Dist. 24 Legislative Report
The Members of North Dakota House of Representatives continue to work diligently in their Committees and on the floor as cross-over approaches. Over the last week House leadership decided to extend the length of our daily floor sessions in order to ensure we are able to complete our work as the end of the first half of the 67th Assembly nears.
On Friday, the House passed HB 1386. This bill would prevent cities, counties, and state agencies from limiting or regulating the hours of operation and capacity of private businesses. In essence, this bill addresses concerns by some members of the Assembly that the forced closing of businesses during the COVID-19 pandemic was a form of government overreach. Some opponents of the bill sympathized with its intent, but argued the bill would remove the state’s ability to act during a time of emergency. The final vote was 54 yeas and 39 nays.
On Monday, the House grappled with several issues. HB 1435 passed by a 75-18 margin. This bill would provide health insurance benefits for the spouse and children of any peace officer or emergency responder who dies in the line of duty in North Dakota. The bill would ensure coverage for the spouse until the age of sixtyfive and children until the age of twenty-six. The legislation received widespread support throughout the House with the exception of several members who expressed constitutional concerns. The Bill now heads to the Senate for consideration.
The House also passed Concurrent Resolution 3027. This resolution urges the President of the United States to continue oil development on federal land. The Resolution was adopted unanimously.
On Tuesday, HB 1173 passed with a vote of 859. This bill requires that during a state election the full text of all initiated measures be printed on each individual ballot. Proponents of this legislation proclaimed it was about transparency and informed voting. The only verbal opposition on the floor was concerning the amount of paper that would need to be used to print the measures on each ballot. The Senate will now take up the issue.
The House rejected HB 1315. This bill had two key sections. The first section increased the speed limit on interstate highways from seventy-five MPH to eighty MPH while the second section created a minimum speed limit of forty MPH on interstate highways. In a procedural move, members motioned to vote separately on each section of the bill. Section one failed by a vote of 38-56. Opponents of the section noted they had concerns for highway safety and the extra strain that would be placed on the roads due to the increased speed. Section two failed by a vote of 12-81. The chief concern among the members was that creating a minimum speed limit would adversely impact farmers who occasionally have to operate their machinery at slow rates of speed on the interstate.
On Wednesday, floor session began by passing HB 1272 with a vote of 69-23. This bill states that any personal firearm manufactured commercially or privately within the state and which remains in the state is not subject to federal laws or regulations. Supporters of the bill argued this legislation protects our constitutional right to bear arms, while opponents worried the wording of the bill is too broad and also noted safety concerns. It now heads to the Senate.
On Thursday, the House passed HB 1287 with a vote of 77-16. This bill seeks to enhance criminal penalties for individuals who sell illegal drugs which result in an overdose death. The discussion about the bill explained that in many instances where a law is broken which results in the death of another, the criminal penalties are typically more severe. However, under current law selling drugs is not one of those instances. This bill addresses these concerns.
You can contact Rep. Kiefert at dhkiefert@ nd.gov and Rep. Christensen at colechristensen@nd.gov. During the session, mail can be sent to us at: ND House of Representatives, 600 East Boulevard, Bismarck, ND 58505-0360. If you want to leave a phone message you can call the incoming toll-free number 1-888-NDLEGIS (1-888-635-3447). For hearing-impaired individuals, the TTY toll-free number is 1-800-366-6888 to reach a relay operator. If you wish to watch videos of the floor session and committee hearings, you can access that at legis. nd.gov.