When the State Legislature reconvenes November 8 in Bismarck, it will do so without knowing how long the session will last. There’s plenty of speculation among lawmakers, ranging from four days to two weeks or more.
What is known is that on Friday Governor Doug Burgum called a Special Session of the legislature, a change from the expected reconvening in which legislators would have had only four days to get their work done within the 80-day limit prescribed by state law. The past legislative session used only 76 of the allotted 80 days. The main purpose of the upcoming session is to adopt a new legislative redistricting plan based on numbers derived from the 2020 census.
However, the legislators are not limited to only coming to consensus on a realignment of the state’s voting districts. Rep. Ben Koppelman, R-Dis. 16, West Fargo, says what might happen in early November in Bismarck centers on redistricting, but other items will be brought to the attention of lawmakers.
“How to spend the Biden bucks. That’s what I call them,” said Koppelman. “There’s way more hands out there than there are dollars. There’s going to be a lot of discussion from guys who think we should give it to the taxpayers and everything in between.”
Koppelman was referring to COVID relief money the state received through the American Rescue Plan. The amount to be allocated before 2026 is more than $1 billion. Governor Burgum has already announced his spending plan for the federal money, which is the impetus for the calling of a Special Session.
"How to spend the Biden bucks. That's what I call them."Rep. Ben Koppelman, R-Dis. 16, West Fargo
Any bills introduced in the upcoming session—estimates range from a handful to as many as 40—have two paths to navigate. For a bill to be discussed by lawmakers it must be approved by Legislative Management or the Delayed Bills Committee. Koppelman says he thinks the issue of mandatory vaccination against COVID-19 will spur some discussion, perhaps even the issue of wearing of masks.
“I wouldn’t rule out a bill dealing with masks but, personally, I am a lot more concerned about forced vaccinations or be fired or can’t go to a store,” stated Koppelman. “That’s the government pushing people, forcing them by taking liberty away unless they get the vaccine.”
Rep. Scott Louser, R-Dis. 5, Minot, assistant majority leader, places the number of bills to be introduced at about 30, 20 in the House and 10 in the Senate. He expects some of those will deal with vaccine mandates.
“I don’t know how many bills will be introduced about vaccine mandates,” said Louser. “I’m guessing at least five, but because it is a reconvened session it could be anything. There’s also voting bills and spending ideas.”
"I don't know how many bills will be introduced about vaccine mandates. I'm guessing at least five, but because it is a reconvened session it could be anything."Rep. Scott Louser, R-Dis. 5, Minot
Louser is a member of the House Delayed Bills Committee, which has the duty of examining bills written after the legislative deadline for bills to be introduced. Bill sponsors will appear before the committee to explain why a delayed bill should be considered by the legislature.
“We vote on whether or not to introduce a delayed bill. Not the content, but why we should allow it to come in late,” explained Louser. “In this case, it’s rare that the Delayed Bills Committee sees a bill in advance of the session.”
Since Gov. Burgum called a Special Session, lawmakers will no longer have to be concerned with completing their work in a 96-hour timespan. A Special Session is not limited to a specific number of days. On Friday, prior to the governor’s announcement, Louser said the plan was to gavel in on day one, do committee work for a couple of days, and gavel in again on Thursday. Now lawmakers will return to Bismarck for, basically, business as usual in a legislative session.
“There will be a lot of pressure on leadership,” remarked Louser.
“I know we will get the redistricting done; that’s the one thing we have to get done,” added Koppelman.
