Legislators go back to work in Bismarck

On Monday, Oct. 23, North Dakota’s state legislators were back in Bismarck for a special legislative session forced by an unexpected N.D. Supreme Court ruling.

During their regular session that ended in April of this year, state legislators passed a major spending bill that encompassed a wide range of subjects.

Too wide, apparently.

That’s according to the North Dakota Supreme Court, who ruled in September that the bill violated a constitutional requirement that limits bills to one subject.

The bill included salary raises for state employees, K-12 education aid, millions in appropriations for various departments, and a controversial provision that would alter the makeup of the board that oversees North Dakota’s government retirement plans (NDPERS) by requiring the addition of two legislators.

The N.D. supreme court’s attention was brought to the bill when the NDPERS board argued that appointing sitting lawmakers to the group was unconstitutional. The supreme court has not yet ruled on that specific point, but did find cause to void the entire bill.

Governor Doug Burgum’s executive order declaring the special session states the bill’s provisions must be enacted soon, “in order to ensure the continued operation of state government and avoid interruption of services to citizens.”

So, legislators were sent back to Bismarck for a special legislative session, where they began tackling the bill’s provisions separately.

The legislature completed its work ahead of schedule, and ended the session on Wednesday, Oct. 25.

In total, there were 14 bills passed that incorporated provisions from the voided spending bill.

Legislators were also able to submit their own, unrelated bills they’d like to see passed, but in the interest of time, most did not make it past legislative management.

Legislation relating to tax credits, construction permits, and even raw milk sales were all put forth, but almost none made it to the house or senate floor.

Only one concurrent resolution affirming support for Israel made it through legislative management.

Even Governor Burgum, who was forced to take a few days off his presidential campaign for the special session, wasn’t able to see his tax relief bill get passed.

Burgum had asked legislators to utilize part of the state’s $288 million in excess revenue from the 2021-2023 biennium for income tax relief.

Lawmakers in the N.D. House of Representatives used a two-thirds majority to introduce the tax relief bill on Monday, Oct. 23, but the bill was later killed in the senate.

Fourteen of the bills that were passed were signed into law by Governor Burgum. Another bill, House Bill 1544, was partially vetoed because Burgum believed it “created unnecessary red tape related to the financing of projects by the North Dakota Development Fund.”

To find updates, watch the floor sessions and read the specific bills considered in the special session, go to legis.nd.gov.