NDACo has added a couple new features to the blog to help you stay involved in the Legislative Session. You can view the list of bills NDACo is tracking and see the hearing schedule of those county identified bills. Both these lists automatically update, so you can check them often. There is a link by the hearing schedule that will allow you to download or print the schedule. It may be a good idea to bookmark the hearing schedule link as this will change daily.

You can access these resources a few ways:

NDACo Website: On the home page of the NDACo website, along the top green menu bar, look for the Click Here to See our New Bill and Schedule Tracking Tools

NDACo Legislative Blog: On the top menu bar on this site, click on the NDACo Legislative Hearing Schedule & Bill Tracking – which takes you to the NDACo website page. These items are also linked on the side menu of the Blog. It may also be a good idea to bookmark the hearing schedule as it will be updated daily.

Now onto the report….

It was an extremely busy week with the reading of bills and visiting with lawmakers about potential bills. There are about 396 bills that are out there but we expect that to grow greatly throughout the week so we will be working to get eyes on all the bills to determine if they relate to counties and how.

There were a couple hearings of interest this week. HB 1065 would change how prairie dog funds for townships are distributed – from an equal amount to based on miles. HB 1096 reduces the communication service fee to 1% allowing a greater % to be retained for the 9-1-1 system. SB 2093 expands the income tax deduction for retired Law Enforcement to surviving spouses.

This week… Two major property tax relief / reform proposals will have hearings. HB 1176 is Tuesday at 9 am in House Tax. This is the proposal Governor Armstrong pitched during his State of the State Address that includes a $1550 primary residence credit starting in 2025. It also expands the homestead tax credit. It includes levy limits of 3% and allows for a carry-over of unused % for up to 5 years. It does allow for a vote to go above the 3% cap – but only for one year. The other property tax bill is HB 1168 and proposes to send the relief through school funding formula. That bill also includes a 3% cap. That will be heard Wednesday at 9 am in House Finance & Tax. These hearings like all of the legislative hearings are live streamed and recorded. You can find them on the Legislative Council’s website www.legis.nd.gov

The other major event this week will be Gov. Armstrong providing his Budget to a joint House and Senate Appropriations hearing Tuesday at 9:30.