North Dakota 67th Legislative Assembly Updates
3/26/2021-
The 67th Legislative Assembly in North Dakota is starting to wind down, but it is not over yet. The session is being held in person, but with virtual options available. There are options to live stream committee hearings, provide testimony in person, or provide testimony via Zoom (more info on submitting testimonies here).
Last week, the NDASCD mentioned its interest in Senate Bill 2020. NDASCD Program Manager, Morgan Hochsprung, submitted written testimony on behalf the NDASCD in favor of SB 2020. Committee work continued on SB 2020 this week, with amendments made to some of the work approved in the Senate. Committee work will continue next week at the following times: March 30th at 8:30 am, March 31st at 8:30 am, April 1st at 8:30 am and 2:45 pm, and April 2nd at 8:30 am. The committee is waiting to proceed with final action on SB 2020 until the compensation package can be finalized.
The NDASCD will continue to monitor SB 2020 and supports its efforts. All bills can be tracked by using the legislative tracking system (linked here). If you have any questions about the Legislative Session or the content above, please reach out to us at the information on our 'Contact' page.
3/19/2021-
The 67th Legislative Assembly in North Dakota is starting to wind down, but it is not over yet. The procedures for the session remain the same. The session is being held in person, but with virtual options available. There are options to live stream committee hearings, provide testimony in person, or provide testimony via Zoom (more info on submitting testimonies here).
Senate Bill 2020 is still the main bill the NDASCD is monitoring. Committee work continued on March 19th. Next week, Committee work will take place at 8:30 am and 2:45 pm on Tuesday, March 23rd. Committee work will continue on Thursday, March 25th at 8:30 am. The NDASCD is prepared to submit testimony in favor of the Senate's version of SB 2020 and will do so next week. In the meantime, check out the numerous testimonies previously submitted in favor here. If you didn't get a chance to view the process thus far, you can view video recordings here.
The NDASCD looks forward to updates on SB 2020 and is in full support of its efforts. All bills can be tracked by using the legislative tracking system (linked here). As the session winds down, we will share Legislative updates on this page and by email as needed. Please read through this information and reach out to the NDASCD if you have any questions or concerns about this year's session or the content above.
3/16/2021-
The 67th Legislative Assembly in North Dakota has been in session since January 5th, 2021. As everyone knows, this has not been a typical year for many things, and the session is not an exception. The session is being held in person, but with virtual options available. There are options to live stream committee hearings, provide testimony in person, or provide testimony via Zoom (more info on submitting testimonies here).
Last week, Senate Bill 2020 was heard by the House Appropriations Education and Environment Committee on March 9th. Check out the numerous testimonies in favor here. Committee work toward SB 2020 continued on March 12th. If you didn't get a chance to view it live, you can view video recordings here.
The NDASCD looks forward to updates on SB 2020 and is in full support of its efforts. All bills can be tracked by using the legislative tracking system (linked here). As the session winds down, we will share Legislative updates on this page and by email as needed. Please read through this information and reach out to the NDASCD if you have any questions or concerns about this year's session or the content above.
3/5/2021-
The 67th Legislative Assembly in North Dakota has been in session since January 5th, 2021. As everyone knows, this has not been a typical year for many things, and the session is not an exception. The session is being held in person, but with virtual options available. There are options to live stream committee hearings, provide testimony in person, or provide testimony via Zoom (more info on submitting testimonies here).
After a short recess, the session is back in full swing. Senate Bill 2020 is still on our radar; it has moved to the House. There will be a committee hearing for NDSU Extension's portion of the bill on Tuesday, March 9th at 1:30 pm. Committee work will continue on Friday, March 12th, at 8:30 am. All of this work will be done in the Prairie Room. If anyone would like to observe, great news- you can join the live stream with ease online. Simply select the Prairie Room on the correct date and time, and you are good to go!
The NDASCD maintains its support toward SB 2020 and looks forward to the remainder of the session. All bills can be tracked by using the legislative tracking system (linked here). We will send out updates every Friday on this page and by email. Please read through this information and reach out to the NDASCD if you have any questions or concerns about this year's session or the content above.
2/19/2021-
The 67th Legislative Assembly in North Dakota has been in session since January 5th, 2021. As everyone knows, this has not been a typical year for many things, and the session is not an exception. The session is being held in person, but with virtual options available. There are options to live stream committee hearings, provide testimony in person, or provide testimony via Zoom (more info on submitting testimonies here).
Things are slowing down with the session, but this week, we have an update on Senate Bill 2020. The Senate has restored the Governor's recommended cuts to the budget that impacted NDSU Extension and other groups. Additionally, the Senate approved funding to the 2021-2023 SBARE priorities. On February 18th, the SB 2020 was passed unanimously. There were no cuts made to the Soil Conservation Committee.
