Latest news with #JanneMyrdal
Yahoo
25-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
North Dakota House, Senate at odds over proposed gas tax increase
A Bismarck gas station displays the current per gallon rate for fuel on March 24, 2025. (Michael Achterling/North Dakota Monitor) North Dakota lawmakers continue to debate the first increase to the gas tax in 20 years, with the House on Friday narrowly advancing a 5-cent tax increase while the Senate unanimously defeated a separate bill with a 3-cent increase. Supporters in the House said the increase is needed to adequately maintain roads and bridges. A 5-cent increase to the motor fuels tax, which includes gasoline and diesel, would put North Dakota at 28 cents, still competitive with neighboring states. Members of the Senate, meanwhile, objected to raising the gas tax while at the same time trying to cut property taxes, which has been a primary goal of the legislative session. Lawmakers debate 3-cent gas tax increase, hike in EV registration fee 'It doesn't make sense to the Senate to offer and promise property tax relief, and then we tax you on the backside of something else that everybody uses,' said Sen. Janne Myrdal, R-Edinburg. The 5-cent gas tax proposal is contained in the North Dakota Department of Transportation budget, Senate Bill 2012. House members voted 61-31 to advance the budget, but the gas tax amendment to the bill only passed by a 47-42 margin. North Dakota has not increased the motor fuels tax since 2005. Rep. Jon Nelson, R-Rugby, said vehicles have become more efficient in that time, leading to a leveling off or decline in overall gas tax revenue to support road projects. 'This is a fairness tax or a fairness levy,' Nelson said. 'The people who are using the roads are the ones paying for it.' Rep. Don Vigesaa, R-Cooperstown, said the gas tax revenue is not keeping pace with the inflation the Department of Transportation is seeing with construction costs. The tax increase is estimated to raise an additional $70 million. Supporters also said the dollars are needed to get federal matching funds for road projects. 'This is about safety, this is about fixing our roads, even our rest areas,' said Rep. David Monson, R-Osnabrock. 'We have so many needs in North Dakota.' Others in the House urged a no vote on the tax increase, arguing that it would lead to the state spending more taxpayer money. 'This is a tax on our family, our friends and our constituents,' said Rep. Dan Johnston, R-Kathryn. 'And the state is flush with money.' Across the hall, the Senate voted 45-0 against House Bill 1382, which would raise the motor fuels tax to 26 cents per gallon and increase registration fees for electric vehicles. It's estimated to raise an additional $42 million for counties, cities and townships to use on road projects. 'This bill would place a heavy burden on North Dakota residents since 80% of all the fuel purchased in the state is by our residents,' said Sen. Michelle Powers, R-Fargo. 'We would be asking for approximately $50 to $100 per year from our constituents, mainly affecting our rural communities.' She also said supporters of the gas tax increase have lamented that the gas tax has not been increased in more than 20 years. 'Just because a tax hasn't been raised doesn't mean it should be raised,' she said. The gas tax in Minnesota is 32 cents per gallon, 28 cents in South Dakota and 33 cents in Montana. The Department of Transportation budget is going to a conference committee, which meets Saturday. The House also added to the bill $155 million in bonding to finance the four-laning of 19 miles of U.S. Highway 85, including a sensitive 6-mile stretch through the Badlands south of Watford City. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
Yahoo
22-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
North Dakota Senate removes funding for anti-abortion campaign, advances budget bill
Sen. Janne Myrdal, R-Edinburg, talks to Sens. Ron Sorvaag, R-Fargo, and Brad Bekkedahl, R-Williston. (Kyle Martin/For the North Dakota Monitor) North Dakota senators on Tuesday narrowly rejected a proposal to add $1 million for a 'life education committee' in the Office of Management and Budget budget to teach people about abortion alternatives. The amendment was brought by Sen. Janne Myrdal, R-Edinburg, who pitched the program as a way to help pregnant women. The committee established by the amendment would have administered a campaign to teach the public about state abortion laws, policies 'supporting life and family values,' and resources available for pregnant mothers, families and children. The campaign would have been carried out by a third party contractor. The amendment was added by the Senate Appropriations Committee, but split from the rest of the budget bill so the Senate could vote on it separately. North Dakota lawmakers look to add $1 million to state budget for anti-abortion campaign Sen. David Clemens, who made the motion to split the bill, said he is not opposed to the idea of the program but takes issue with the fact that the proposal was never heard by a policy committee. 