|
|
|
During the 69th Legislative Assembly, North Dakota Democratic-NPL Insider will provide updates and calls to action each day of the regular session. If you would like to have something added to the newsletter, email us at [email protected]. Spread the word of our newsletter by sharing our sign-up link today: https://demnpl.com/join-our-newsletter/.
|
|
|
|
|
|
A Message from Reps. Jayme Davis, Collette Brown, Lisa Finley-DeVille, and Sen. Richard Marchellais: Wins for ND's Indigenous Community from First half of Legislative Session
Now at its halfway mark, the 2025 session of the North Dakota Legislative Assembly has already been a successful session for North Dakota’s Indigenous community.
|
With HB 1535, the House voted to create a new “Feather Alert” that provides public notice of a missing Indigenous person just like current Silver and Amber Alerts already provide notice of a missing senior citizen or child. HB 1199 was also adopted to ensure tribal leaders are represented on the statewide commission working to solve the MMIP crisis.
|
|
Likewise, HB 1455 increases government-to-government collaboration by requiring the state Indian Affairs Commission to consult with tribal chairs on any proposed legislation impacting tribal communities. HB 1603 will help the state follow federal law by providing money to return ancestors’ remains and Indigenous artifacts to their rightful homes. Another commendable bill for Indian Country is HB 1545, which proclaims Indigenous Peoples' Day here in North Dakota.
|
Among these important achievements, there were still many missed opportunities with bills that failed to pass, including a bill to fix unfair tax treatment of motor vehicles purchased by Native Americans, a bill to study the environmental impact of oil and gas development on tribal communities, and a bill to enhance the implementation of Native American history curriculum in our state’s schools. We will continue to fight for these and other important priorities despite these setbacks.
|
|
However, let's not let those setbacks overshadow the important and impactful wins we've already made this year. When we say, “representation matters,” this is exactly what we mean. Because North Dakota’s tribal communities now have multiple elected lawmakers who know the unique needs of our constituents, we are already making better public policy and showing there is broad, bipartisan support for these crucial investments in Indian Country. Let’s keep up this momentum in the second half of the session and make sure these good bills become good laws signed by Governor Armstrong.
|
Rep. Jayme Davis
Rep. Collete Brown
Rep. Lisa Finley-DeVille
Sen. Richard Marcellais
|
|
P.S. If you're in Bismarck between March and May, we'd love to see familiar faces and possibly have you join us on the floor for a session!
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Help us spread our message—share these recent posts!
|
|
|
|
|
ND Republicans praise ‘America First’ budget, Democrats fear Medicaid cuts
North Dakota Democrats argue the budget would cut Medicaid and other services. NBC News reports the package cuts $880 billion from the House Energy and Commerce Committee which oversees Medicaid. It would also cut $230 billion from the House Agriculture Committee which handles programs like SNAP.
|
|
|
|
Speaking out: Culture war cuts off our nose to spite our face
The culture war distorts reality and harms even constituents who have nothing to do with the hot-button issues. We should trust education leaders to build and operate safe school restrooms according to their expertise, and without overbearing state interference. And we need to accept that immigrants are needed to fill essential roles in North Dakota health care, agriculture and more.
|
|
|
|
Port: The culture warriors had a tough first half of North Dakota's legislative session
Here's one more anecdote that supports my argument: Rep. Matthew Heilman, a Republican from Bismarck, has been one of this session's most active culture warriors. He has introduced 17 bills this session, including House Bill 1608, which would have mandated that employers provide leave for religious worship. Now, at the crossover, just four survive, none of them having to do with culture war topics. One of them, House Bill 1334, declares rhubarb to be North Dakota's state vegetable.
|
|
|
|
DOGE access to student loan borrowers’ personal data probed by lawmakers
|
But the senators said Wednesday that the Education Department’s response was “woefully inadequate, may have contained misleading information, and raised new concerns about the nature and extent of DOGE’s access to the (Education) Department’s internal systems.”
|
The senators added that the Education Department “failed to answer basic questions about DOGE’s access to student loan borrowers’ personal data.”
|
|
|
|
Proposed measure on North Dakota legislator salaries, public records and lobbying resurfaces
|
A proposed constitutional measure calling for more transparency and limitations on North Dakota lawmakers has resurfaced.
|
Supporters of the “transparency, ethics and public accountability” measure have for a second time submitted a petition that would let them collect signatures to place the question on the ballot, according to the Secretary of State’s office. The petition was filed Monday, Feb. 24, and the Secretary of State’s office has until Wednesday, March 5, to draft a petition title, according to a news release issued Wednesday, Feb. 26.
