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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/.
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Keep Public Dollars in Public Schools
Lots of money has been pouring in from out-of-state groups who want to change North Dakota law to send public funds to private schools through Education Savings Accounts. Today the House Education Committee did more work on SB 2400.
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They also voted to give SB 2241, a bill to legalize public charter schools, a DO PASS recommendation. Charter schools would drain resources from traditional public schools, and they also have a remarkably high closure rate over time. Our students, teachers, and communities don't need that chaos.
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What happened today?
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Democratic-NPL Bills
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Rep. LaurieBeth Hager's (D-21) bill (HB 1260) which changes how the number of available mule deer licenses passed the Senate.
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What's coming up?
Democratic-NPL Bills
Rep. Collette Brown's (D-9) bill (HB 1455) would require the Indian Affairs Commission to review each legislative measure put forward to determine if it pertains to matters with tribal implications, and if so, the director of the Indian Affairs Commission would consult with the tribal chairpersons of each tribe before the standing committee hearing on the measure. This bill will have a hearing in the Senate Judiciary Committee at 9:00 AM
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Rep. Alisa Mitskog's (D-25) bill (HB 1219) to change the minimum amount per sale of plot space a perpetual care cemetery must set aside for a perpetual care fund will have a hearing in the Senate State and Local Government a 10:15 AM.
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Follow Along!
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Did you know you can watch along with these hearings or watch them later on your own time?
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Help us spread our message—share these recent posts!
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Letter: Show your opposition to proposed Social Security cuts
Cuts to Social Security’s workforce or resources will negatively impact customer service and cause delays to Social Security payments for those who count on these benefits to survive. Social Security cuts will jeopardize the ability for older adults and people with disabilities to maintain stable housing, buy groceries, get prescription medicines, and more.
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I urge my fellow North Dakotans to oppose cuts to Social Security and show their support for efforts to strengthen this essential benefit.
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North Dakota Catholic bishops urge parishioners to advocate for Education Savings Accounts
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Nick Archuleta, president of North Dakota United, which represents public school educators and opposes the bills, said the call to action by the Catholic diocese was not unexpected.
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“What we are preparing for is to defeat these bills in each of the two chambers,” Archuleta said. “We’ve never been a fan of using public dollars to support private school tuition and we’re not going to start now.”
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Seventeen states want to end an abortion privacy rule. A federal judge is questioning HIPAA itself.
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The decades-old federal law protecting the privacy of individual health information is threatened by multiple lawsuits that seek to throw out a rule restricting disclosure of information in criminal investigations, including for those seeking legal abortion and other reproductive health care.
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In one of the cases, the Texas federal judge who has been at the center of several anti-abortion court battles appears to question the constitutionality and legality of the health privacy act in its entirety.
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Letter: Library content bill would cost taxpayers
Libraries may need to remodel to make materials inaccessible to children, especially our small rural libraries. Local governments may need to spend extra resources on staff time to go through hundreds of books in the adult section of the library for “explicit sexual material,” because this type of material isn’t in our children’s sections.
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Erin Oban-North Dakotans for Public Schools
Guest host Jamie Selzler was joined by Erin Oban, discussing possibility of school vouchers coming to North Dakota.
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Jack Zaleski and Al Aamodt discuss Ray Holmberg, Signal war group chat, and more
Joel Heitkamp is joined again in the studio by Jack Zaleski and Al Aamodt to talk about the coverage of former State Senator Ray Holmberg and the Trump Administration's leaked war group chat. Jack is a former Editor of the Devils Lake Daily Journal and The Forum’s editorial page, and now works as a Columnist for The Forum. Al Aamodt is a former Fargo Broadcaster and KFGO Reporter.
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Mandatory Minimum Sentencing Moving Through the North Dakota Legislature
Guest host Adam Martin and special co-host Scott College welcome Tracy Reams with Barkus Law Firm to discuss SB2128 and why they think Mandatory Minimum Sentencing is the wrong way to go for our state, on Afternoons Live with Tyler Axness.
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Faiz Shakir, Senior Advisor to Bernie Sanders
Guest host Jamie Selzler fills in for Tyler, and is joined by Faiz Shakir, to talk about the state of the Democratic party.
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North Dakota Senate backs bill to cut breast cancer screening costs for public employees
House Bill 1283 would prohibit health insurance coverage provided through PERS from imposing a deductible, copayment, coinsurance or other cost-sharing requirement that results in out-of-pocket costs for diagnostic or supplemental breast examinations.
