Vote 'yes' on North Dakota Measure 1, but 'no' on Measure 3

Two statewide measures on North Dakota’s upcoming ballot offer residents a chance to make a difference in the future of the state — one is based on new economics, the other on new social norms and courtesies.

Measure 1 seeks to make changes to how the state Constitution defines institutions in Grafton, Devils Lake and Jamestown. Measure 3 seeks to decrease the funding that can be expended from the Legacy Fund during a single biennium.

Here’s a look at each:

Although a simple majority vote in the Legislature is required to place a proposed constitutional amendment before the voters, Senate Concurrent Resolution 4001 passed without a single “no” vote during the last legislative session.

The real surprise isn’t that the proposal was unanimously passed, but rather that it’s taken this long. Specifically, the measure seeks to change the official name of the state institutions to be more in line with societal evolution that has taken place over the decades. It would change the State School for the Deaf and Dumb in Devils Lake to the State School for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing; the State Hospital for the Insane in Jamestown to the State Hospital for Individuals With Mental Illness; and the Institution for the Feeble Minded in Grafton to a “facility for individuals with developmental disabilities.” The latter already has been called the Life Skills and Transition Center, but Measure 1 will make it official.

We urge a “yes” vote on Measure 1, and may this be the last time those phrases are used in print.

A statewide vote in 2010 established the Legacy Fund, a piggy bank for the people that collects 30% of tax revenue from oil and natural gas extraction in the state. In its first 13 years, the fund grew past $9 billion.

Now, a constitutional amendment seeks to decrease the amount of principal available for spending each biennium, from 15% to 5% of the total. The amendment would provide for distribution from the Legacy Fund to a Legacy earnings fund, rather than have the accrued earnings be sent to the state’s general fund, as currently happens.

We don’t like the proposal. Why put constraints on future spending, especially if some sort of tragedy or emergency occurs?

And what about the next great idea — one we cannot fathom today but one that might require a large and expedient expenditure to push it to fruition?

Measure 3 seems like an idea not to spend money. We believe North Dakotans should embrace the state’s prosperity. The Legacy Fund was established to provide a better future for the state, and it’s time to start thinking about what that future will look like.

Vote no on Measure 3.

This Forum Communications Co. editorial represents the views of Forum Communications Co., this newspaper’s parent company. It was written by the FCC Editorial Advisory Board.