LEGISLATIVE NEWSLETTER

April 1, 2011

Due to the NSBA Annual Conference, there will not be a legislative newsletter on April 8. Check with your superintendent for updates. Next newsletter will be posted on Friday, April 15.

This has been an active week because of approaching deadlines to have hearings completed in most committees. Several bills were amended during committee work and/or on the floor. Given the fast pace of activities this week, there were times when committees did not seek our opinion about potential adverse impacts of those amendments on school districts. Hopefully we will have an opportunity for input on problematic bills that go to conference committee.

At the end of last week, we became aware that an amendment to HB1229 (abstinence bill) would be presented Monday on the Senate floor. NDSBA worked to have reasonable language included in amendments. Yet, shortly before the floor session, we learned that what we considered to be reasonable language was not included the amendment. As it turned out, the amendment required abstinence to be the “objective” of the curriculum relating to sexual activity–what is referred to as “abstinence only” curriculum. We had no time to object and the amendment passed the Senate. Thank you to Senate Education Committee members Freborg, Flakoll, and Heckaman who spoke in opposition to the state mandating specific curriculum content. House Education Committee Chair RaeAnn Kelsch did not concur with the Senate amendments so there will be a conference committee appointed. Please ask your legislators to support local control relating to curriculum content.

On Monday, House Education adopted multiple amendments to SB2150. Because of the number of amendments, a 43-page hog house bill was created. A few changes from the Senate version of the bill include:

Supplemental teacher effectiveness compensation plan (STEC Plan) and funding were returned. The program is funded at $4 million.
Per pupil payments are set at $3,930/$3,970.
Grants funding is provided for growing districts.
Allows for up to 18 percent increase in levied dollars (instead of 21 percent) for districts with at least a 20 percent increase in property valuation.
Pushes back start date for one additional instruction day (175) to 2012-13.

SB2150 will now be reviewed by the House Appropriations Committee. Once adopted by the full House, the bill will likely go to conference committee. The amended bill should be on the legislative webpage soon.

The House Education Committee also amended SB2311, the Teacher of the Year (TOY) bill. This bill originally made it clear that North Dakota’s TOY must be announced at the Capitol--not at the NDEA conference. Amendments to the bill by the House Education Committee did just the opposite–stating that the TOY be announced during the NDEA conference. The Senate did not concur with the amendment and a conference committee will be appointed. NDSBA will work with that committee to restore original intent of the bill.

The Senate Finance and Taxation Committee gave a DO PASS recommendation to HB1047. This bill continues property relief grants. The House had amended the bill to provide relief to districts that have raised their levies since 2008. However, it also punished those districts that reduced their levies due to valuation increases by withholding relief grant funds. Senate Finance and Taxation removed that amendment because it created a new set of winners and losers. HB1047 is back to its original version.

The Senate Government and Veterans Affairs Committee voted DO PASS on HB1134, the TFFR contribution and benefits bill, without substantive amendments. The bill still contains the provision that increases in teacher contributions must be paid by the teacher and cannot be negotiated. There may be an amendment on the Senate floor to remove that provision. If your district has a position on this issue, please contact your senators over the weekend.

Conference committees begin meeting next week. Legislative leadership has indicated they are planning to complete the Session by April 22.

Everyone has access to bill topics and texts, hearing schedules, and bill status reports at the Legislature’s Web site. NDSBA’s Web site includes this weekly Legislative Newsletter, hearing schedules for the upcoming week, and the list of bills NDSBA is tracking. Updated information will be posted Thursday or Friday each week depending on when information becomes available.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:

ND State Web site: www.nd.gov

ND Legislative Information Web site: www.legis.nd.gov

Legislature Toll Free # 1-888-635-3447

Bismarck Legislative # 328-3373