Were Last Minute Changes to Auditor Authority Justified?

I’ve been critical of the power grabs and resilience to independent oversight in the latest North Dakota session. From constant complaints from legislators about being forced to create an ethics commission to changes to citizen-led measure it’s been frustrating. The latest was eliminating independent oversight of the State Auditor. I asked at the time, why […]

They Failed to do Their Part on Healthcare

On May 1st, the Trump administration joined Republican-led states, including North Dakota, in asking a federal appeals court to entirely overturn the Affordable Care Act. Medicaid Expansion, gone. Payments for low-income individuals, gone. Federal protections for preexisting conditions, gone. North Dakota’s Legislature, Insurance Commissioner, Attorney General, and federal delegation have failed to live up to […]

Why are Legislators Claiming this was “One of the Smoothest Sessions” in a Long Time?

The 2019 legislative session adjourned on the 76th day. In conversations with lawmakers and according to post-session reports in other media, a theme developed. Generally speaking, lawmakers felt the atmosphere was different this session compared to previous sessions. It begs the question, what changed this session? Senate Majority Leader Rich Wardner was quoted as saying […]

Legislature Overhauls Independent Oversight of State Auditor

In the waning days of the 66th legislative session, lawmakers stripped away the State Auditor’s independence in fulfilling their duty. Instead of the Auditor being able to independently decided to undertake a performance audit on a state agency, the office must now get approval from a legislative committee. It appears as though legislators are attempting […]

It Seems Certain Legislators Don’t Trust You

Couple the latest legislative restraints placed on local governments with the desired changes to constitutional measures started by North Dakota citizens and it appears legislators don’t trust you. For the most part, they don’t trust local officials to make decisions for their own township, city or county so they created prohibitions on what they can […]