BISMARCK, N.D. (NewsDakota.com) – The following is a District 24 Legislative report by Rep. Dwight Kiefert and Rep. Cole Christensen.
“Last week, Members of the North Dakota House of Representatives continued to receive bills from the Senate which have now passed both chambers and may go to conference committee. Additionally, the House is working toward casting the final votes on the remaining Senate bills on the calendar.
On Thursday, the House voted against Senate amendments that were made to House Bill 1164. This bill passed the House by a significant margin in February. In its original form, this legislation would allow the Attorney General to review Presidential executive orders and seek to have those which he believes to be unconstitutional struck down by a court of law. However, once sent over to the Senate, the bill was amended. The Senate amendments would allow legislative management rather than a court of law to determine if an executive order is unconstitutional. Opponents of the amendment stated their belief that it would likely violate the separation of powers doctrine to allow the legislative management, rather than a court, to determine the constitutionality of a presidential executive order. The bill will now head to a conference committee to work out the differences.
On Monday, the House passed Senate Bill 2311 by a vote of 82-12. This legislation holds that mental health awareness and suicide prevention resources must be provided to the mental health behavior coordinator at all public and private schools in our state. During the COVID-19 pandemic, schools have worked tirelessly to address related mental and behavioral health issues amongst student. The resources provided under this bill will better allow for schools to better address the behavioral and mental health needs of students across our state. The bill will now head to the Governor’s desk for consideration.
On Tuesday, The House passed Senate Bill 2304 by a vote of 72-21. This legislation holds that schools in North Dakota are required to include Native American history in their social studies curriculum. This curriculum provides for an emphasis on the federally recognized tribes in located in North Dakota. Supporters of this bill pointed out that the tribes have played an integral role in shaping the history our state and requiring Native American history in our schools would recognize this role. The Governor will now have the opportunity to sign this bill into law.
On Wednesday, the House passed Senate Bill 2245 by a vote of 84-7. This bill establishes an intermodal facility grant program which will be managed by the state Agriculture Commissioner. Intermodal transportation refers to using multiple modes of freight transportation (rail, truck, ship, etc.) without handling the freight itself when transferring modes. Intermodal transportation provides for a cheaper and more efficient method of moving freight. The only intermodal transportation site in North Dakota is located in Minot. Supporters of this bill argued the grant program will create an opportunity to enhance intermodal transportation in the state and will provide a significant boost to our states agriculture producers who ship their product by rail or truck.
On Thursday, Governor Burgum signed into law House Bill 1425. This bill passed both the House and Senate with widespread support. The legislation advises the State Investment Board to consider moving certain Legacy Fund investments to North Dakota. Currently, the Legacy Fund has investments across the country and internationally with a goal of getting a high rate of return on those investments. This bill requests 20% of those investments be made right here in North Dakota.”
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.