701-566-9300This 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 from those two seasons of tiling, they can reinstitute or not. More details to follow, but if you wish, you can look up HB1437 under the 67th Legislature in the nd.gov. website.
The other big bill that was resolved was SB2020 – NDSU Research and Extension budget. This bill saw generosity in the form of a hold even budget when the Governor had cut them in his executive budget. But the Legislature holds the key to spending and they also added money to capital projects here and there. Again, if curious, check out the details online. Remember that both of these bills need the Governor’s signature to become law, but I am fairly certain he will sign both. We will know by next week.
Right now it looks like session should be done Wednesday night, but Thursday is a possibility. The big issue left for rural North Dakota is funding of township roads. We are working it hard. Please ask your legislators to support township road funding in the OMB bill – HB1015 – to the tune of $30 million. And thank you for any action on your part.
