VALLEY CITY, N.D. (NewsDakota.com) – District 24 State Senator Mike Wobbema and State Representatives Dwight Kiefert and Cole Christensen addressed several bills of importance surrounding the 2021 Legislative Session at a forum held Saturday, March 20th in the Hi Line Activity Center in Valley City. Here are just a few highlights from the two and a one-half hour forum.

House bill 1420 would allow adults to use a small amount of marijuana on their own property. It would not allow anyone to grow their own and only allows established grow centers and “compassion centers” established for medical marijuana to grow and sell the product.

Senator Wobbema doesn’t support the bill.

Representative Kiefert didn’t support the bill either.

Representative Christensen supports the bill only as a proactive measure for lawmakers.

The measure passed the House 56 to 38 on March 22nd. The committee split 3 and 3 on both a “do pass” and a “do not pass” recommendation, before voting 5 to 1 on a “without committee recommendation.”

Representative Christensen responded to a question of why did he not vote to expel Representative Luke Simons.

Senator Wobbema responded to a question about why he would not support term limits for state legislators like some states.

And Representative Kiefert believes term limits would push out experienced leadership and hurt the process.

House Bill 1257 centers on whether the state should pass a penalty for not wearing a seat belt in North Dakota.

Senator Wobbema doesn’t support the measure.

Representative Christensen is not a proponent of a mandatory seat belt law either.

And Representative Christensen talked about why he voted for the Home School Tax Credit for those who home school their children.

After the forum, we asked Valley City Public Schools Superintendent Josh Johnson what bills of interest does he support or oppose during this legislative session.

Two more District 24 Legislative Forums will be held Saturday, April 3rd. The first from 9am to 11am in the Litchville Community Center and the final Forum on Saturday, April 3rd from 2pm to 4pm at the Wimbledon Cafe.