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Check out these posts from the national Democratic Party
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Why Trump’s “Liberation Day” Could Usher in Economic Catastrophe
The week global investment markets kicked off with nosedives on NASDAQ and the Dow Jones indexes, as investors realized that Trump, who had earlier debuted tariffs against Colombia, Canada, and Mexico before walking them back, means what he says about trying to reduce the nation’s trade deficit with massive new tariffs.
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House Republicans Lose a Floor Vote, End the Work Week on a Tuesday
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After nine Republicans joined all Democrats to tank a procedural vote Tuesday afternoon, Speaker Mike Johnson had a novel solution: everyone go home.
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“We can’t have any further action on the floor this week,” Johnson told reporters after a rule, which would have killed a discharge petition from Rep. Anna Paulina Luna to allow new parents to vote remotely for 12 weeks, failed 206-222.
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Free Speech? Not If You’re A Foreign Student.
As video of federal agents stopping Tufts student Rumeysa Ozturk on the street and taking her away to be detained circulated on social media, people kept asking, “how could this happen here?” The answer involves organizations that claim to help the federal government identify and find activists, and victims whose rights to free speech and due process can be swiftly suspended.
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JD Vance's Late Night Tweet Was Just God Awful
JD Vance stirred controversy by defending the deportation of a man sent to El Salvador despite judicial warnings of torture risk. Sam Stein and Andrew Eggar examine the facts behind Vance’s tweet, exploring the broader implications for immigration policy, due process, and human rights.
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Why Cory Booker is giving a marathon Senate floor speech
Democratic New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker has been protesting President Trump's policies on the Senate floor in a marathon speech that has lasted more than 16 hours. CBS News' Nikole Killion reports.
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Donald Trump Fell for Elon Musk’s Big Con
The key to pulling off a big con, Henry Gondorff tells Johnny Hooker in 1973’s The Sting, is maintaining the façade: “He can’t know you took him.” Right now, that’s exactly what Musk is doing with Trump. For the low price of $288 million—chump change when you’re the world’s richest person, valued at $350 billion—Musk has been handed the keys to the U.S. government and given the run of the place, while Trump seems to have convinced himself that he’s still in charge. Meanwhile, angry crowds are storming Republican town halls, furious that DOGE is killing jobs, destroying vital services, and attacking the social safety net while enriching Musk. Elections are turning in Democrats’ favor, potentially imperiling Trump’s power to enact his agenda. And yet, there sits the duped president behind the Resolute Desk, grinning like a senile old lady who’s happily given out her bank card and Social Security number to a cunning younger man with an accent.
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Trump DOJ says "administrative error" led to an innocent father being sent to an El Salvador prison
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Now his lawyers fear that Abrego Garcia faces torture in CECOT, a prison widely documented by human rights watchdogs, and flaunted by both the Trump administration and Salvadoran government, as a "black hole of human rights."
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Justice Department lawyers have argued that because Abrego Garcia is now in foreign custody, there is nothing they can do to effect his return, and asked the judge to reject his family's petition to bring him home. Vice President JD Vance defended the administration's decision, falsely claiming in a social media post that Abrego Garcia was “a convicted MS-13 gang member with no legal right to be here.”
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Committees
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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.
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Senate Standing Committee Members
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Meets Thursday and Friday
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Meets Monday through Friday
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Meets Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday
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Meets Thursday and Friday
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Desiree Van Oosting (R-36)
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Meets Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday
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Meets Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday
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Desiree Van Oosting (R-36)
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Meets Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday
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Meets Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday
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Meets Thursday and Friday
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Meets Thursday and Friday
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Meets Thursday and Friday
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House Standing Committee Members
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Meets Thursday and Friday
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Gretchen Dobervich (D-11)
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Cynthia Schreiber-Beck (R-25)
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Meets Monday through Friday
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Meets Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday
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Cynthia Schreiber-Beck (R-25)
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Patrick R. Hatlestad (R-1)
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Meets Thursday and Friday
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Meets Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday
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Mike Motschenbacher (R-47)
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Meets Thursday and Friday
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Gretchen Dobervich (D-11)
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Meets Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday
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Lisa Finley-DeVille (D-4A)
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Meets Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday
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Lawrence R. Klemin (R-47)
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Meets Thursday and Friday
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Patrick R. Hatlestad (R-1)
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Lawrence R. Klemin (R-47)
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Mike Motschenbacher (R-47)
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Meets Thursday and Friday
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Lisa Finley-DeVille (D-4A)
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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.
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Help us elect great Democrats up and down the ballot!
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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.
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Grassroots organizers are the lifeblood of the Dem-NPL! Sign up to volunteer with the Dem-NPL!
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