General News

The House has approved a bill that puts some time limits on teacher negotiations.

The bill says by July first – unless agreed to be the teachers and the school board – negotiations must be completed. If no agreement is reached, the parties go to impasse.

Supporters of the bill argued in committee that one side or the other often used delaying tactics in negotiation strategy.

The House has killed a bill that would have allowed the Legislature to meet in a short session in the even numbered years.

As the Senate amended SB 2218, it would try a one-time short session to see if it would work.

Bills would have to be approved by a select committee, before they could be taken up in a short session.

Supporters say it was partially born out of frustration with the Legislature not having much of a say in how federal CARES Act money was spent. That decision was in the hands of the state’s Emergency Commission and the Legislature’s Budget Section.

The North Dakota House has voted in favor of the state observing “Juneteenth.”

The day is called that because on June 19th, 1865, slavery officially ended in Texas. And it is observed by 47 other states.

Rep. Austen Schauer (R-West Fargo) said this does not involve a mandatory day off for private of public employees.

"It is meant to bring unity to a sometimes, if not often, divided country," Schauer said.

Schauer said it is also meant as a day to condemn human trafficking.

A bill to create a state Clean Energy Authority is now before a state Senate Committee.

HB 1452 would appropriate $40 million from the state’s General Fund. A companion proposal in HB 1431, the bonding bill, would add another $250 million.

The measure is designed to fund projects to reduce emissions. That would include carbon-capture systems at coal-fired electric plants.

One of the supporters – North Dakota Petroleum Council president Ron Ness – told the Senate Appropriations Committee this would give North Dakota energy a “leg up.”

The state Senate has passed a measure to study investing Legacy Fund moneys in North Dakota.

A bill already making its way through the Legislature will set aside a percentage of future earnings to be invested locally. But Sen. Mark Weber (R-Casselton) told the Senate this measure is intended to take a broader view, to see if there are opportunities where Legacy Fund monies could be directly invested into start-up companies.

North Dakota Legislators are preparing for a December special session to deal with redrawing legislative district boundaries.

But there will likely be another subject – how to deal with the new COVID relief money coming from the federal government.

Legislative leaders had hoped to deal with some of the projected $1.3 billion the state will receive from the American Rescue Act.