'I feel this is in violation of our own rules,' he said. Clemens, R-West Fargo, noted that members of the public were not provided the opportunity to speak for or against the funding. Sen. Brad Bekkedahl, a Williston Republican and chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, said he agreed with Clemens that the public did not get proper notice about the amendment. 'Had this been a standalone bill with its own title and its own placement into a policy committee, it would have had people interested in listening to the discussion,' he said. Sen. Judy Lee, R-West Fargo, said the $1 million would be put to better use in the state's budget for indigent guardianship. The request for the budget was about $9 million, but the OMB budget as currently written sets aside $7 million million for the program. Myrdal said a procedural technicality should not stand in the way of something that will help women and children. She also pointed out that the committees routinely amend bills after their public hearings. 'Nothing was hidden, nothing was strange about it,' Myrdal said. The North Dakota Supreme Court in 2023 warned the Legislature against lumping issues to budget bills when it found that the state's previous OMB budget violated the state constitution's single-subject rule. The amendment failed by a 23-24 vote. Prairie Public supporters urge North Dakota Senate to restore state funding The Senate approved other changes to the OMB budget, which included grant funding for Prairie Public. The House had stripped Prairie Public's $1.2 million base funding after it passed House Bill 1255, which sought to bar the state from spending state money to support public broadcasting. House Bill 1255 was subsequently defeated in the Senate. The Senate Appropriations Committee added $850,000 to Prairie Public's budget for broadcast tower infrastructure, but did not restore its $1.2 million base funding. The Senate also reduced funding for a proposed state hospital in Jamestown by $45 million. The amended funding includes $200 million from the state infrastructure improvement fund and $85 million from a Bank of North Dakota line of credit, for a total of $285 million. The funding was shifted to the OMB budget because that agency will oversee the construction. The House's version of the budget included $330 million for the hospital in the state's Department of Health and Human Services budget. The budget also includes $2.3 million for new driveway and additional fencing for the governor's residence. The Office of Management and Budget bill will next go back to the House for a concurrence vote. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
Yahoo
18-04-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
North Dakota lawmakers look to add $1 million to state budget for anti-abortion campaign
Sen. Janne Myrdal, R-Edinburg, speaks during a floor session in the Senate on April 17, 2025. (Michael Achterling/North Dakota Monitor) A North Dakota legislative committee this week recommended adding $1 million in the budget bill for the Office of Management and Budget for a 'life education committee' to teach people about abortion alternatives. The amendment was brought by Sen. Janne Myrdal, R-Edinburg. Myrdal said the program would help inform pregnant women considering abortion of other options. 'What we've found in the state is that they don't have information about what those are: pro-life centers, adoption services for women and families in crisis pregnancy,' Myrdal said. North Dakota Supreme Court hears arguments over abortion ban The state's Abortion Control Act already requires health care professionals to make pregnant women aware of alternatives before they can obtain abortions. The committee established by the amendment would oversee a campaign to teach the public about state abortion laws, laws and policies 'supporting life and family values,' as well as resources available for pregnant mothers, families and children, it states. While the campaign would be supervised by the committee, it would be carried out by a third party contractor, according to the amendment. The contractor would be hired through the Office of Management and Budget in consultation with the Office of the Attorney General. The committee would include three people appointed by Gov. Kelly Armstrong, two people chosen by the House majority leader and two people chosen by the Senate majority leader. The life education committee would also be tasked with overseeing a video the state must produce to educate abortion providers about state abortion laws, the amendment states. Lawmakers set aside $50,000 for the video under House Bill 1511, which Armstrong signed into law on Wednesday. Bridget Turbide, executive director of North Dakota Right to Life, spoke before the Government Operations Division of the Senate Appropriations Committee in favor of the amendment on Wednesday. The amendment originally recommended $1.5 million, which Turbide said is needed to educate the public properly. Lawmakers cut this down to $1 million. Some committee members asked why Turbide wanted the state to conduct the program as opposed to a private organization. She said that the messaging would be more effective coming from the state. 