB 2089.

HB 1015, which funds OMB, provided funding for non-oil producing townships in the form of a uniform grant, plus additional funding proportional to the number of township road miles. There was authority for the Department of Transportation to leverage state funds with federal matching funds, thus increasing the opportunities to fund road and bridge projects. The $70 million of federal coronavirus funds remaining will establish a grant program for career and technical centers, with the grant minimum to be $500,000 and the maximum to be $10 million. Additionally, $3 million was appropriated to the North Dakota Highway Patrol to remodel the law enforcement training center rather than build a new facility. Other funding approved in this bill was $145,247 for a veteran’s drug treatment court, and $90,000 to the judicial branch for the youth cultural achievement program. Studies approved in HB 1015 include a study of state employee compensation, and a study of a sales tax exemption for raw materials critical to supporting biologic product generation. Several other funding opportunities were brought forward in this bill. You can look through the entire bill by going to http://www.legis.nd.gov and searching for HB 1015.

In the end, the budget for the state was balanced by transferring $410 million from the Strategic Investment and Improvements fund to the general fund. And as a reminder, all the interest from the Legacy Fund has been placed in a delayed implementation bill, so the legislature knows exactly how much will be available. It is estimated that between $700 million and $800 million will be available for the 2023 legislature to appropriate.

Upon adjournment, the 17-member legislative management committee met to elect leadership, and set dates for upcoming meetings to select proposed studies, and select committee members for the interim committees that meet quarterly over the next 20 months.

Also meeting in the upcoming months will be a redistricting committee, which will receive official census reports for every township in North Dakota. That committee will determine the number of districts, number of constituents in each district, and which districts, in addition to the odd numbered districts, that will be required to have elections because of changes in boundaries. Given that preliminary numbers indicate over 100,000 more people in the state than in 2010, the committee will have a lot of work to do. It is also estimated that the rural districts have lost population and will need to get larger, while the urban areas of the state will gain districts.

I want to thank all of you for the privilege of serving you in District 23 and the surrounding communities. The session moved along quite smoothly, given the pandemic. The opportunities for the public to view, listen, and participate in the legislative process was never greater than this year, thanks to the work the Legislative Council Information Technology Team did to prepare the equipment needed for virtual participation. I know that many of you provided testimony, viewed sessions and committee work, and had a better understanding of the work that took place in the 76 days we were in session.

Please continue to keep in touch as I work over the interim on various committees and task forces. You may continue to contact me at [email protected] or call me at 701-302-0355.

Have a wonderful summer! I look forward to visiting with many of you at community events that start soon.