North Dakota lawmakers on Monday started placing the items in place for the legislative session that begins subsequent month.
Lawmakers are in Bismarck for his or her three-day organizational session, which concludes Wednesday, when Gov. Doug Burgum will give his price range tackle describing his priorities and proposals.
Supreme Court docket Chief Justice Jon Jensen and Justice Jerod Tufte on Monday afternoon administered the oath of workplace to new and reelected lawmakers. Legislators’ family members watched from the Home and Senate galleries, some recording movies on their smartphones.
The Home elected a brand new speaker, Rep. Dennis Johnson, R-Devils Lake, a farmer first elected to the Home in 1992. His was the one nomination. The speaker presides over the Home.
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Rep. Bob Martinson, R-Bismarck, stuffed in as appearing speaker beforehand, as earlier Speaker Kim Koppelman, R-West Fargo, didn’t not search reelection; his time period ended final Wednesday.
Individuals are additionally studying…
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Lawmakers on Monday additionally elected workers similar to sergeants-at-arms and journal reporters, and selected their seats. New members underwent orientation coaching; 41 of 141 members are new, although some have served beforehand.
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Three of 4 legislative leaders are also new, as will probably be a number of committee chairs, together with for the highly effective Home and Senate appropriations committees, which write state budgets. Earlier Republican majority leaders selected to not search reelection, and the previous Senate minority chief misplaced her seat because of redistricting.
The organizational session continues Tuesday with shows on the Legislature’s office harassment and ethics insurance policies.
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Legislative leaders this 12 months added extra coaching for flooring leaders who act as contact individuals dealing with harassment complaints; retaliation additionally will probably be a spotlight of lawmakers’ coaching in opposition to harassment. A panel of leaders superior the adjustments following the Home expulsion final 12 months of then-Rep. Luke Simons, R-Dickinson, for documented office and sexual harassment.
Republicans management the Senate 43-4 and the Home of Representatives 82-12.
The 2023 Legislature convenes Jan. 3 and can last as long as 80 days. The 2021 Legislature used 76 days.
Attain Jack Dura at 701-250-8225 or jack.dura@bismarcktribune.com.
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North Dakota lawmakers are revisiting potential regulations about the placement of allegedly questionable library materials, as well as a measure to clarify who may distribute state grants to libraries and how the State Library can provide surplus materials to local libraries.
Senate Bill 2307, which will be considered by the Senate Judiciary Committee,would require a public or school library to remove “explicit sexual material” or place it in an area of the library that is off limits to anyone younger than 18.
The bill would require North Dakota’s attorney general to investigate any complaint about whether a library had allowed minors access to explicit sexual material, and order the state treasurer and superintendent of public instruction to halt any distribution of state funds to the offending library until the situation is rectified.
Two years ago, the Legislature approved a law requiring libraries to develop policies for removing or relocating “explicit sexual material” and for responding to public complaints about its possible presence. The law, House Bill 1205, required libraries to periodically review their collections to ensure that explicit sexual material is not present in the library’s section for children.
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In March 2024, the state librarian, Mary Soucie, told the Legislature’s interim Juvenile Justice Committee the law prompted five libraries to move some books. Two created a separate young adult collection.
House Bill 1420, which the House approved 92-2 on Jan. 22, clarifies that the State Library Coordinating Council is responsible for disbursing grants. Rep. Eric Murphy, R-Grand Forks, said there have been past issues in the past with council members believing they had authority over distribution of federal grants.
The 11-member State Library Coordinating Council includes representatives of public and school libraries and members who represent the general public. It meets every three months to distribute state grants. The State Library also receives federal grants that it distributes. Public libraries are funded through local property taxes as well as state and federal grants. State and federal grants are important for helping libraries pay for services, programs and materials.
Senate Bill 2219, which was approved 46-0 in the Senate, makes it easier for the State Library to share materials with libraries throughout the state. Its sponsor, Sen. Sean Cleary, R-Bismarck, said it would help improve the State Library’s working relationship with local libraries.
When the State Library regularly goes through its collection – the process is called “weeding” – workers assess if any unwanted materials would be valuable to a local library, State Librarian Mary Soucie said. The State Library lets local librarians know which materials are available and distributes them if the libraries are interested, she said. Senate Bill 2219 would allow the State Library to distribute the materials directly to other libraries without informing the state surplus property division, which normally handles disposal of items that state agencies no longer want.
