North Dakota Information Technology Council Legislative Report

Final Days of the Session



Today marks the 77th day of the session, and the Legislature must complete its work by Wednesday, May 6, the 80th day of the session. Legislators have been busy in conference committee meetings and floor sessions to meet this deadline.



Conference committee work is nearly complete for all ITCND bills. A final summary of all ITCND tracked bills will be included in the last legislative update, which will be sent the week of May 11.



Status of Key Bills



SB 2016 – Support

SB 2016 received final passage from both chambers this week. This bill is the Job Service North Dakota appropriation. It includes $1.5 million for Workforce 20/20, authorization of $200,000 in federal fiscal stimulus funds for the spidering program and authorization for New Jobs Training.



SB 2018 – Support
SB 2018 remains in conference committee. This bill is the North Dakota Department of Commerce appropriation. ITCND sent the attached memo to the conference committee members regarding the $30,000 lifetime cap on business’s participating in Operation Intern. The committee has not yet made a decision on the following House amendments:

· Removal of the additional $100,000 for InnovateND that was added by the Senate. This brings the general fund appropriation for InnovateND back to the governor’s recommendation of $250,000. There is also $150,000 allocated in special funds, bringing the total InnovateND appropriation to $400,000.

· A $300,000 decrease in the general fund appropriation for Operation Intern from $1.2 million (Governor’s recommendation and Senate version) to $900,000.

· A change in the policy language regarding Operation Intern to limit the funding awarded to an individual company to a lifetime maximum of $30,000. It is unclear if the intention behind “lifetime” is to include past years or to begin on July 1, 2009. If it is to include past years, it is likely many of IT businesses using the program have already used up a significant portion of that amount.



SB 2021 – Support

SB 2021 received final passage from both chambers this week. This bill is the North Dakota Information Technology Department’s (ITD) appropriation bill. It includes:

· $1.8 million for increased bandwidth and replacement infrastructure for internet and video conferencing for K-12 schools. This is consistent Governor’s budget recommendation.

· $2.4 million ($200,000 from general fund, $2.2 million from federal stimulus funds) for the statewide longitudinal data system (LDS). It also includes a contingency clause allowing ITD to use $2.2 million in general funds if stimulus funds are unavailable. The Governor had included $2.2 million in his executive budget for the LDS.

· A section requiring ITD to report to the Interim IT Committee on outsourcing activities.



Status Report



The status report for the bills being tracked by ITCND is attached.



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

May 6
Topic

Session is limited to 80 legislative days







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All attachments to this message are listed below.
Click on the name of any of the attachments to download them.

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ITCND Status Report - May 1, 2009.doc Size: 847064 bytes

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Call to Action.2018.doc Size: 104398 bytes