Senate Majority Leader David Hogue said the session is progressing “extraordinarily well,” in its initial days during which 990 bills have been introduced.

“It’s off to a great start. We’re acting on as many bills as we need to, to stay on course in terms of getting to the crossover,” Hogue said. “We have a nice budget surplus, so we have the ability to send money back to taxpayers, which is my number one priority. We also have the ability to fund our priorities, which we will do.”

Hogue said the state’s general fund revenues are about $500 million above projections, and the Strategic Investments and Infrastructure Fund is above $1.6 billion. Hogue said these revenues allow the Legislature to address a number of priorities for the citizens of North Dakota, chief among them being significant property tax relief.

While there are a number of bills this session attacking the property tax issue, Hogue said there is a strong likelihood the most significant reform on the horizon will be caps to tax mill levy increases for political subdivisions. Hogue highlighted House Bill 1176 as an example of this method, saying he and the people of North Dakota supported the concept.

“I would say the ship probably hasn’t sailed yet, but the bow is definitely heading out to sea for caps. A lot of states have done it, so we’re not alone. From my perspective, I appreciate the idea that that impinges on local control,” Hogue said. “But at the same time, I’ve been in the Legislature since 2009. We’ve been providing property tax relief back to the cities, counties and school districts since 2007. The people are telling us we’re still not seeing the tax relief we would expect to see.”

Culture war bills

Sen. Bob Paulson fielded a question regarding House Bill 1145, which asked if the bill that would require the placement of the Ten Commandments in all public school classrooms supports the right to religious freedom for all students.

Paulson cited a recent court decision in Washington state that overturned a previous precedent known as “The Lemon Test” and replaced it with a test based on history and tradition.

“In order for something to be considered an appropriate display, it has to have history and tradition. I think it’s pretty difficult to argue that the Ten Commandments doesn’t have those two. I would anticipate that the bill will succeed,” Paulson said.

Rep. Christina Wolff said HB 1145 was in her committee and the bill’s sponsor Rep. Jeff Hoverson was considering some amendments, which will be reviewed sometime this week.

Another question was raised against HB 1430, which seeks to open the door for social workers to provide treatment plans or counseling for individuals questioning their sexuality that aligns with heterosexuality or the individual’s biological sex. Rep. Matt Ruby acknowledged the bill wasn’t in alignment with the state social workers ethical standards but said there was confusion about the administrative rule.

“If someone comes into a social worker’s office seeking counseling, saying they believe they like the same gender but would like to live a life within their personal views or religious views, the way the rule is written, some believe the social worker isn’t allowed to work with them there,” Ruby said. “What they’re trying to prevent is conversion therapy. (When) most people think of conversion therapy, they think of shock therapy or gay camp.”

Ruby noted a similar bill had been introduced in the 2023 session which failed, and the intent of the current bill’s language required some more work to be more compatible. Ruby said it wasn’t there yet, and there are a large number of bills ahead of it on the priority list in the next few weeks.