Lawmakers are anxiously waiting for the revised budget forecast to be presented on Thursday, March 9th. The forecast will be used to justify budgetary decisions the remainder of this session. I don’t know that anyone is anticipating a dramatic uptick which means deeper cuts will likely be pursued. One of the areas that lawmakers are looking […]
A funny thing happened on Capitol Hill today regarding legislation to replace Obamacare. U.S. Senator Rand Paul marched from the Senate over to the House of Representatives when he, “got word that the members of a House Energy and Commerce Committee were gathering to talk about the legislation.” When U.S. Senator Paul reached his destination, he […]
Last night President Trump held his first joint session of Congress. Many people have given his speech high marks because he sounded Presidential for the first time. Some pundits appreciated his demeanor while others critiqued his substance. Meanwhile, North Dakota’s Congressman Kevin Cramer, was busy critiquing Democratic women’s fashion sense. Democratic members of Congress who […]
As Legislators head back for the second half of the 65th Session, people across the state are left looking at an abysmal budget situation. In media across the state, we often see lines reading, “The North Dakota budget slump due to low commodity prices…” doesn’t tell the whole story. Now we see politicians and their […]
After a weekend of outraged North Dakota citizens questioned the ill-advised two-year wind development ban, the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee sent SB 2314 back to committee for further changes. Some thought the four committee members who voted for shutting down wind development to help the coal industry had been persuaded by the phone […]
When is enough, enough? – Senator Dwight Cook Cook introduced the amendment to ban wind development for two years. During the committee debate, Cook basically admits he is trying to close the door to wind development because of the coal industry struggles. Though he went on to say, “I’m as much as a free […]
Breaking news out of Bismarck this morning regarding the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee. By a vote of 4-3, the committee has recommended a “DO PASS” on SB 2314 after amendment. The amendment, offered by Senator Dwight Cook of Mandan, would place a two-year moratorium on wind energy development. That is right, no new […]
Senate Bill 2298 would raise taxes on customers who shop online in North Dakota. The tax hike is introduced by Senator Dwight Cook of Mandan who is the Senate Finance and Tax Committee Chair. In a purely strategical move, the Senate co-sponsors include the Vice Chair of Finance and Tax, Senator Brad Bekkedahl, and committee […]
(The following was submitted by Kevin Teigen in response to U.S. Senator John Hoeven’s support for Betsy DeVos to lead the Department of Education.) If you measure political success by margin of victory in elections, Sen. John Hoeven is one of the best politicians in the country. Just months ago, he garnered 78.5 percent of […]
It is time we addressed gerrymandering of political districts. Over the weekend, the Washington Post published an article describing how this practice is negatively impacting our democracy. I encourage you to take a moment and read it. Before I get into what has happened in North Dakota under Republican control, I want to assure you this isn’t […]