February 24th, 2017

Yesterday marked the end of the first half of the legislative session.

Next week, bills that passed one chamber will cross the hall to the opposite chamber to be discussed and voted on.

Here are just a few of the highlights of the good bills that are still alive in the legislature.

If you would like to help support these issues, as well as the general work we do to keep an eye on state and local government, please consider making a donation today.

-Dustin Gawrylow, Managing Director

North Dakota Watchdog Network

House and Senate Pass Corporate Welfare Reform

HB 1182 – sponsored by Representative Rick Becker (R-Bismarck), removes the state income tax exemption from the Renaissance Zone program. This exemption has shifted costs of private development of buildings and subsidized private development by $38 million since 1999. This bill barely passed by a vote of 48 to 41. There was an attempt by Republican leadership to reconsider the bill to try to kill it, but that effort failed in part because Democrats who voted against the bill the first time did not want to let Republican leadership over-ride the original vote.

SB 2166 – sponsored by Senator Dwight Cook (R-Mandan) this bill reforms local tax exemption powers by requiring approval of city-dictated exemptions lasting more than 5-years to be approved by local school boards and county commissions. It also addresses the issue of Bismarck’s “permanent TIF” (Tax Increment Financing) by requiring the exemption to be project based rather than district based. This bill passed the Senate by a vote of 38 to 8.

House Passes Comprehensive Property Tax Reform

HB 1361 – sponsored by House Majority Leader Al Carlson (R-Fargo), this is being called the “Omnibus Property Tax Reform Bill”. HB 1361 limits the allowable amount of property tax increases in dollars to 3% per year, with certain allowable adjustments for new property, exempt property, etc. The bill allows the 3% limitation to be exceeded by a vote of the district's electors, for a single taxable year at a time.

Effective 2019, the 3% limitation will apply to school districts along with a provision to limit the increase in local funding from property taxes considered in the K-12 funding formula to mirror the new restriction on local property tax increases. The amendments effectively shift an estimated $34 million from local sources to state sources required to fund the K-12 formula for the 2019-2021 biennium. Total formula funding for school districts remains the same. This passed by a vote of 56 to 34.

Government Competition Study Passes House

HB 1162 – sponsored by Representative Nathan Toman (R-Mandan), this bill will create a study of the ways state and local government directly competes with the private sector; and to develop plans to reduce that competition. It received an 83 to 8 vote, including support from the Democratic Minority Leader Corey Mock. This study, if passed, will also require adoption by Legislative Management after the 2017 session and before the 2019 session.

State Grant Transparency Bill Passes House

HB 1165 – sponsored by Representative Nathan Toman (R-Mandan), this bill creates a transparency database for state-issued grants. This is one area of state spending that has been difficult to get access to; and this bill will make that easies. This bill passed by a vote of 79-10. Why there are 10 representatives that do not want to the public to know where these grants are going is unknown, but this bill has a very good chance of becoming law.

Be sure to write to your legislators by clicking here and telling them to support HB 1182, SB 2166, HB 1361, HB 1162, and HB 1165.

Dustin Gawrylow, Managing Director

North Dakota Watchdog Network