Jack Dura, with ND Monitor, writes everything you need to know about the upcoming Special Session in North Dakota.
The short version is we’re hearing bills on regulating or banning Kratom, ending the Non-Disclosure Agreements with data centers (sorta), fixing a property tax goof from earlier this year, and injecting 35 million dollars into a military museum that Rob Port has refer to as a boondoggle in at least two articles. (Seriously - Here and Here).
Individuals can currently submit testimony online for most of those bills, and there will be in-person opportunities to provide comment on September 2nd at the Capitol.
Reporting by April Baumgarten, from earlier this month, covers most of the bills that were originally proposed. While many are not being heard, they can give some insight into legislative priority for the bills we are hearing.
A critical bill that remains missing from this special session is Senator Kathy Hogan’s Family Childcare funding bill that I wrote at length about last week. This bill is not dead in the water, so long as it’s not dead in our hearts.
As our legislators can still decide to revive this bill if they sense a significant need and public demand. Or if they accidentally glance at the news and see Erin Hemme Froslie’s sobering reporting on the seriousness of the issue we face. To put another way the need is significant, but the public could be making more demands.
It’s one of those cosmetic jokes that there was a 35 million dollar deficit in our Childcare Assistance Program, and that’s about the exact price we’re considering giving to a military museum. What is even more funny is that Senator Hogan’s bill was rejected because we’re told we don’t have the money. Curious. Really curious. Furious?
I don’t mean to be more fiscally responsible than our extremely conservative lawmaking body, but when money is tight and we’re cutting all the departments by 10%, one does ask questions.
To be fair, the Museum Bill is a line of credit and the goal is to solicited donations from wealthy people to complete the project. (To my understanding.)
Still, all that time and effort and credit would likely do families well right now too. So would those donations from the wealthy. And if North Dakota cannot afford to even support families, why donate to a museum in a state that’s dying? Because what is North Dakota if not its families? What future does this state have if not its families? if we cannot afford our number one priority in this state, then one could say this project is digging our grave in a number of ways.
But it is the future our lawmakers will decide, and you have the chance to let them know how you feel about all of this. Our state and our priorities are determined by who shows up. And I promise anyone reading that you feel so much better about life when you’ve gone to bed having done something to fight for the future you want.
Choose One Action to Do Below
Find your legislator to tell them to support bringing Senator Hogan’s Bill Back
(You can’t provide testimony on the Military Museum Bill)
Submit Testimony on your Feelings about Kratom, NDAs, or Property Tax
Follow League of Women Voters to stay up to date on civic action
Share this Substack and/or start a public dialogue
(Articles above may be shared and distributed by local papers and publications under CC BY 4.0)