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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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The North Dakota Legislative Session is fast-paced and every bill gets a vote unless it's withdrawn. Are there bills you want to know more about or bills that you are following that you think should get more attention? Please let us know!
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Nico Rios continued to show us he's not the sharpest pencil in the box. Today he boldly and falsly claimed the 2020 presidential election was stolen while advocating for his bill HB 1587.
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Democratic-NPL Bills
Sen. Kathy Hogan (D-21) presented SB 2306, which would establish a child care workforce recruitment and retention program.
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Sen. Josh Boschee (D-44) presented a resolution (SCR 4006) to urge Congress to enact legislation establishing federal protections for the wild horse herd of Theodore Roosevelt National Park to ensure the long-term health and preservation of the herd for generations to come
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Sen. Richard Marcellais (D-9) presented SB 2343, which would change the laws about the placement of beehives.
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Rep. LaurieBeth Hager (D-21) presented HB 1518 which would allow a driver to exit a roundabout or rotary traffic island without signaling.
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Rep. Mary Schneider (D-21) presented HB 1529, which would qualify former Peace Corps volunteers for in-state tuition at North Dakota’s colleges and universities
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Rep. Austin Foss (D-44) presented HB 1496, which provides clarification in our landlord obligation laws regarding reasonable heat standards.
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What's coming up?
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Rep. Mike Motschenbacher (R-47) wants to end tenure at North Dakota colleges (HB 1437). Our very own Anastassiya Andrianova wrote in her testimony, “The primary purpose of tenure is to ensure academic freedom, the exchange of diverse ideas and perspectives. But tenure is so much more. Tenure ensures that faculty research and teaching are of high quality, and thus impacts student learning, who benefit from this directly, and both scholarly and lay communities, who benefit in direct and indirect ways from faculty research outputs. Tenure adds to the prestige of our state institutions of higher learning, and it helps to attract and recruit new talent and retain current high-quality researchers and teachers.”
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Rep. Ben Koppelman (R-16) has a number of bills that will be heard tomorrow regarding weapons. HB 1352 would allow people to carry a concealed firearm or dangerous weapon in a church or place of worship. HB 1365 would allow someone to have a firearm or dangerous weapon in a house of worship and a publically owned building. HB 1350 changes the definition of a dangerous weapon so that it doesn’t include “an item used for the purpose of carrying out a business, trade, or profession.” HB 1296 would change the law so that someone who has a concealed firearm or dangerous weapon wouldn’t have to let a law enforcement officer know about it unless asked.
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These will all be heard in the House Energy and Natural Resources tomorrow morning. They don't have much testimony, so you may wish to provide some comments!
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Democratic-NPL Bills
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Sen. Josh Boschee (D-44) will present SB 2331 which would establish a Theodore Roosevelt national park working group and SB 2332 which would establish a Legacy Earnings Emergency
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Services and Public Safety Fund.
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Rep. Lisa Finley-DeVille (D-4a) will present HB 1611 which calls for a legislative management study regarding oil and chemical spills on state highways within the Fort Berthold Reservation.
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Rep. Collette Brown (D-9) will present HB 1455 which would require the Indian affairs commission to review each legislative measure put forward to determine if it pertains to matters with tribal implications. 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.
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Help us spread our message—share these recent posts!
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Abortion could be considered murder under fetal personhood proposal in North Dakota
Some medical providers specializing in vitro fertilization and other fertility services spoke against the bill. They said If the bill is passed as currently written, it would be impossible for those services to continue in North Dakota. The exemptions are not specific enough to give providers confidence that they wouldn’t face prosecution or lawsuits, they added.
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Letter: Who voted for Elon Musk?
A man worth over $400 billion is now collecting on the $270 million he spent on the election. Elon Musk now has access to the U.S. Treasury Department data and payment systems. This includes all of our Social Security and Medicare customer payment systems. This includes our Social Security numbers, home addresses, medical histories and other sensitive personal information. Musk and some 19-year-old kids now have access to vital government systems used to issue federal payments.
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Lawmakers weigh library censorship. Again.
Once again, North Dakota legislators are trying to censor materials in our libraries. Senate Bill 2307 would require librarians to remove ill-defined “explicit” materials from our library shelves. The bill’s censorship might even extend to digital materials like ebooks, articles, and audiobooks that many North Dakotans access through their local library.
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Bipartisan bill aims to regulate pregnancy resource centers in ND
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Rep. Liz Conmy, D-Fargo, the primary sponsor, says it comes after she was told that these organizations were advised not to talk to her about their services. She says that posed a red flag.
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“These are not outrageous requirements for an organization that receives state funds to provide health resources to pregnant women. These requirements, in fact, are how we protect pregnant women and get value from our financial commitment,” said Conmy.
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Will federal employees take Trump's buyout offer to quit their jobs?
Joel Heitkamp is joined by Andrea Hsu from NPR to have a conversation about today being the deadline for federal employees to decide if they accept Trump’s “buyout" offer and resign. Andrea Hsu is NPR's labor and workplace correspondent, and talks about the legalities and legislation around this offer, and what it could mean for the government if employees take the offer.
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Slew of bills on school choice, ESAs spark debate in North Dakota Legislature
“Any program that diverts public monies to private education is a voucher program,” Archuleta said. “So despite the euphemism, you know, they're called things like the education savings accounts and opportunity grants and other names … but they all function the same way. They divert money intended for public purposes to private education.”
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Check out these posts from the national Democratic Party
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It is Elon Musk who is now running the United States. Not Donald Trump
He represents not so much the banality as the imbecility of evil: how shallow and vacuous it is. Yet Musk’s personal, private seizure of state power has thrown real doubt on whether the US constitution is still in effect. How can it be, if he upends its demands so heedlessly, and with such impunity? How can it be, if the power of the people’s elected representatives can simply be wished away by a man rich enough to buy anyone?
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All the ways Elon Musk is breaking the law, explained by a law professor
By contrast, Mr. Musk has been saying that he’s identifying false payments, or illegal payments, and saving the federal government $4 billion a day or some enormous figure of that kind. There’s no reason to believe that the data in this system would allow one to tell what’s legal and what’s not, leaving aside the fact that Mr. Musk is not authorized to make those sorts of decisions. So it seems that there’s either wishful thinking or something worse going on in how they’re trying to justify this.
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Some Head Start programs still can’t access federal funds a week after Trump freeze memo rescinded
At least 57 Head Start programs around the country serving more than 21,000 children still couldn’t access federal funding as of Thursday morning, according to leaders from the National Head Start Association.
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Their problems stem from a Trump administration order on Jan. 27 that froze all federal grants while officials looked for signs of “Marxist equity, transgenderism, and green new deal social engineering policies.”
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USAID cut dramatically as officials address 'stunning and irresponsible' changes
In a message to the Middle East team, a senior official in the Middle East Bureau wrote that the "risk to safety and security of staff and families, to USG property, to the life-saving programs and activities we implement is unacceptably high."
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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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