October 28, 2021
Murphy’s Law Blog 2021 | #50
Spending Federal Money
The Senate and House Appropriations committees spent Tuesday, Wednesday and part of Thursday this week in Bismarck to draft a bill which is intended to spend the approximately $1.1 billion dollars which came to North Dakota via the American Rescue Plan Act. $317 million of this money had been appropriated earlier this spring in the regular session with the rest waiting...
October 8, 2021
Murphy’s Law Blog 2021 | #49
Ag and Natural Resources Meet
The regular session ended half a year ago and this Interim Committee just met for the first time. They are tasked with a couple of studies and to receive the usual reports.
One of the studies is of the North Dakota Beef Commission, including its operations and the selection of its commission members. There was a kerfuffle during the last session about this but the bill...
September 30, 2021
Murphy’s Law Blog 2021 | #48
Transportation Coalition Forum
Last year, the NDSGA joined with other agriculture groups, contractors, cities, counties and townships, engineering firms, the Greater ND Chamber (GNDC), ND Motor Carriers and others to form the ND Transportation Coalition. The goal was to work together for bettering our state’s transportation infrastructure by advocating for sustainable/dependable funding. We found some...
September 2, 2021
Murphy’s Law Blog 2021 | #47
Promoting Pigs
She was in an orange t-shirt leaning up against the hotel wall and dragging on a cigarette when she asked “Are you with those farmers in there?” I told her I was and she said “Thank you for what you do. You feed us.” The event was the North Dakota Livestock Alliance’s (NDLA) PIG, Diversifying for Profitability gathering at the Fargo Holiday Inn this week. With Minnesota...
August 23, 2021
Murphy’s Law Blog 2021 | #46
Dalrymple Greenhouse/Research
This past Friday, NDSU renamed its greenhouse complex after Jack Dalrymple. It was to honor the support he gave as a longtime legislator, Lieutenant Governor and Governor towards agricultural research throughout that institution. I write briefly about this today to let you know that the benefits of Ag research were touted often to those assembled. Jack himself stated that...
August 5, 2021
Murphy’s Law Blog 2021 | #45
Energy Development Transmission Committee
This committee usually goes to the Energy and Environmental Research Center (EERC) every other year or so to see what they have come up with. The EERC is housed on the University of North Dakota campus in Grand Forks and has been in existence since 1951. They have done a lot lately on coal, oil and gas research to further the technologies in the Bakken. Successes in those...
August 2, 2021
Murphy’s Law Blog 2021 | #44
Water Drainage Committee - first meeting
Legislative Management – a select group of legislators – selected four major topics to be studied for this newly invented interim committee. Topic 1 – Was to merge a couple sections of the Century Code which are largely complimentary but contain enough differences so that it would be wise to get it together. One was written in 1955 and the other in 1981. Both...
July 15, 2021
Murphy’s Law Blog 2021 | #43
ND Water Joint Summer Meeting
This year the title was Water, Roads and Agriculture Working Together and it was held in Grand Forks. Much of the full day was spent educating Water Resource District (WRD) managers about what happened in this previous legislative session. Senator Mark Weber was the lone legislator in attendance as the water related bills were discussed along with the bonding and...
June 16, 2021
Murphy’s Law Blog 2021 | #42
Township $ Coming, Dust Suppression, Money to be Made in Carbon Markets
When I last wrote you the first part of May, I mentioned $10 million for townships. Now that the math has been done ($10 million divided by the number of Congressional Townships) it comes out to slightly over $6,000 per township. That money will be released by the State Treasurer on August 1, 2021. Also, your township will be receiving $214 per mile of road maintained. No...
May 4, 2021
NDSGA | Legislative Report – April 30, 2021
The final Red River Farm Network Legislative Report for the 67th Legislative Session aired Friday, April 30. Governor Doug Burgum talks about SB2044, which is the first in the nation, that allows electronic posting of private land. The new law takes effect in August 2021.
April 30, 2021
Murphy’s Law Blog 2021 | #41
It Is Over and It Is Good
On Friday, April 30, shortly after midnight, Senator Holmberg finished explaining HB1015 – the OMB budget bill with the many riders attached. It passed unanimously and the 67th session ended. While a lot was going on these past two days, to me the most significant measure for rural ND and Agriculture was millions of dollars for township roads. As Holmberg quipped in his...
April 27, 2021
Murphy’s Law Blog 2021 | #40
Two Biggies Pass - Only Governor Signature Needed
This morning, Day 74 of the 67th Legislative session, saw subsurface water management (tiling) pass unanimously on the Senate floor. The issue that had held it up was notification to water boards on projects less than 80 acres. The conference committee settled on a two year period of trying it out – called a Sunset provision – so that next session, if they liked the data...
April 26, 2021
NDSGA | Legislative Report – April 23, 2021
Senator Terry Wanzek discussed the potential that after the 67th Legislative Session is adjourned, there is a possibility for a special session due to federal dollars rolling in.
