701-566-9300Murphy’s Law Blog 2021 | #19 — Gas Tax, Ag Innovation, Trade Office
Today the House floor convincingly passed a 3 cent-per-gallon gas tax. What?!? You heard me. There had been whisperings of so much money coming for transportation infrastructure from Federal COVID funds that it might overcome the need to raise the $7.4 million per penny tax. The question as I see it is; Does one want […]hi
Today the House floor convincingly passed a 3 cent-per-gallon gas tax. What?!? You heard me. There had been whisperings of so much money coming for transportation infrastructure from Federal COVID funds that it might overcome the need to raise the $7.4 million per penny tax. The question as I see it is; Does one want to vote on what the state can do for ourselves and know the outcome or rely...
Murphy’s Law Blog 2021 | #18 — SBARE and a Bonding Success (so far)
The bonding success story relates to the Friday passage of HB1431 by the House floor at about a three to one ratio. This margin of support surprised many as the House not only quashed a Republican bonding bill of $1.1 billion in the second week of the session but also stripped out about $100 million […]hi
The bonding success story relates to the Friday passage of HB1431 by the House floor at about a three to one ratio. This margin of support surprised many as the House not only quashed a Republican bonding bill of $1.1 billion in the second week of the session but also stripped out about $100 million from HB1431 before passing it yesterday. With hundreds of millions of dollars in it to...
Murphy’s Law Blog 2021 | #17 — Extension and Research Budget
NDSU’s Extension and Research budget is in bill SB2020. The Governor had cut their budget by 15 percent and today the Senate spoke loudly in opposition to his proposal by passing unanimously their counter-proposal which re-instated Extension and Research’s budget to levels of last year. That is what E&R had asked for. Not only that, […]hi
NDSU’s Extension and Research budget is in bill SB2020. The Governor had cut their budget by 15 percent and today the Senate spoke loudly in opposition to his proposal by passing unanimously their counter-proposal which re-instated Extension and Research’s budget to levels of last year. That is what E&R had asked for. Not only that, but SB2020 as of now has also proposed funding for...
Murphy’s Law Blog 2021 | #16 — Bonding, Electric Power from Soybeans
Well, policy bills are slowing down in committees – almost done. Now Appropriations committees make their recommendations to the floor. The House is really piled up as they have debated social issues at length, keeping their Calendar for floor action pretty full. With a couple hundred bills more to act on than the Senate (they […]hi
Well, policy bills are slowing down in committees – almost done. Now Appropriations committees make their recommendations to the floor. The House is really piled up as they have debated social issues at length, keeping their Calendar for floor action pretty full. With a couple hundred bills more to act on than the Senate (they have twice as many members) they do seem to be killing a lot...
Murphy’s Law Blog 2021 | #15 — APDC, Quick Take, Water, Crossover
It is Friday and because the House had almost one hundred bills to act on, it was scheduled until 4:30 p.m. when they usually leave for the trip home around 2 p.m. I was ready to listen until the wee hours, but by golly, the powers that be hung it up at 2:02 p.m. anyway. […]hi
It is Friday and because the House had almost one hundred bills to act on, it was scheduled until 4:30 p.m. when they usually leave for the trip home around 2 p.m. I was ready to listen until the wee hours, but by golly, the powers that be hung it up at 2:02 p.m. anyway. TGIF, I guess. This morning, the full House Appropriations committee sent HB1431 out with a Do Pass Recommendation. This...
Murphy’s Law Blog 2021 | #14 — APDC, Floor Action, Research & Extension
HB1431 is the House bonding bill which contains $50 million for the Agricultural Products Development Center and the Northern Crops Institute. It was preserved in Appropriations the other day while $95 million for a Career Tech Ed center was stripped out along with other items. So hope remains for this important project although it still […]hi
HB1431 is the House bonding bill which contains $50 million for the Agricultural Products Development Center and the Northern Crops Institute. It was preserved in Appropriations the other day while $95 million for a Career Tech Ed center was stripped out along with other items. So hope remains for this important project although it still must pass the House floor vote before being sent to...
Murphy’s Law Blog 2021 | #13
So. On Friday morning as stated in the last entry, House Agriculture heard the beef checkoff (HB1487) testimonies, coming back after lunch and floor session to listen to many who had waited all morning to testify in opposition. Not all were heard, but it was pretty well vetted. When most legislators have to travel back […]hi
So. On Friday morning as stated in the last entry, House Agriculture heard the beef checkoff (HB1487) testimonies, coming back after lunch and floor session to listen to many who had waited all morning to testify in opposition. Not all were heard, but it was pretty well vetted. When most legislators have to travel back home on Friday afternoon in the winter – often 4 or 5 hours – it...
Murphy’s Law Blog 2021 | #12 — Reinsurance, Gas Tax, Innovation Fund, Beef, Water
Bill HB1087 is about a program which was instituted two years ago in North Dakota. Called reinsurance, it allows our state to capture federal dollars to lower health insurance premiums for individuals who cannot qualify for a pool-type of policy. Last biennium, it was reported to save our citizens about 20 percent on their policies. […]hi
Bill HB1087 is about a program which was instituted two years ago in North Dakota. Called reinsurance, it allows our state to capture federal dollars to lower health insurance premiums for individuals who cannot qualify for a pool-type of policy. Last biennium, it was reported to save our citizens about 20 percent on their policies. This was referred to House Appropriations after passing...
Murphy’s Law Blog 2021 | #11 — Bonding, Tiling, Sewage, Beef Checkoff
Officially one-fourth of the way through this session and it seems that velocity is accelerating. By that I mean hearings are piling up and so are judgements that need to be made by the committees and, of course, then by the floor in each house. There are so many bills that want to use bonding […]hi
Officially one-fourth of the way through this session and it seems that velocity is accelerating. By that I mean hearings are piling up and so are judgements that need to be made by the committees and, of course, then by the floor in each house. There are so many bills that want to use bonding and part of the earnings of the Legacy Fund that it will be a heavy lift for Appropriations...
Murphy’s Law Blog 2021 | #10 — Zoning, Water, Beef Checkoff
Animal feeding operations have had problems getting established in our state compared to others for a host of reasons. One bill that is intended to reduce confusion addressed zoning in the form of SB2216. The Senate Ag committee dealt with it Thursday and today. They gave a unanimous Do Pass Recommendation to this bill which […]hi
Animal feeding operations have had problems getting established in our state compared to others for a host of reasons. One bill that is intended to reduce confusion addressed zoning in the form of SB2216. The Senate Ag committee dealt with it Thursday and today. They gave a unanimous Do Pass Recommendation to this bill which clarifies where any entity can begin to measure their setbacks...