North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum has signed HB 1504, the legislative redistricting bill approved this week during a special legislative session. Redistricting was on the “must do” list for legislators. A new district alignment was necessary due to population growth revealed in the 2020 census. “The historic process marked the first time since 1910 that North […]
View More6:05 p.m., Nov. 11--As a follow up to an earlier report by The Dakotan, Rep. Jeff Hoverson (R-Dis. 3, Minot) apologized to the entire House of Representatives in this evening's current session. He apologized for his actions "out of the decorum of the body," referring to his very public comment to House Majority Leader Rep. […]
View More5:35 p.m., Nov. 11-- HB 1511 has been moved forward by the Joint Technical Corrections Committee. This bill is the only bill moving forward that would offer protection to many North Dakotans from COVID-19 vaccine mandates. Because the JTCC moved HB 1511 forward with a Do Pass recommendation, they gave HB 1510 a Do Not […]
View More3:45 p.m., Nov. 11--HB 1514, sponsored by Rep. Bill Tveit (R-Dis. 33, Hazen), was sent forward with a "Do Pass" recommendation to be heard by the full House of Representatives. Among other things, this bill would allow medical providers with prescribing authority to prescribe the drug Ivermectin to treat COVID-19 without fear of reprisal from […]
View More1:40 p.m., Nov. 11--Senator Nicole Poolman (R-Dis.7, Bismarck) just announced on the Senate floor that she will not be seeking re-election. As her reasons she noted the following: 1. She wants to focus more on her job as a teacher at Century High School 2. She wants to be more available for her autistic son […]
View More11:30 a.m., Nov. 11--The House moved through several bills this morning. All the following were passed and will be heard in the Senate beginning this afternoon: HB 1515 - relating to a one-time income tax credit HCR 3049 - relating to declaring parents as the primary stakeholder over the lives of their children HB 1508 […]
View More11:15 a.m., Nov 11--The Joint Technical Corrections Committee is meeting this morning to continue to hear testimony on some of the bills that remain to be dealt with at the committee level. Numerous amendments have been offered already. There is still much to be debated. Currently Rep. Rick Becker (R-Dis. 07, Bismarck) is proposing an […]
View More4:35 p.m., Nov. 10--Two tax bills were taken up by the Joint Technical Corrections Committee (JTCC) this afternoon. FIrst, SB 2351 which would eliminate state income tax on Social Security income. That measure was moved forward with a Do Pass recommendation to the full houses. The vote was 15-1. There was a suggested amendment to […]
View More2:25 p.m., Nov. 10--The North Dakota Senate just completed a vigorous debate about the sub-districting of legislative districts 4 and 9 within the joint redistricting plan. The vote to include the sub-districts only narrowly passed, by a vote of 26-21.
View More7:05 a.m., Nov. 10--Yesterday afternoon, the ND House of Representatives voted to accept the redistricting plan presented by the Joint Redistricting Committee. See photo below for the complete vote tally. See Minor Revisions to Redistricting Plan for fuller coverage of this issue.
View More7:00 a.m., Nov. 10--Yesterday afternoon, the ND House of Representatives voted to accept the portion of the re-districting plan that will establish sub-districts. See photo below for the complete vote tally. See Minor Revisions to Redistricting Plan for fuller coverage of this issue.
View More3:10 p.m., Nov. 9--The House just passed the joint redistricting plan 73-18. In the process, Rep. Jeff Hoverson (R-Dis. 3, Minot) asked the House Majority Leader Rep. Chet Pollert whether he thought the redistricting process had been fair. Rep. Pollert replied that he did believe so, mentioning all the work the committee had done in […]
View More2:05 p.m., Nov. 9--The current Full House discussion on re-districting is going to push the schedule back significantly. Sub-districting is a hot-button topic, and from what I have been told by some other legislators, there are other hot-button topics that will come up here for discussion as well. Legislators want to try to bring back […]
View More1:45 p.m., Nov. 9--Rep. Terry Jones (R-Dis. 4, New Town) is now arguing against the plan to sub-district districts 4 and 9 in the redistricting plan, HB 1504. He cited an attorney that explained to him that sub-districting based on race according to the Voting Rights Act requires evidence of "ongoing racial animus." He declared […]
View More12:00 p.m., Nov. 9--Rep. Tveit, Sen. Janna Myrdahl, Travis Zablotney, and other citizens (many with backgrounds in the medical field) are skillfully fielding questions asked by the Joint Technical Corrections Committee. Not everyone who presents a bill or speaks in support for (or against) a bill is able to do that and comes prepared to […]
View More11:00 a.m., Nov. 9--Testimony is beginning on HB 1514 (was 21.1116.02000), Rep. Bill Tveit's "Lifesaving bill" as he has called it. This begins a series of bills that are expected to generate a great deal of public testimony.
View More9:15 a.m., Nov. 9--In the leadup to this morning's meeting of the Joint Technical Corrections Committee who will hear testimony on most of the delayed bills that advanced from the Delayed Bills Committees, Rep. Sebastian Ertelt (R-Dis. 26, Lisbon) dropped the following bombshell on The Dakotan. Rep. Ertelt spoke about delayed bill 21.1115.01000. That bill […]
View MoreUpdate: 3:45 p.m., Nov. 8 -- Excitement turned to confusion turned to discontent. An estimated 700 people waited for more than an hour to hear a press conference that had been announced for the main hall of the Capitol for 3 p.m. They waited in vain, because both the place and time of the press […]
View More1:00 p.m., Nov. 8 -- Neither of Rep. Jeff Magrum's (R-Dis.28, Hazelton) election integrity bills advanced from the House Delayed Bills Committee. There was bipartisan support for killing these bills; neither received a motion from anyone on the committee to advance to the Joint Technical Correction Committee. The reasons given for not supporting the election […]
View More12:30 p.m., Nov. 8 -- So far, nearly every bill that has failed to advance out of the House Delayed Bills Committee has failed because Republican Majority Leader Chet Pollert (R-Dis. 29, Carrington) has voted along with the two democrats on the committee, Rep. Boschee (D-Dis. 44, Fargo) and Rep. Mitskog (D-Dis. 25, Wahpeton), and […]
View More11:50 a.m., Nov. 8 -- The House Delayed Bills Committee has just voted to advance Rep. Bob Paulson's (R-Dis. 3) COVID vaccine discrimination bill to be heard by the Joint Technical Corrections Committee (the next step in the process). Rep. Paulson's bill mirrors the bill passed into law by the State of MT, which prohibits […]
View More"Welcome back. This isn't just simple redistricting. We have other things like the American Rescue Plan. We have social freedom issues that have to be dealt with. Our goal is 5 days. Everything has to be done in 5 days. It is possible. Work Saturday? There is that possibility. If we can finish up and […]
View More10:45 a.m., Nov. 8 -- The ND House Delayed Bills Committee is about to convene in the Pioneer Room of the Capitol building. The committee members have their work cut out for them today, since there are approximately 20 bills for them to consider in the next 2+ hours. There are 8 members of this […]
View More10:35 a.m. Nov. 8 -- Gov. Doug Burgum just delivered his State of the State Address to the ND legislature. He briefly mentioned re-districting and then spent the rest of his address talking about the financial state of the state, including current investment fund balances and his desires for spending the $1.4 billion available to […]
View MoreCheck back here throughout the duration of the legislative special session to read the latest updates from the session, including on-site coverage of the We The People rally on the Capitol Steps Monday, Nov. 8 at noon.
View More