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The bill also would allow the withholding of state aid to libraries that do not complete and submit their required annual reports. The aid would be withheld the following year.
The North Dakota Newspaper Association hires an intern and mentor each legislative session to supplement coverage for North Dakota newspapers, through a grant from the NDNA Education Foundation.
Lobbyists for the ACLU and North Dakota Apartment Association clashed over three bills that would provide North Dakota renters with more protections.
Three bills heard by the Senate Industry and Business Committee this week would provide renters protection from snowballing late fees, and empower the Department of Labor and Human Rights to investigate complaints against landlords. The department would also be able to take disciplinary action against a landlord for violations of North Dakota Century Code involving the leasing of property and eviction.
Cody Schuler, advocacy manager for ACLU of North Dakota, said 40% of renters in North Dakota are “cost burdened,” meaning those tenants tend to live paycheck-to-paycheck, spending more than 30% of their income on rent. He testified in support of all three bills.
“Individuals who are living on those margins, they live on the cusp of possibly becoming homeless,” Schuler said in an interview. “And when we look at the sheer volume of the cost of homelessness, and how to correct homelessness, it’s so much more financially responsible for everyone involved … to be able to prevent homelessness.”
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Opposing all three bills, Jeremy Petron, lobbyist for the North Dakota Apartment Association, said a lot of the confusion over late fees stems from renters not reading their lease agreements, and landlords not explaining the lease and late fee processes well enough during the lease signing.
“I myself have been in the property management industry for 20 years, and the company that I work for, we communicate with our tenants and let them know … We don’t try to just automatically evict someone for just one late fee,” Petron said. “We’re going to work with them.”
All three bills were introduced by Sen. Ryan Braunberger, D-Fargo.
After the public hearing, Braunberger said he’s concerned that the committee didn’t seem receptive to his three bills.
“I think we need to make sure we’re looking at both sides,” Braunberger said. “We don’t necessarily want to punish good landlords, but we want to make sure we’re protecting good tenants too.”
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Late rent payments and fees
Senate Bill 2235 would prioritize processing the payments of late rent first before late fees are processed, Braunberger said. By processing the late rent amount first, renters wouldn’t accrue as many additional late fees.
Schuler shared a story with lawmakers about a Fargo resident who lost his minimum wage job and needed rental assistance to cover a late payment and fees. The renter thought the full amount had been paid but received a three-day eviction notice after the additional late fees were processed before the late rental payment, leaving an unpaid balance.
“The fact of the matter is, he wouldn’t have even needed this assistance had this law been in place,” Schuler said.
Multiple senators on the committee questioned whether the new payment priority changes would incentivize tenants not paying any late fees.
Petron said the payment of late rent and fees is spelled out in the rental agreement, so both the renter and the landlord are on the same page.
The late fees could still be recouped by the landlord through an itemized deduction from the tenant’s security deposit after they move out, he said.
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Senate Bill 2236 would cap the amount landlords can charge in late fees at 8% of the rent, Braunberger said.
“This basically will address issues regarding compounded fees,” he said. Landlords wouldn’t be able to keep adding late fees for each day or week that a payment is late unless the total fees are under 8% of the rent for the month.
Another supporter of all three bills, Kaden Felch, a fair housing specialist with the High Plains Fair Housing Center, said late fees can range from $10 to $100 with fees being added until the rent is paid in full.
“Large and accumulating late fees can set renters back for months, leading to eviction or lead to large bills that may stay with them for a long time and prevent renters from finding stable housing in the future,” Felch said. “This cap will just allow more flexibility for North Dakotans who may not have as much expendable income as others.”
Petron said the bill was essentially “price fixing” what landlords can charge for late rent payments.
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“A property owner’s costs associated with operating and maintaining a property aren’t fixed and can fluctuate,” Petron said.
Investigations of complaints
Senate Bill 2237 would empower the Department of Labor and Human Rights to be able to investigate complaints against landlords and take disciplinary action against a landlord found to be in violation of state law.
Schuler said North Dakota doesn’t have a clear pathway for a state agency to address landlord-tenant disputes outside of the courtroom. During North Dakota eviction proceedings in 2022, he said landlords retained legal representation in 98% of all eviction cases and tenants were represented by attorneys in only 1% of cases, according to the Legal Services Corp.
