Weekly Legislative Update #15
We want to provide you with our most recent update on what happened at the Capitol this past week, each bill’s current status, and what to expect next week. As mentioned before, if you ever have questions about a particular bill, feel free to email us at mark@ndfamilyalliance.org or call 701-355-6425.
Last Week
This past week was another filled with action. We sent out CTA's on important bills and would like to thank each of you who responded and let the legislature and the Governor know your values on these crucial issues. Unfortunately, there were some votes and subjects that did not go our way this week.
SB 2307, making sexually explicit material inaccessible to minors in libraries, and HB 1540, regarding the development of an Education Savings Account for private school students, were unfortunately vetoed by the Governor. They both were voted on to overturn the Governor's veto, which requires a 2/3rds majority, but both failed to do so. HB 1540 received a 45-48 vote in the veto override, ultimately killing the bill. SB 2307 received a 25-20 vote, but it required 32 votes for a successful override. We sincerely appreciate you reaching out and sending thousands of emails to your Senators on this issue. Your emails were even mentioned during the floor debate, so you certainly made yourself heard, even though it didn't end up the way we wanted.
The last significant bill that failed this week was SB 2400, which was to create an Education Savings Account for private, public, and homeschool students. That bill failed on Thursday night, in a 14-78 vote. This, combined with the results of the 1540 override, spells another loss for school choice. We appreciate the efforts of the legislature to try to work something out on this front and hope they will try again next session.
In good news from this week, Governor Armstrong signed some significant bills, including HB 1361, which he signed on Monday, related to mandatory minimum sentencing requirements for human trafficking offenders! Again, we greatly appreciate you making your voice heard on this subject! You have once again effected positive change in our state! The other bills Governor Armstrong signed are listed below.
HB 1247 - Protection of a student victim of sexual assault (signed on 4/23)
SB 2241 - Authorization and administration of public charter schools (signed on 4/21)
SB 2230 - Secretary of State distribution of information on ballot measures (signed on 4/22)
HB 1351 - Prohibition of sexually explicit deep fake videos and images (signed on 4/21)
HB 1181 - Gender usage in the North Dakota Century Code (signed on 4/23)
SB 2380 - 18+ verification for pornographic websites (signed on 4/21)
HB 1386 - Prohibition of sexually explicit, computer-generated images of minors (signed on 4/21)
Next Week
This coming week will likely prove to be one of the most hectic of the entire session. The Legislature is planning to finish meeting for the session on Wednesday, the 30th. The race to the finish is on! There will also be a National Day of Prayer gathering in the Capitol on Thursday at noon, which we are hosting. There is no shortage of work to be done, so we certainly appreciate your prayers!
We do not know which bills are coming up for floor votes next week and/or which will be sent to Governor Armstrong for his signature – these are constant unknowns at this point in the session. However, you can count on us emailing Call-to-Action (CTA) Alerts next week on key bills we need to make into law. We ask that you take a few minutes out of your day and respond to our Call-to-Action emails as soon as possible. YOU can make the difference on whether or not legislation based on biblical values makes it into law!
Current Status
The most recent status for each bill that is still alive after crossover is shown in the following table. The table is current as of the end of this week, but things can change quickly. To double-check the most current status of any bill, you can go to this page, type the bill number into the upper right box (just the number, not the HB or SB), and click the search button. Once you are on the bill’s page, click on the tab entitled “Actions”. If you have a question, you are always welcome to reach out to us (mark@ndfamilyalliance.org), and we’ll get back to you as soon as we can.
How to Take Action
1.) If the bill hearing is over, but it still needs to be voted on in a chamber, you can contact your appropriate legislator(s) and give them feedback. If you do not know who your legislators are or how to contact them, click here and then go to the top right corner and click on “Find my legislator.” Type your house number and zip code into the boxes and click the search button. From there, you should be able to find your Senator and Representatives and all their contact information, such as phone numbers and email addresses.
2.) If the bill has passed both chambers and has been sent to Gov. Armstrong, you can contact the Governor via this link and provide input on the bill. Contact Governor Armstrong
Please remember to be respectful in all communications to our legislators and the Governor, and feel free to contact us with any legislative questions.
