|
|
|
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 laura.dronen@demnpl.com. Spread the word of our newsletter by sharing our sign-up link today: https://demnpl.com/join-our-newsletter/.
|
|
|
|
|
|
What happened today?
|
Today, ND Legislators heard an updated revenue forecast for the next two years. Because of Trump's trade wars and lower oil prices, state revenues are expected to grow at a slower pace. We're in a healthy financial situation today, but when we're beholden to the whims of a president who changes his mind by the hour, our oil and agriculture revenue is in precarious position.
|
LGBTQ+ Rights
After heart-wrenching testimony and powerful speeches from Sen. Ryan Braunberger (D-10) in committee and Sen. Josh Boschee (D-44) on the Floor, the Senate REJECTED Rep. Bill Tviet's (R-33) anti-marriage equality resolution (HCR 3013)! This is a victory worth celebrating, but we’re disappointed that after all of this, the Republican Senators chose not to have a recorded roll call vote so we know that the vote was 16-31 but we do not know how each Senator voted.
|
|
Democratic-NPL Bills
Rep. Gretchen Dobervich’s bill (HB 1217) to repeal North Dakota’s discriminatory law that criminalizes HIV passed the Senate 34-13!
|
|
Senator Josh Boschee’s resolution (SCR 4018) to create a memorial dedicated to volunteer and career Emergency Medical Service responders who died in the line of duty on the Capitol Ground passed the House unanimously.
|
|
What's Coming Up?
Keep Public Dollars in Public Schools!
|
Next week, Rep. Ben Koppelman's (R-16) bill (HB 1540) that would divert public funds to private schools will be heard on Monday, March 17 it will have a hearing in the Senate Education Committee. The private school lobby is pretty vocal. Let's make sure our voices are not drowned out; submit testimony to let the committee know how important fully funding PUBLIC schools is to you!
|
|
|
|
Democratic-NPL Bills
Rep. LaurieBeth Hager's (D-21) bill (HB 1518) to change the law so you do not need to use a blinker to signal that you are exiting a traffic circle will have a hearing in the Senate Transportation Committee at 10:00.
|
Rep. Mary Schneider's (D-21) bill (HB 1504) to allow veterans organizations to donate funds to the
veterans' postwar trust fund for homeless veterans' services to prevent and eliminate
veteran homelessness has a hearing in the Senate Agriculture and Veterans Affairs at 10:30.
|
|
Follow Along!
|
Did you know you can watch along with these hearings or watch them later on your own time?
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Help us spread our message—share these recent posts!
|
|
|
|
|
North Dakota Senate kills resolution against same-sex marriage
|
While asking the Senate to reject the resolution, Sen. Josh Boschee, D-Fargo, pointed to the 2022 Respect for Marriage Act, supported by Gov. Kelly Armstrong while he was in Congress, which codifies the right for a person to be married without being discriminated based on their race or sexuality.
|
"While we consider whether this (the resolution) is meaningless because the Supreme Court won't be paying attention, we all know, based on the emails and the phone calls and the texts that we've received, that many North Dakotans are paying attention to this," he added.
|
|
|
|
US judge orders Trump administration to reinstate thousands of fired workers
|
A California federal judge on Thursday ordered six U.S. agencies to reinstate thousands of recently hired employees who lost their jobs as part of President Donald Trump's purge of the federal workforce.
|
The ruling by U.S. District Judge William Alsup during a hearing in San Francisco was the most significant blow yet to the effort by Trump and top adviser Elon Musk to drastically shrink the federal bureaucracy. Government agencies face a Thursday, March 13 deadline to submit plans for a second wave of mass layoffs and to slash their budgets.
|
|
|
|
Port: What is hate if not this?
|
So what was the point? The cruelty, I'd argue.
|
This wasn't about changing the law, because the resolution doesn't change the law, and cannot change the law, and will have no bearing at all on what the law is. This was about making a community of people — a small but meaningful number of our children, siblings, parents, partners, coworkers, neighbors and friends — feel unwelcome in our state.
|
|
|
|
North Dakota lawmakers hear emotional testimony on resolution against same-sex marriage
|
“I’m emotionally beat. You saw some real hatred, real hatred from the true bill sponsor, which is MassResistance,” Foss said after the hearing. “It’s very, very outdated ideas that I thought we had put to bed, but I guess not, so that was really hard to hear.”
|
|
Foss said he’s been hearing unacceptance and hatred for his whole life and had little sympathy for lawmakers receiving angry phone calls for the last week.
|
“I’ve also gotten hate when I was door knocking, when I was campaigning. I got hate from people for just being who I am,” he said. “That hatred coming from those individuals, we deal with that every day.”
|
|
|
|
|
Check out these posts from the national Democratic Party
|
|
|
|
|
'I'm going': Tim Walz to hold town halls in Republican districts in wake of DOGE cuts
"I'm going to go use the platform that I have and hand them the megaphone to talk about this," says Gov. Tim Walz on holding town halls in red districts. "I'm going to go out there and make sure those folks down in Iowa know that their rep doesn't want to come talk to him, but he voted for this stuff."
|
|
|
|
As global tariff tensions rise, here's the latest on U.S. trade with top partners
|
In less than two weeks, President Trump has upended global markets by imposing tariffs on imports from several of America's top trading partners.
|
With the initial shock still settling in, countries are taking different approaches in response — while also struggling to keep up with Trump's unpredictable on-again, off-again trade policies.
|
|
|
|
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!
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
