There’s lots of talk about how the state can help reduce local property taxes, but they’re usually just shell games that involve taking money from one place and giving it in another. Rob Port argues that’s a great place to start, only in this instance, we should start by talking money originally meant to support
Read & Share sourced from: InForum
When should a City approving a Tax Increment Financing District be forced to notify the other local tax entities like school districts, counties, and park districts that they’re going to excuse property taxes for public improvements? And do other tax entities have the right to negotiate their own deals with TIF project developers? Those are
Read & Share sourced from: Minot Daily News
Property taxes are an annual challenge for home owners; they’re a biannual challenge for legislator. Minot Representative Larry Bellew is among those who regularly bring the issue back to the legislature; this year the bill was the same as in the past — restrict local jurisdictions from raising their levies by more than 5% without
Read & Share sourced from: Minot Daily News
By a vote of 41-4, the ND Senate advanced Senate Bill 2150. The bill cleans up language from a previous bill that is currently being challenged in court, and restricts abortions in North Dakota as soon as a fetal heartbeat is detected except when a medical emergency exists that prevents compliance. Get the full story
Read & Share sourced from: Bismarck Tribune
There are 11 American Indian lawmakers in the Montana legislature, nine democrats and two republicans. It’s a number that mirrors the percentage of American Indians in Montana’s population as a whole. And on issues of particular importance to the tribes, they’ll often act together. Get the full story from the Missoulian linked below. And why
Read & Share sourced from: The Missoulian
Should city zoning laws control where the sale of guns is appropriate they same way they do for every other property use type? Or should the legislature overrule those zoning provisions for the purposes of further protecting the 2nd amendment? House Bill 1340 is setting up a fight over who has control, the locals or
Read & Share sourced from: InForumA little over a third of North Dakota students use the free or reduced lunch program, and two bills in the ND Legislature taking on the issue. One approach is for universal free lunch, the second approach is to make sure every student eats and and is never made to feel ashamed of holding a
Read & Share sourced from:In North Dakota, the legislature has a bill in front of them that would ban libraries from keeping legislatively defined ‘sexually explicit’ books in their collections. In Florida, a law cut from the same cloth — defining what can be kept in school libraries — is further along. It’s passed and it’s being implemented, and school
Read & Share sourced from: News 4 Jacksonville
Workforce, daycare, deer-baiting, group hunting, immigration, foreign ownership of property, funding for private schools — they were all topics at last weekend’s legislative forum at the North Dakota State Fair Center. Jill Schramm with The Minot Daily News has the full story. The next forum is this coming Saturday at 9:00 a.m.
Read & Share sourced from: Minot Daily News
North Dakota State University is up against a difficult budget for the next biennium, and it’s forcing the University to make tough choices. The plan to make up for the deficit includes cuts and consolidations; it was recently outlined by NDSU President David Cook. Get the full story from Inforum.com
Read & Share sourced from: InForum
From gender and LBGTQ+ issues to banning library books, one long-time Wyoming reporter and columnist is wondering why his state legislators insist on importing bad ideas from other places. It’s a question especially relevant as state legislatures around the country seem to be tackling all the same culture issues at the same moment. Read the
Read & Share sourced from: WyoFile
A slate of bills aimed squarely at a single pipeline project through southern North Dakota saw lots of citizen engagement at hearings last week. At question is whether a proposed pipeline developer should have ability to use eminent domain, the authority to take land and easements with compensation, to advance the project. Get the full
Read & Share sourced from: Bismarck Tribune
ESG stands for ‘environment’, ‘social’, and ‘governance’. It’s an acronym to describe the emerging pressure corporations and businesses are under to be transparent regarding practices related to the environment, social, and governance issues. As an example, banks that reduce or stop lending to carbon-based energy projects would be an example of an ESG policy. It’s
Read & Share sourced from: Helena Independent Record
They would be required to be enclosed on all four sides and have ventilation systems, and if the Senate says yes, a bill allowing cigar lounges will go to Governor Burgum. The house passed the bill by a vote of 59-32 last Wednesday. Representative Dan Ruby of Minot is the sponsor of the bill; he
Read & Share sourced from: Dickinson Press
It is very gracious of the Minot Voice to give me a voice. Like the Federalists and the Whigs of early American history, the North Dakota Democratic party may be on the road to being a mere memory. Why and how that has happened, I will leave to historians. There is plenty of blame to
Read & Share
Here’s the list: House Bill 1483, House Bill 1404, House Bill 1194, House Bill 1341, House Bill 1339, and House Bill 1401. They’re all bills to expand gun rights and where gun owners can legally carry their guns in North Dakota. The bills where in committee hearing last week; the NRA and a others showed
Read & Share sourced from: InForum