“When we get into this place where 40% of North Dakota renters are considered cost-burdened, it’s unlikely that those individuals would have, or be able to afford, legal counsel,” Schuler said.
Zachary Greenberg, interim commissioner for the Department of Labor and Human Rights, asked lawmakers to recommend a “do not pass” on the bill due to the department’s jurisdictional, legal and administrative concerns.
He added the department doesn’t license or register landlords in the state and disciplinary actions needed to address complaints would focus on the license they don’t issue. He said other industries have their own licensing boards that can issue disciplinary actions against their membership.
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“This bill grants the labor commissioner enforcement powers that do not align with existing regulatory frameworks, raising legal and procedural concerns,” Greenberg said.
He said the investigative burdens on the department would be large and require “substantial new resources.” Greenberg said the department’s estimate of about $750,000 per biennium needed to implement any sort of landlord-tenant program was very conservative.
After the hearing, Schuler said federal fair housing laws don’t address business practices, which is what the three bills are attempting to address.
No action was taken by the committee on the bills after the public hearing.
BISMARCK — The North Dakota Senate voted 31-15 Wednesday to pass a bill preventing the North Dakota Game and Fish Department from restricting the use of supplemental feed on private property to hunt big game – commonly referred to as baiting.
Senate Bill 2137 still needs to pass through the House and receive the governor’s signature before it becomes law.
Supporters of the bill say that baiting bans infringe on private property rights and are based on needless fears over the spread of Chronic Wasting Disease. CWD is a brain disease that affects deer, elk, moose and other cervids. The disease always leads to death, and there is no treatment or vaccine for it.
Sen. Keith Boehm, R-Mandan, said 49,596 deer have been tested over 22 years resulting in 105 detections of CWD. He said that detections do not equate to disease — that a deer must be necropsied for confirmation of the disease. He said one deer in North Dakota has been confirmed to have died from CWD.
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Boehm said that while deer numbers are declining in the state, it is not a result of CWD.
The Game and Fish Department could not immediately be reached to comment on Boehm’s contentions. The agency has published information since 2009 — the year the first case was detected in North Dakota — on 105 positive cases of CWD identified through its hunter-assisted surveillance program. The department also has previously commented on one documented case of a natural deer death due to the disease — a whitetail found dead and emaciated by a landowner near Williston in February 2019.
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Boehm said baiting bans do not make sense when landowners are allowed to feed deer year-round and it only becomes illegal when a deer is killed over the feed piles.
Sen. Paul Thomas, R-Velva, said that the baiting is crucial for elderly and disabled hunters, and bow hunters, who need to bring deer in close to have a chance at harvesting one.
“Bait has been used for a long, long time as that tool that allows that person to at least have a chance,” Thomas said. “Many landowners have that opportunity … because we have certain areas that naturally attract deer. Unfortunately many sportsmen across this state do not have that opportunity. We cannot take that opportunity away from them. I urge you to vote green (yes).”
Opponents of the bill say it strips the Game and Fish Department of an important tool in its mission to mitigate the spread of diseases passed between game animals by close contact.
“I don’t think we should decide this issue on the basis of property rights,” Sen. Michael Dwyer, R-Bismarck, said during the floor session. “This is an issue of CWD, as the carrier said. The Game and Fish Department is trying to balance the concern over the disease with the attempt to provide as many hunting opportunities as possible. I think we should let the Game and Fish Department do their job and vote red (no) on this bill.”
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Sen. Michelle Axtman, R-Bismarck, questioned the bill carrier on what the repercussions would be if a new highly contagious disease is discovered in the next season and Game and Fish is no longer able to institute baiting bans.
Sen. Randy Lemm, R-Hillsboro, said he does not think the bill would have an effect in the event a new disease is discovered.
The bill has a sunset clause that was added in committee which means that should it become law it would be rendered ineffective after July 31, 2029. Lemm said this was done so the topic can be revisited after further research on CWD has been conducted by Game and Fish.
The bill received a 5-1 do-pass recommendation out of committee. Its committee hearing was a marathon event with a plethora of testimony on both sides of the issue, forcing the committee to change chambers to accommodate all who wished to testify.