April 23, 2021
Murphy’s Law Blog 2021 | #39
Subsurface Water Management Reaches Agreement
After several conference committee meetings, today a compromise was agreed upon. HB1437 will require reporting of, but no permit for, tiling of agricultural land less than 80 acres in size. This was agreed upon because time was running out to reach agreement and/ or mostly because reporting of less than 80 was attached in an amendment under a sunset clause which will...
April 22, 2021
Murphy’s Law Blog 2021 | #38
Updates on Posting, Septic Systems and Township Roads
Just this Thursday morning, SB2144-the posting bill-was passed on the House side with only 3 dissenting votes. We can pretty much put this one to bed and thank all of the participants. Uniformity for local health units as well as installers where wastewater management is concerned has also been passed and is headed for the Governor. Township road funding is now looking at...
April 21, 2021
Murphy’s Law Blog 2021 | #37
Posting Bill and NDSU Research & Extension
Tuesday was Day 69 and by all accounts it is heading well into next week when 73 days had been the hope. It may be that this Friday will not count even though legislators will be working because they may not hammer in on a floor session which allows them to “cheat” on counting days. This would be done because there are many Conference Committees that need to agree on the...
April 19, 2021
NDSGA | Legislative Report – April 6, 2021
North Dakota Grain Growers Association Executive Director Dan Wogsland talks about watching the legislative conference committee meetings and what’s still left to do in this 67th legislative session for North Dakota agriculture.
April 19, 2021
Murphy’s Law Blog 2021 | #36
ADD and Road Trains Pilot Program Approved
Late last Friday, HB1475 was approved at a level of $10 million for supporting the new Agriculture Development and Diversification (ADD) fund. It sets up a board that will review loans and grants from the fund which have already been looked at by the Bank of North Dakota. Hopefully there are some entrepreneurs that will be aware and eligible to help our industry move...
April 16, 2021
Murphy’s Law Blog 2021 | #35
Posting Bill and Political Equations
SB2144 is the bill that brings forward the agreement reached by the Interim committee. It seems best practice that a Legislature simply accept bills crafted over an interim by all parties, but it rarely is the case. As a legislator said to me this morning, “You have to give input if you really think it is right.” And of course, one must. But it really messes things up...
April 13, 2021
Murphy’s Law Blog 2021 | #34
Ag Diversification Development, Water
HB1475 passed out of the Senate yesterday and we are hoping that the House will concur with the changes. This bill creates the ADD fund spelled out in the title and it is currently $10 million for loans and up to 25% of that in grants per biennium. It started out at $150 million; the House Approps cut it to $5 million and the Senate to $10 million. The Conference...
April 12, 2021
NDSGA | Legislative Report April 9, 2021
Executive Director for the North Dakota Corn Growers Association Brenda Elmer discusses the biggest needs which are for funding to assist in infrastructure repairs and expansion/new value-added agriculture.
April 12, 2021
Murphy’s Law Blog 2021 | #33
DOT Budget with Biofuels Passed by House, Career and Tech Ed
The Legislature has entered its third phase which is when all the committee hearings are done and the bills go to Conference Committees to reconcile any differences. This Monday morning, the massive $1.6 billion budget for the Department of Transportation was passed by the House in bill SB2012. Included was a new section that encourages the state fleet to utilize ethanol,...
April 7, 2021
Murphy’s Law Blog 2021 | #32
Head Snapping Speed on Big Bonding
HB1431 was just passed out of Senate Appropriations at warp speed when it was not even on the agenda. Senator Poolman moved to take all of the Senate Finance and Tax amendments out so that the Senate can vote to approve the bill as it came from the House. It was unanimously approved and that almost certainly means that the following will come to law: $435.5 million for...
April 5, 2021
NDSGA | Legislative Report – April 2, 2021
North Dakota Farm Bureau Director of Public Policy Pete Hannebutt talks about the tillage drainage bill HB 1437 and how it’s moving forward.
March 31, 2021
Murphy’s Law Blog 2021 | #31
Culverts Bill, Big Bonding, Getting Done
If you had heard of SB2324, it was a bill Senator Terry Wanzek brought which got a lot of Township, County and Water people talking. A matter of enforcing the law, a constituent was frustrated and pointed out an injustice when a culvert needed to be replaced or right-sized. Law states that the local government is responsible in some cases but if that political subdivision...
March 30, 2021
Murphy’s Law Blog 2021 | #30
State Fleet, NDSU E&R, ADD Fund
ADD is the new Agriculture Diversification and Development fund which was pitched yesterday to Senate Appropriations. This effort to support value-added projects would start with the Bank of North Dakota looking at a proposal. If it met their qualifications but needed a bit more help with the bottom line, they would forward the proposal to the ADD board which this bill...