Landmark legislation passes in N.D.

Part II: Session Ends

by Nathan Price

A slew of new state laws are due to change the complexion of North Dakota, after state legislators in Bismarck have been hard at work debating and passing hundreds of bills during the 68th legislative assembly.

As per usual, many bills are due to impact the everyday life of North Dakotans, while others have stirred debate and controversy. Here’s part 2 of a rundown of a few of the most significant bills to emerge from this years’ legislative session:

Taxes

House Bill (HB) 1158 – a $515 million tax relief package – was passed by both chambers with bipartisan support, and later signed by Gov. Doug Burgum on April 28.

The legislation zeroes out the state’s bottom income tax bracket and combines the top four brackets into just two brackets with reduced tax rates. The top two brackets are combined and will be taxed at 2.5 percent, down from 2.64 percent and 2.9 percent.

The two middle income brackets are also combined, and will be taxed at 1.95 percent instead of 2.04 percent and 2.27 percent.

All totaled, House Bill 1158 will provide approximately $104 million in savings for the zeroed-out bottom bracket, $178 million in savings for the combined middle-income brackets and $76 million for the combined top brackets.

An additional $157 million is provided in the form of property tax relief. Of that, $103.2 million will be available to homeowners by allowing them to claim a property tax credit of up to $500 on their primary residence.

The remaining $53.5 million of relief is provided by expanding the eligibility requirements and maximum reduction for the state’s Homestead Property Tax Credit program for homeowners 65 and older.

Education

The battle for free and reduced meal costs for K-12 students has finally come to an end.

Back in February, HB 1491 easily passed the House with an 80-11 vote. The bill was to allocate $6 million over a period of two school years for reducing school meal costs. Specifically, K-12 students’ lunches would be free if the student’s family earned less than double the federal poverty level.

However, when it eventually came to the Senate for a vote, the bill was narrowly voted down.

Rather than accept defeat, however, the bill’s supporters tried again, amending a second bill – Senate Bill (SB) 2284 – to include the same provisions.

This time, after receiving some backlash following the original bill failing, both chambers passed SB 2284 by wide margins, and it was signed by Gov. Doug Burgum.

The new law goes into effect July 1, 2023 and goes through June 30, 2025.

Meanwhile, when he signed HB 1398 on March 24, Gov. Burgum made North Dakota the first state in the country to require cyber security and computer science education for students K-12.

Gov. Burgum happens to be a former tech executive, and he said it’s important for students to understand and manage technology before they enter the workforce.

The new curriculum is required for both public and private schools, but won’t go into effect until the 2025-2026 school year.

Workforce

With the passage and signing of SB 2142, North Dakota is due to have a new Office of Immigration.

The office will be placed under the N.D. Department of Commerce, and their responsibilities will include expediting the immigration process for those immigrating to North Dakota from other countries, as well as supporting recently immigrated individuals.

They would also be charged with developing a statewide strategy to help businesses hire and retain foreign labor.

Meanwhile, Gov. Burgum has also signed HB 1540, which appropriates more than $60 million to the Department of Health and Human Services for childcare assistance programs and to address barriers to workforce participation.

Here’s a list of some of what’s receiving additional funding now that HB 1540 has been signed into law, according to a press release from the Office of the Governor:

$22 million to expand the Child Care Assistance Program (CCAP), increasing the number of families with children ages 0 to 3 who receive help paying for child care from 4,660 to 6,460 by the end of the 2023-2025 biennium.

$15 million to incentivize more providers to offer child care for infants and toddlers by increasing the CCAP rates for child care centers and group/family child care settings, plus $3 million to increase monthly payments to providers who are quality rated;

$5 million for an additional 500 families to participate in a pilot project where private employers contribute money to help cover their employees’ child care expenses;

$2 million in stipends for child care workers pursuing additional training.

$3 million to increase support to providers who want to become quality-rated or increase their current quality rating.

“This is a historic day for North Dakota children, parents and employers. House Bill 1540 will have a positive impact on thousands of families and help our state build and sustain a workforce to support economic growth and reach its full potential,” Burgum said. “Expanding access to affordable, quality child care will make it easier for parents and guardians to engage in work, provide for their families and strengthen local businesses and their communities.”

How to learn more

The 68th Legislative Assembly adjourned on Saturday, April 30. Over the 75-day session, there were literally hundreds of bills that passed. To learn more for yourself about the new legislation, go to ndlegis.gov.

On the website, readers can watch previously-recorded committee hearings and floor sessions, read the bills, and even find the contact information for every N.D. legislator.