Gov. Jack Dalrymple has used his line item veto power on four bills.
Friday, Dalrymple vetoed two sections of Senate Bill 2003, the budget bill for the state’s Office of Management and Budget. One section would have required all vice-Chancellors of the North Dakota University System to resign when a new Chancellor is appointed by the Board of Higher Education. In his veto letter, Dalrymple said the Chancellor can already remove the vice-chancellors, and requiring resignations before a Chancellor takes office would be – as he put it –“detrimental to the effective operation of the University System, and could have a negative effect on the education of our students.”
Another part of the OMB bill Dalrymple vetoed deals with so called “quick take authority” by water resource districts. He said the new language may result in more confusion.
Dalrymple says one section in House Bill 1003 appears to prevent the Board of Higher Education from negotiating a multi-year contract with a new Chancellor. In his veto message, Dalrymple said that conflicted with the state Constitution, which provides that the Board appoints the Chancellor for a three year term.
The Governor also vetoed a section of a bill requiring the district courts to pay for expert witnesses to testify in-person, but exempts costs associated with testimony offered by interactive video. Dalrymple said no money was included in the judiciary budget for this. He also red-penned another section of the measure – which would have set timelines for Attorney General opinions.
And the Governor vetoed a section of a bill that would require income and interest payments on loans from the coal development trust fund to be used for school construction loans. Dalrymple said that conflicts with the state Constitutional provision that the interest is to be used to replace uncollectable loans made on that fund, with the rest going to the general fund.