North Dakota Legislative Activity.........

Key Hearings Held Feb. 25-27



SB 2003 – Support

The North Dakota University System gave an overview of SB 2003, its appropriation bill, to the full House Appropriations Committee Feb. 25. This bill contains $696,000 of continued funds for the current technology occupations loan forgiveness program. SB 2003 originally included policy language and $2.7 million (additional $2 million from 2007-09) for expansion of the current technology occupations loan forgiveness program to make it available to students in the fields of science, technology, engineering and math (STEM). It would also increase the maximum amount and duration of loan forgiveness from $1,000 for up to three years to $2,000 for up to five years. The policy language was initially amended out of 2003 and placed in SB 2226. It was then amended into SB 2062, and SB 2226 was killed. The appropriation was reduced by $1 million by the Senate, for a total of $1.7 million, and is now split between SB 2003 ($696,000) and SB 2062 ($1 million). ITCND will support this bill at its hearing before a House Appropriations subcommittee on March 2.



SB 2016 – Support

SB 2016 was heard before the House Appropriations-Education Committee Feb. 26. This bill is the Job Service North Dakota appropriation. It includes $1.5 million for Workforce 20/20, $200,000 for the spidering program and authorization for New Jobs Training. ITCND supported this bill at its hearing.



SB 2018 – Support
SB 2018 is the North Dakota Department of Commerce appropriation, which includes funding for Operation Intern and Innovate ND. The Department of Commerce gave an overview on the status of the bill to the full House Appropriations Committee Feb. 25. No testimony was given as the bill will be heard before the House Appropriations-Government Operations Committee on March 3. SB 2018 includes $350,000 (increase of $200,000) to expand the Innovate ND program and $1.2 million (increase of $600,000) for the Operation Intern program.



SB 2019 – Support

SB 2019 was heard before the House Appropriations-Education Committee Feb. 26. This bill is the ND Department of Career and Technical Education (CTE) appropriation. It includes $800,000 for the virtual area career and technical education centers (CTE requested an additional $400,000). These centers offer IT courses to students who previously did not have access to them, and each center is required to offer at least two credits of IT coursework to all students in member schools. The bill also provides $1.8 million to increase funding to schools for career and technical education programs (CTE requested an additional $1.2 million). This is important due to the high cost of equipment for these courses and increased staffing needs due to smaller class requirements for lab settings. This provides an incentive for additional schools to add CTE courses, including IT, to their curriculum. It also includes $400,000 to increase the number of career resource coordinators and career advisors. These individuals would assist in providing information to students and educators on the IT cluster. Attached is the testimony of Deana Wiese in support of SB 2019.



SB 2021 – Support

The North Dakota Information Technology Department (ITD) gave an overview of its appropriation bill, SB 2021, to the full House Appropriations Committee Feb. 25. It includes $2.4 million to deploy the longitudinal database system (LDS), an information gathering system for education, workforce training, advising, job placement and policy making. The Senate switched the funding source for the LDS from general to special funds asking ITD to use federal stimulus dollars if available. SB 2021 also contains an additional $2 million (over the 2007-09 biennium) for the K-12 network. This includes a $600,000 one-time investment for new or enhanced video conferencing hardware and $1.2 million to increase the bandwidth for all K-12 schools from 1.5 MB to 10 MB. ITCND will support this bill at its House Appropriations subcommittee hearing on March 3.



Hearing Schedule and Status Report (March 2-6)



The hearing schedule and status of bills being tracked by ITCND are attached. We will not be offering testimony on all of these bills, but are tracking them because they have a direct or indirect impact on information technology issues, either at the state agency level, political subdivision level or in private business.



For More Information



If at any time you need additional information or know of others who are interested in receiving this report, contact Annika Nelson, ITCND assistant executive director, at office@itcnd.org or 701-355-4458.



Copies of bill drafts and information about the 61st Legislative Session can be found at the Bills and Resolutions link on the North Dakota Legislative Council website at www.legis.nd.gov/.



How to Contact Your Legislators



During a legislative session, a legislator can be reached at the State Capitol through e-mail or by leaving a message with the legislative telephone message center at 888-NDLEGIS (635-3447) or 701-328-3373 (local). These numbers can also be used to obtain information on bills under consideration. Otherwise, a legislator can be reached by mail or e-mail at the address listed in the legislator's bio online under the 61st Legislative Assembly link at www.legis.nd.gov/assembly/61-2009.





Addressing Mail Correspondence

To a Senator:

Honorable (full name)

State Senator

600 E. Boulevard Ave.

Bismarck, ND 58505



Dear Senator (last name)


To a Representative:

Honorable (full name)

State Representative

600 E. Boulevard Ave.

Bismarck, ND 58505



Dear Representative (last name)




2009 Legislative Deadlines




Date

March 5

April 10

April 30
Topic

Crossover for resolutions

Good Friday

Session is limited to 80 legislative days




Legislative Bills Tracked (to date)






Appropriation Bills

SB 2003 – North Dakota University System – Support

SB 2016 – Job Service North Dakota – Support

SB 2018 – North Dakota Department of Commerce – Support

SB 2019 – North Dakota Department of Career and Technical Education – Support

SB 2021 – Information Technology Department – Support



Other Bills

HB 1144 – Relating to confidentiality of information contained in records – Track

HB 1202 – Relating to entrepreneurship awards; relating to the Bank of North Dakota and North Dakota development fund, incorporated, use of funds for entrepreneurship awards; and to provide an expiration date – Track

SB 2040 – Sales and use tax exemption for telecommunications infrastructure equipment – Support

SB 2062 – STEM loan forgiveness program – Support; Opportunity grant program – Track

SB 2110 – Expands Operation Intern to include apprenticeships and participation from 11th and 12th graders – Support

SB 2131 – Relating to service charges for recycling and disposal for surplus property – Track

SB 2269 – Relating to angel fund investment income tax credits – Support

SB 2325 – Relating to the streamlined sales tax agreement – Track

SB 2347 – Relating to gross receipts from the sale of items delivered electronically – Track

SB 2390 – Relating to the establishment and development of certified technology parks – Track