Politics & Government

The two candidates for US Senate squared off in their first debate Thursday night.

Incumbent Democrat Heidi Heitkamp and GOP challenger Kevin Cramer participated in an hour-long debate in Bismarck, sponsored by the North Dakota Newspaper Association.

The two covered a number of subjects. On trade – specifically the trade embargoes – Heitkamp said North Dakota farmers are getting hurt by the closing of foreign markets, especially China.

The state Health Department is looking at a proposal to transfer the state forensic examiner’s office from the Health Department to the UND Medical School.

That office is in charge of such things as autopsies.

The proposal is in the Health Department's budget request given to Gov. Doug Burgum.

"We have taken a look at the work that was being done," said Health Department chief financial officer Brenda Weisz. "UND may be better positioned to leverage other funding sources or other grants."

North Dakota counties are concerned about proposals pending to restructure how human services are delivered.

The reorganization is being spearheaded by the state Department of Human Services, and is before a Legislative interim committee.

One of the proposals is to create "zones" for social services.

Two hundred 24 of 296 state employees who applied for the “Voluntary Separation Plan” have been accepted.

This is the second year of that volunteer program.

The state employees who were accepted had two options.

"The first option was for the worker to receive three months of wages and the cost of health insurance paid out in a lump sum," said Human Resource Management Services interim director Becky Sicble. "The second option keeps them 'on the payroll' for three months after they separate, so they get paid the same as if they were coming to work, but they're not."

The North Dakota Association of Counties is opposing Measure 3 – the measure that would legalize recreational marijuana.

Association executive director Terry Traynor said the group took that step at its convention this week in Bismarck.

"We don't think North Dakota is ready (for recreational marijuana)," Traynor said in an interview.

Traynor said the measure is flawed.

The state Employee Compensation Commission is recommending state workers receive what amounts to two percent pay raises in each year of the 2019-2021 biennium.

State budget director Joe Morrissette chairs that Commission. He said the recommendation is to hand out the raises based on performance.

"It would be in a range of one to three percent to each employee, based on actual performance," Morrissette said in an interview.

In addition, one percent would be added in the first year to address compression issues.

The North Dakota Catholic Conference is the latest organization to oppose Measure One on the November ballot.

That measure would create a state ethics commission, would require more transparency in donations, restrict gifts to elected officials from lobbyists, and prevents officials from becoming lobbyists for two years after leaving state government. It's a proposed amendment to the state's Constitution.

"This is a difficult issue for us," said Conference executive director Christopher Dodson. "No one's opposed to integrity."

North Dakota’s revenue picture continues to improve.

In August, revenue collections exceeded the Legislative forecast by 10 percent. For the biennium to date, collections are nearly 4 percent ahead of forecast.

"It indicates again that we've seen the bottom," said state Office of Management and Budget director Joe Morrissette.

Morrissette said increased oil activity in western North Dakota means increases in oil taxes and sales tax collections. Sales taxes for the month of August were nearly 26 percent ahead of forecast.