The Legislature will be in recess March 1 and 2, the second half of the session resumes on March 3. All bills can be tracked by using the legislative tracking system (linked here). We will send out updates every Friday on this page and by email. Please read through this information and reach out to the NDASCD if you have any questions or concerns about this year's session or the content above.
2/12/2021-
The 67th Legislative Assembly in North Dakota has been in session since January 5th, 2021. As everyone knows, this has not been a typical year for many things, and the session is not an exception. The session is being held in person, but with virtual options available. There are options to live stream committee hearings, provide testimony in person, or provide testimony via Zoom (more info on submitting testimonies here).
This week, we kept our eye on the committee work on Senate Bill 2020. So far, the committee has been very accommodating in restoring the budget cuts made to NDSU Extension during the last session. The committee is looking at completely restoring the cuts to their base budget. It does not look like there will be any cuts made to the soil conservation committee. When the committee arrived at our bullet point, they quickly realized they made cuts last session, so it sounds like they are going to leave our budget the way it is.
The committee work on SB 2020 will continue Monday, February, 15th at 3:30 pm. All bills can be tracked by using the legislative tracking system (linked here). We will send out updates every Friday on this page and by email. Please read through this information and reach out to the NDASCD if you have any questions or concerns about this year's session or the content above.
2/5/2021-
The 67th Legislative Assembly in North Dakota has been going on since January 5th, 2021. As everyone knows, this has not been a typical year for many things, and the session is not an exception. The session is being held in person, but with virtual options available. There are options to live stream committee hearings, provide testimony in person, or provide testimony via Zoom (more info on submitting testimonies here).
This week, the primary bill of concern was SB 2342. “A BILL for an Act to create and enact a new chapter to title 4.1 of the North Dakota Century Code, relating to healthy soil grant and healthy soil assessment and education programs; and to amend and reenact sections 4.1-20-01, 4.1-20-02, subsection 5 of section 4.1-20-18, sections 4.1-20-19, 4.1-20-23, 4.1-20-24, 4.1-20-25, 4.1-20-26, 4.1-20-28, subsection 1 of section 4.1-20-32, and section 4.1-20-33 of the North Dakota Century Code, relating to soil conservation, soil conservation district supervisor compensation, training, powers and duties, elections, and land use regulations; and to provide for a continuing appropriation.”
The Senate Agriculture Committee held a committee hearing on this bill on February, 4th, 2020. NDASCD President, Rocky Bateman, verbally testified in opposition of this bill. Rocky stated, “the NDASCD is not against soil health, but that we do have concerns with the language of this bill.” He also let the Agriculture Committee know that the Association is available “at any time to come to the table to discuss the greater good”. To view the submitted testimonies, visit this link.
Overall, the committee hearing was very eventful, both sides provided great testimony. In the end, the committee did move and approve a DO NOT PASS for this bill. All bills can be tracked by using the legislative tracking system (linked here). We will send out updates every Friday on this page and by email. Please read through this information and reach out to the NDASCD if you have any questions or concerns about this year's session or the content above.
1/29/2021-
The 67th Legislative Assembly in North Dakota has been going on since January 5th, 2021. As everyone knows, this has not been a typical year for many things, and the session is not an exception. The session is being held in person, but with virtual options available. There are options to live stream committee hearings, provide testimony in person, or provide testimony via Zoom (more info on submitting testimonies here).
Currently, there are two bills that we are watching at the NDASCD, SB 2020 and SB 2342. Senate Bill 2020 deals with major budget cuts to NDSU Extension Research, the NDASCD does not want to see these cuts happen. The committee hearing already took place, with a large number of testimonies in favor of restoring the budget to its baseline. So far, the budget for SCDs within this bill does not look like it will be changed.
Senate Bill 2342 is "A BILL for an Act to create and enact a new chapter to title 4.1 of the North Dakota Century Code, relating to healthy soil grant and healthy soil assessment and education programs; and to amend and reenact sections 4.1-20-01, 4.1-20-02, subsection 5 of section 4.1-20-18, sections 4.1-20-19, 4.1-20-23, 4.1-20-24, 4.1-20-25, 4.1-20-26, 4.1-20-28, subsection 1 of section 4.1-20-32, and section 4.1-20-33 of the North Dakota Century Code, relating to soil conservation, soil conservation district supervisor compensation, training, powers and duties, elections, and land use regulations; and to provide for a continuing appropriation." This bill has been introduced and referred to the Agricultural Committee.
All bills can be tracked by using the legislative tracking system (linked here). We will send out updates every Friday on this page and by email. Please read through this information and reach out to the NDASCD if you have any questions or concerns about this year's session or the content above.