Due to weather, we had a late start getting back to work, starting at 1 p.m. on March 1.
Committee work was the order of the day on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday morning. We gaveled into our floor session on Friday afternoon.
In education, we worked on HB 1156, which deals with the Center for Distance Education and allowing dual credit for out-of-state students; HB 1161, which relates to the School Construction Assistance Revolving Loan Fund; and HB 1178, which relates to membership on the Career and Technical Education advisory boards.
We have an ambitious schedule this week with 18 bills to be considered. Among them we will hear testimony on HB 1185, which relates to loans from the coal development trust fund for school construction projects affected by construction inflation.
Mayville State’s Old Main renovation project has received favorable consideration from the House appropriations committee and was in front of the Senate appropriations committee on March 8.
One of the items we considered in the Agriculture and Veterans Affairs committee this past week was a resolution dealing with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and its proposal to implement new rules regarding Waters of the U.S. (WOTUS) and the Endangered Species Act. If implemented, these rules would have a severe negative impact on not only North Dakota agriculture but U.S. agriculture as well.
This resolution, SCR 4017, is on a fast track, meaning we hope to get it passed through both houses and signed by Gov. Burgum so that it can be forwarded to our Congressional delegation as well as the EPA as soon as possible with the hope of avoiding the severe consequences that these rules would have on agriculture and our ability to raise the food that we need in this country and the world.
Randy D. Lemm
District 20 Senator
701-430-1536
