Today, on a nearly party line vote, the ND State Senate passed HB 1289, but with smaller reductions than the State House previously passed. [All Republicans, as well as Senators Dave O'Connell (Democrat-District 6) and Phillip Murphy (Democrat-District 20) voted Yes.] As we noted a couple weeks ago, the State Senate was working on ways of… (more)
The City of Williston is going out of its way to subsidize the building of a Menards store. According to the Williston Herald, an “incentive package” of $5.7 million is being spent to subsidize construction of this store: [Mayor Ward] Koeser told the audience that the city has committed a $5.7 million incentive package to… (more)
Yesterday, we told you about the defeat of a bill to allow the voters of North Dakota to vote for a constitutional measure to protect the citizens of North Dakota from ObamaCare. This was a very disappointing result given the amount of opposition to ObamaCare in North Dakota. It appears that Representative Bill Devlin (R-District… (more)
(read NDTA’s background on this constitutional amendment) Courtesy of Rob Port at the SayAnything Blog: North Dakotans oppose Obamacare. The state is part of the legal challenges to that bill which will inevitably end up in the Supreme Court. So you think it would be a good move by our state’s legislators to enshrine… (more)
Earlier this session, the North Dakota House of Representatives passed a significant corporate tax reform bill. House Bill 1189 sought to create a single, flat 4.9% corporate income tax cut while simultaneously exempting the 1st $75,000 from the tax. This was a solid, pro-small business approach to the corporate income tax, which would have left… (more)
Since the defeat of public pension reform last month in the North Dakota House, the discussion has shifted to the management of the current funds. At specific question is whether more expertise is needed on the investment board to prevent the 24% loss (on paper) that the pension funds saw occur in 2008-2009 during the… (more)
Over the last decade, politicians have run around the state declaring that out-migration and de-population were a thing of the past. While North Dakota’s total population has increased by 30,000 in the last decade, more detailed Census Data released today shows a move complete picture North Dakota’s population growth is very lopsided By digging into the raw data that… (more)
We have recently heard claims that “budget cuts” are being imposed on higher education. And while some newspapers have reduced themselves to calling legislators “boneheads,” the accurate approach would be for journalists to clarify that no “budget cuts” are even being considered. To set the record straight, Gov. Dalrymple proposed to increase higher education funding… (more)
New York Times Report Drills Deeper Into the Debate The update on Monday regarding Public Sector vs. Private Sector Salaries created a lot of feedback andseems to have created a lot of anger. Local media covered it, and it even got noticed by the PEW Center on the States. The data the USA Today article used was from the U.S. Bureau of… (more)
Like many issues this legislative session, there seems to be some misunderstanding with regard to House Concurrent Resolution 3014. So before the legislature mistakenly kills this bill, we need your help. This legislation would put a ballot measure on the 2012 General Election ballot to add a new amendment to the North Dakota Constitution to protect… (more)
USA Today Report Says North Dakota State-Employees Make Marginally More Than The Average Worker With the situation in Wisconsin, as well as our own public pension debate, a lot of people have emailed me asking what the real story is with North Dakota’s public employee pay. The good news for both those that ask, and me, is that USA Today… (more)
The North Dakota House of Representatives had an important change of heart today and reversed it’s decision to block property tax reform. On a vote of 57-36 the House voted in favor of passing House Bill 1194 (see details of the bill below.) Here are the legislators who changed their votes from No to Yes (please… (more)
We are seeing a pattern in the North Dakota House of Representatives. Two weeks ago, the House defeated legislation that would have local governments post basic budget data on the internet. Last week, on Friday, the House defeated public pension reform legislation, and refused to reconsider the issue yesterday. Today, the House defeated House Bill 1194, an effort to… (more)
The North Dakota House of Representatives is likely to reconsider House Bill 1228 this afternoon. Several legislators WANT to change their votes but need you to convince them of it. Please click here to tell them to vote yes on House Bill 1228, and 1258 if it comes back up. Help them make the right… (more)
This morning, the North Dakota House of Representatives voted to ignore the need for reforming the public pension system in North Dakota. The bills (House Bills 1228 & 1258) needed 48 votes to pass. House Bill 1228 would have reformed the NDPERS system for state government employees, and House Bill 1258 would have reformed the… (more)
Preface: To the 47 House Members that voted for HB 1228, and the 38 House Members who voted for HB 1258: THANK YOU. There is a belief in Bismarck that North Dakota is immune from the plague that is crippling every other state in the nation. They have bought into the campaign sound-bites that somehow,… (more)
Today, the North Dakota House of Representatives passed $150 million dollars worth of income tax cuts: $100 million for individuals (HB 1289) and $50 million in corporate income taxes (HB 1189). The corporate income tax bill went a step further by creating a Flat Tax for corporate income @ 4.9% with a $75,000 exemption. … (more)
In a year this nation faces serious issues, it is totally unacceptable for political candidates to distract people with juvenile squabbles and unrealistic proposals that get misconstrued merely by mentioning two subjects in the same sentence. Instead of arguing about debates and trying to dodge criticism, candidates must fulfill their duty to address the issues…. (more)
Earlier this year, the United States Chamber of Commerce released a report showing that North Dakota had the highest income and economic growth of any state over the past decade. But sometimes, it seems as though North Dakota’s booming economic climate in the fact of national economic stagnation is making us a target for federal… (more)
North Dakota has been one of a small handful of states that has been able to maintain strong economic growth throughout the national recession. As leading financial experts warn of the dangers of a double-dip recession, policymakers in Washington are now considering a measure that could bring North Dakota’s economy to a screeching halt. North… (more)
It’s often easy to criticize people for promoting inappropriate policies, but the North Dakota Taxpayers’ Association also recognizes the need to credit those who support responsible policies and question existing ones. There many legislative leaders doing this for a long time. While some editorial boards believe the North Dakota University System can do no wrong,… (more)