'The public are going to agree with the state education over the private a lot of the time,' she said. North Dakota judge vacates state abortion ban, ruling it unconstitutional Sen. Terry Wanzek, the committee's chair, asked Turbide to prepare more specific details on how third-party contractors would use the money to share with lawmakers. The amendment was made after the budget bill had its public hearings in the House and Senate. Christina Sambor, an attorney and lobbyist for the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, questioned why the amendment was rolled into the Office of Management and Budget bill so late in the legislative session. 'Why wasn't this a separate piece of legislation that requires a public hearing like everything else?' she asked. Sambor also noted that the North Dakota Supreme Court sent a strong message against lumping policy issues to budget bills when it ruled in 2023 that the state's previous OMB budget violated the state constitution's single-subject rule. Myrdal said the amendment aligns with existing laws that signal the state's preference for birth over abortion. 'This is just going forward as a state and doing what we can to inform people of the services. It's not really controversial,' Myrdal said. When asked if the amendment constituted a policy change during the appropriations process, Myrdal said no. 'Appropriations should not write policy and there are times they go, 'Shoot, we forgot that little thing,'' she said. Katie Christensen, state director of external affairs for Planned Parenthood North Dakota Action Fund, said the campaign and proposed committee would be a 'disastrous use' of public money. 'North Dakotans are facing real struggles accessing sexual and reproductive health care, and yet politicians obsessed with banning abortion care about one thing: pouring money into their misguided priorities,' she said in a statement to the North Dakota Monitor. The committee gave the bill a do-pass recommendation. It is headed to the full Senate Appropriations Committee next. Lawmakers passed a law in 2023 that banned all abortions, except in cases of rape or incest in the first six weeks of pregnancy or when the pregnancy poses a serious health risk to the mother. That law was struck down by a district court judge last fall, who found that women have a right to seek abortions for any reason up to the point of fetal viability. The state appealed the lower court's decision to the North Dakota Supreme Court, which has yet to rule on the case. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
Yahoo
15-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Bill protecting pesticide availability prevails in North Dakota Senate
Protesters opposing a bill that would raise the standard for proving liability for lawsuits involving pesticides peer through the windows of the Capitol on April 14, 2025. (Michael Achterling/North Dakota Monitor) The North Dakota Senate on Monday passed a bill that backers say ensures farmers in the state will have access to needed ag chemicals, while protesters outside the Capitol lobbied against legal protections for pesticide manufacturers. House Bill 1318, which is similar to legislation being considered in several other states, passed on a vote of 29-18. The bill was amended and will return to the House, which had previously given the bill unanimous approval. Much of the discussion on the bill has centered on the product Roundup, produced by the German company Bayer. Bayer has been hit with several lawsuits alleging that Roundup causes cancer even though the Environmental Protection Agency has not determined that the herbicide causes cancer. Sen. Janne Myrdal, R-Edinburg, said the bill confirms that 'the label is the law' and that a court ruling can't lead to the product being pulled from the market. A California case threatened to temporarily pull Roundup from the market in some western states. The bill says that the EPA label provides adequate warning to the hazards of the product and shields manufacturers from lawsuits if the product is labeled and manufactured property. Myrdal and other supporters referred to 'frivolous lawsuits.' Bayer has been ordered to pay billions of dollars to people who have successfully filed lawsuits claiming they have been harmed by Roundup and its active ingredient, glyphosate. Sen. Tim Mathern, D-Fargo, one of the opponents of the bill, said he understands farmers want to use pesticides, but he feared they will regret the bill should a product later be found to cause health problems. 