Overview
Well, it’s Legislative Day 31 today and we are almost halfway through the 67th legislative session. When all the dust settled, we ended up with 503 bills and 35 resolutions introduced in the House, and 344 bills and 13 resolutions introduced in the Senate, for a total of almost 900 pieces of legislation to be worked on. Those numbers are down slightly from recent legislative sessions, but like most things in life, it’s about content as much as quantity. And speaking of content, there has been no shortage of important bills introduced this session.
Wins/Losses
So where do we stand on wins and losses for pro-life and pro-family values? Here’s a summary of a few key bills. Green text indicates a win for pro-life/pro-family values; red a loss. You might note the large margins for most of the bills we won, which is a good sign as they pass to the other chamber.
HB1298 Fairness in Girl’s Sports – Passed House (65-26)
HB1415 Physician Assisted Suicide – Defeated in House (85-9)
HB1137 Income Tax Credits for Education – Passed House (79-14)
SB2176 COVID Payments to Parents for Home Instruction Costs – Defeated in Senate (5-42)
SB2181 Freedom of Religious Assembly during Disaster/Emergency– Passed Senate (46-0)
SB2308 Ten Commandments/Pledge of Allegiance in Schools – Passed Senate (34-13)
HB1443 Bias Crimes (Thought Crimes) – Defeated in House (75-17)
Keep in mind, that each of these is only halfway through the legislature. Each must pass both chambers to go on to Governor Burgum for his signature, so there is still much work to be done on these bills and resolutions.
Ongoing
Here are a few of the bills still being considered in their originating chambers. We are engaged on all of these, and many more.
|
Bill Number |
Subject |
FPA-ND Position (For/Opposed) |
Link to Bill |
| SB2288 | Scholarships for education (public and private) for tax credit | For | https://www.legis.nd.gov/assembly/67-2021/documents/21-0995-01000.pdf |
| HB1503 | Free speech on college campuses | For | https://www.legis.nd.gov/assembly/67-2021/documents/21-0929-02000.pdf |
| SCR4011 | Teaching students about principles of the founding of America | For | https://www.legis.nd.gov/assembly/67-2021/documents/21-3067-03000.pdf |
| HB1369 | Education Empowerment Program (similar to Education Savings Accounts) | For | https://www.legis.nd.gov/assembly/67-2021/documents/21-0211-04000.pdf |
| HB1234 | Sports betting | Opposed | https://www.legis.nd.gov/assembly/67-2021/documents/21-0499-01000.pdf |
Thank you for all your support and help with these bills. There is a lot you can do right from your home, such as emailing and calling legislators, submitting written testimony, and this session even testifying via Zoom (it’s not that scary; call and we’ll walk you through it).
In addition to all your help, we are working with legislators everyday to get desired outcomes on many bills. However, we cannot do this without many hours of research, writing, testifying, talking to legislators, reporting out, etc. – and this all takes resources. If you want to help us, please consider donating to financially support our policy work fighting for pro-life and pro-family values.
Thank you so much for your commitment. With God’s blessing, we can continue to win, working together to uphold biblical values in North Dakota.
Blessings,
Mark Jorritsma
President and Executive Director