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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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What happened today?
The House Government and Veterans Affairs heard testimony about HB 1114 which would cap the cost of insulin and diabetes supplies at $25 for a 30-day supply. Many North Dakotans especially those directly affected by diabetes submitted testimony in favor of this bill. The North Dakota Chamber, the ND Insurance Department, and two insurance companies testified against parts of the bill. There will be more subcommittee work on this bill before the committee gives it a "DO PASS" or a "DO NOT PASS" recommendation.
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What's coming up?
Tomorrow both the House and the Senate will gavel in at 12:30 CST and vote on a number of bills that went through the committee this week, most of which received unanimous support in their respective committees. Things move very fast in the North Dakota legislature!
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Tell Your Representatives to Vote "YES" on the Ethics Commission Bill!
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This unanimous support has not extended, however, to HB 1046 which would allow the ND Ethics Commission to issue advisory opinions of its own volition. It received a "Do Not Pass" recommendation from the House Judiciary Committee. Of the committee members, only Representative Mary Schneider (D-21) voted to support the bill. (She's also the only Democrat on the committee.) North Dakota Republican Lawmakers always seem to have qualms about ethics!
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Lawmakers push for minimum wage increase in Legislative session
“$15,000 a year that’s what they would be living on if they worked all 52 weeks, every one of those 40 hours, you would be living on $15,000 a year. Here in Fargo, you can’t get rent for most places for $1,000 a month, and so that is not a sustainable amount for families for individuals to be living on and it keeps people at poverty,” said Rep. Hager.
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Letter: School vouchers are a bad idea
Proponents for vouchers say they will save the state money. This simply isn’t true. Evidence from states that have implemented voucher schemes, such as Arizona, demonstrates just the opposite: the voucher program’s costs were estimated to be $65 million, but last fiscal year, they were $332 million. A ballooning of costs like that in North Dakota would be catastrophic to the state’s public schools.
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North Dakota Ethics Commission receives early pushback in legislative hearing
“We have consistent questions that come up, but nobody kind of gets around to asking for the advisory opinion,” Executive Director Rebecca Binstock said during a Wednesday hearing before the House Judiciary Committee. “In those instances, the commission would like to say something has come to its attention multiple times, and so let’s go ahead and provide some clarity on this situation.”
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Armstrong rolls out his property tax reform and reduction plan, calling it 'achievable and durable'
Legislative leaders say they welcome the proposal.
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"His plans for property tax relief and reform struck the right note," said House Majority Leader Zac Ista (D-Grand Forks). "I'm excited to dig into the details. And I think, like he said, hope springs eternal."
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Ista said legislators should tackle this issue now, rather than save it for the end of the session.
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"That, so all the other dominoes can fall in behind it," Ista said.
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Capping Insulin Prices in North Dakota
Josh Askvig joins Afternoons Live with Tyler Axness to discuss the push to cap insulin prices in North Dakota.
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Letter: Let’s invest in public education, not dismantle it
Private school vouchers, which are also called “scholarships” or “education savings accounts,” represent a flawed policy meant to torpedo North Dakota’s public schools. These programs divert public funds to private institutions, taking critical resources away from the public schools that educate more than 90% of our state’s children.
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Speaking out: Can we move past 'means testing' for free school meals?
Beyond that necessary process, North Dakota can philosophically reject the idea that school meals should be means tested. After all, public K-12 school tuition is not means tested. Public school isn’t free to low-income families while costly to middle- and upper-income families; it’s free to all.
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Standing Rock chair stresses building unity and infrastructure
“We need to be partnering in all the things that we do,” he said in an interview after the address.
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Rep. Lisa Finley-DeVille, D-Mandaree, and Rep. Collette Brown, D-Warwick, agreed that improving the working relationship betweens the state and tribes should be a priority for the upcoming biennium.
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Keeping an open line of communication is an important part of that, Brown said. She said she plans to introduce a bill that would require the state to notify tribal chairs about any proposed legislation that would affect their communities.
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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.
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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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