|
|
|
|
Letter: It’s time to choose
What we are witnessing now is the wholesale surrender of personal integrity and political courage from those Republican leaders who know better, ever calculating, ever fearful. Our democracy is too precious to cast aside for the likes of any petty tyrant or autocratic regime. It is time to decide in which direction our future lies: democracy or fascism. We each need to choose on what side of history we stand.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Check out these posts from the national Democratic Party
|
|
|
|
|
Trump’s IRS Cuts: How They Help the Rich & Hurt You
Potentially complicating things this year, though, is the Trump administration's decision to fire thousands of IRS workers, just as all that complicated paperwork starts rolling in. Economist Lindsay Owens, executive director of the economic policy think tank Groundwork Collaborative, explains what tax cuts we can expect from Republicans' forthcoming legislation.
|
|
|
|
‘Nightmare scenario’: Fears grow as RFK Jr. downplays deadly measles outbreak
"What the head of HHS said to the nation about a measles outbreak was not true," says Chris Hayes on RFK Jr. downplaying the deadly measles outbreak in Texas. Dr. Peter Hotez joins to discuss.
|
|
|
|
How Cambridge Analytica Used Intimate Data to Exploit Gun Owners’ Private Lives
For years, some of America’s most iconic gun-makers turned over sensitive personal information on customers — without their knowledge or consent — to the gun industry’s main lobbying group. Political operatives then employed those details to rally firearms owners to elect pro-gun politicians running for Congress and the White House.
|
The strategy remained a secret for more than two decades.
|
|
|
|
This Is the Biggest Trump-Musk Scandal That No One’s Talking About
As Trump throws himself into one of the world’s shadiest industries, his government is smashing the regulatory and legal apparatus that once might have kept him and his donors in check. While Musk and DOGE take aim at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau—a major enemy of the crypto and banking industries—Trump is installing crypto executives, venture capitalists, and tech entrepreneurs in positions of authority across the government. A number of them come from Andreessen Horowitz, the venture capital firm that poured billions into the crypto bubble, and whose eponymous founders emerged as major Trump backers. The SEC, Commodity Futures Trading Commission, and other financial regulators will soon be heavily staffed by crypto lawyers, fintech executives, and former government employees who passed through the revolving door into the private sector and are now returning, bearing the interests of their erstwhile private-sector employers.
|
|
|
|
‘Cruel and thoughtless’: Trump fires hundreds at US climate agency Noaa
“There is no plan or thought into how to continue to deliver science or service on weather, severe storms and events, conservation and management of our coasts and ocean life and much more,” he said. “Let’s not pretend this is about efficiency, quality of work or cost savings because none of those false justifications are remotely true.”
|
|
|
|
Committees
|
Every bill is voted on in the North Dakota legislature, but first, it must go through a committee hearing. The committee will vote to give the bill a "Do Pass" or a "Do Not Pass" recommendation. Below is a list of Standing Committees this legislative session.
|
|
|
|
Senate Standing Committee Members
|
|
|
|
Meets Thursday and Friday
|
|
Meets Monday through Friday
|
|
Meets Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday
|
|
Meets Thursday and Friday
|
Desiree Van Oosting (R-36)
|
|
Meets Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday
|
|
|
Meets Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday
|
Desiree Van Oosting (R-36)
|
|
Meets Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday
|
|
Meets Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday
|
|
Meets Thursday and Friday
|
|
Meets Thursday and Friday
|
|
Meets Thursday and Friday
|
|
|
|
House Standing Committee Members
|
|
|
|
Meets Thursday and Friday
|
|
Gretchen Dobervich (D-11)
|
|
Cynthia Schreiber-Beck (R-25)
|
|
Meets Monday through Friday
|
|
Meets Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday
|
|
Cynthia Schreiber-Beck (R-25)
|
|
Patrick R. Hatlestad (R-1)
|
|
Meets Thursday and Friday
|
|
Meets Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday
|
|
Mike Motschenbacher (R-47)
|
|
|
Meets Thursday and Friday
|
|
Gretchen Dobervich (D-11)
|
|
Meets Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday
|
|
Lisa Finley-DeVille (D-4A)
|
|
Meets Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday
|
|
Lawrence R. Klemin (R-47)
|
|
Meets Thursday and Friday
|
|
Patrick R. Hatlestad (R-1)
|
|
Lawrence R. Klemin (R-47)
|
|
Mike Motschenbacher (R-47)
|
|
Meets Thursday and Friday
|
|
Lisa Finley-DeVille (D-4A)
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
The Century Club supports our year-round work to build party infrastructure supporting candidate recruitment, local district and regional leadership, issue-based education, and tools for Dem-NPL success.
|
|
|
|
|
Help us elect great Democrats up and down the ballot!
|
|
|
|
|
The North Dakota Democratic-NPL is launching a new grassroots program called “Neighbor to Neighbor” where volunteers will connect with voters in your community to elect Democrats up and down the ballot. As a volunteer, you will be responsible for connecting with voters in 25 homes in your neighborhood or friends and family to help elect Democrats up and down the ballot about 3-4 times this year.
|
|
|
|
Grassroots organizers are the lifeblood of the Dem-NPL! Sign up to volunteer with the Dem-NPL!
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