'Farmers themselves are giving up some protection,' Mathern said. 'Don't give it away.' The bill spurred a small protest in front of the Capitol before the vote. Sam Wagner, who focuses on ag issues for the Dakota Resource Council and helped organize the protest, said the group wanted to make sure North Dakota citizens have a 'fair shot' if they challenge prominent pesticide makers in court. '(The bill) isn't going to stop them from filing a lawsuit,' Wagner said. 'It's just going to make the bar so high.' SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX He said the national group Modern Ag Alliance is trying to get similar bills passed in other states to insulate ag chemical companies from liability. Charlene Nelson of Casselton said the bill would strip away a fundamental right of people to use the court system if they feel wronged. 'If this passes, it will be almost impossible for someone to win a case,' Nelson said. While the focus of discussion has been on Roundup, she noted that there are about 16,000 different chemicals registered for use with the North Dakota Department of Agriculture. 'We don't know what the full effects of all of those are,' Nelson said. 'What if five, six, 10 years down the road, we find out that they really are dangerous? We will have no way to recover the losses or the damages that those incur.' Other arguments in favor of the bill included helping ensure that Bayer and other manufacturers would not pull out of the U.S. market because of the product liability claim, and that it would encourage further research and development of ag chemicals. Sen. Terry Wanzek, R-Jamestown, said without protections for the chemical industry, 'any new investment would be chilled.' SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
Yahoo
10-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
North Dakota holds steady on marijuana penalties
Sen. Janne Myrdal, R-Edinburg, speaks on the Senate floor on April 9, 2025. (Michael Achterling/North Dakota Monitor) A bill that sought to reduce penalties for possessing small amounts marijuana in North Dakota failed in the Senate Wednesday on a 33-13 vote. House Bill 1596 would have reduced the penalty for possessing less than a half ounce of marijuana from a criminal infraction to a noncriminal citation, similar to a speeding ticket, and a $150 fine. The bill also spells out other reduced penalties for other low-level marijuana possession offenses, varying based on the amount and the age of the person. Possessing 500 grams of marijuana or more would remain a Class A misdemeanor under the bill. Court hearings for low-level offenses would not be required, but a person could still choose to appear in court. Bill sponsor Liz Conmy, D-Fargo, previously said the proposal aimed to reduce the amount of time judges and attorneys spend on minor marijuana possession offenses, which often result in a $150 fine but can require three court appearances. Low-level marijuana offenders could pay a fine, skip court, under North Dakota bill Sen. Janne Myrdal, R-Edinburg, voted against the bill and said law enforcement agencies were also opposed to the measure. She pointed to the defeat of recreational marijuana ballot measures and said the bill would go against the people's wishes. In November, 53% of North Dakota voters opposed a ballot initiative that sought to legalize recreational marijuana for adults and create a framework for a legal cannabis industry. It was the third such effort to fail in six years. Sen. Diane Larson, R-Bismarck, questioned why the bill had no escalating penalties for repeat violations for marijuana possession, like the state has included for other types of crimes. 'I've been concerned this session at the number of times we talk about the prison being full, or the courts being clogged, and so the way we're addressing it is to lessen crime?' Larson said. 'I feel that we have criminal offenses on the books for a reason and the people have voted on this and wanted to keep this on the books.' Sen. Ryan Braunberger, D-Fargo, was among those who voted in favor of the measure. 'Neighboring states are starting to legalize it more and more, so smaller amounts of possession are going to get more prevalent,' Braunberger said. State's attorneys from Cass County and Stark County both submitted testimony in favor of the bill. Both counties border states where recreational marijuana is legal. Braunberger said he expects the issue to remain contentious going forward. 'I think it's only a matter of time when the federal (government) is going to decriminalize it all together,' he said. The bill passed the House in February on a 76-17 vote. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
