701-566-9300The session is busy with both houses concerning agricultural issues this week; however that is about to change as the House Ag committee chair told the Ag Coalition breakfast this morning that they will have no more bills after this Friday. The NDSGA has submitted 17 different testimonies on bills this week alone and what follows is a quick rundown of many of them: Two scholarship bills intended to help students who may want to follow paths that can ultimately aide farmers with technical and mechanical skills were heard with no action taken yet. Three water bills were heard today, Thursday. SB2208 is the study of drainage, HB1437 is the subsurface water bill and SB2324 is the last minute culverts bill. All had long hearings this morning but again, no action taken.
SB2036 and SB2144, respectively, are the continuation of the pilot program of electronic posting and the bill that compromises the desires of landowners and sportsmen when it comes to posting both electronically and physically.
SB2230 is a bill that would allow transfers to a total of $75 million from a fund that could reimburse lenders for guaranteed loans in default. This relates to Ag producers because it may provide assurances should someone be seeking financing to begin some endeavor which would add value to agriculture.
This is day 42 of the session and there are rumors that they may try to get out 10 days early. That would end the session in mid-April instead of early May. Because this legislative process involves people, there are always rumors. But given some factors such as big bucks coming from Congress, little to no moisture and warm temps (giving farmer legislators hope of getting in the field) and the fact that legislators will be recalled for the purposes of redistricting (once every 10 years), the chances of an early out could be increasing.
