Lawmaker working on free school meals bill ahead of North Dakota special session

BISMARCK, N.D. (North Dakota Monitor) — North Dakota lawmakers could revisit legislation to provide free school meals to North Dakota students during a special session this month.

Rep. Mike Nathe, R-Bismarck, confirmed he is working on a school meals bill draft for possible consideration in the session that begins Jan. 21. Lawmakers rejected proposals for free school meals last year, but proponents are working to put a ballot measure before voters this November.

Nathe said Wednesday it was too early to provide details of his proposal.

Rep. Mike Nathe, R-Bismarck. (Photo provided by the North Dakota Legislative Assembly)

“These things take time,” Nathe said. “Hopefully, we’ll have something by the special session.”

The Together for School Meals coalition is gathering signatures for a constitutional ballot measure. If approved in a statewide vote, it would mandate the state provide free school meals to North Dakota K-12 students.

Lawmakers began planning for the potential fiscal impact of the program last month, even before proponents began collecting signatures. The Department of Public Instruction estimates a free school meals program in North Dakota would cost about $134 million for a two-year budget cycle, but the cost estimate could change as the potential program continues to be studied. Nathe and other lawmakers expressed concerns about the sustainability of funding the program, which could grow by $6 million to $7 million every two years under preliminary estimates.

House Majority Leader Mike Lefor, R-Dickinson, who has talked with Nathe about the proposal, said he prefers that policy issues involving spending be handled through a statute rather than added to the state constitution.

“Constitutionally-mandated spending doesn’t take into account potential increases and decreases in revenue, and it just ties your hands,” Lefor said. He added it would be easier for lawmakers to make changes to a law than an article in the state constitution.

It’s not yet clear if the topic will be discussed in the special session.

Gov. Kelly Armstrong called the special session to allocate $199 million in federal Rural Health Transformation Program funding.

Any bill that would be considered during the session must be advanced through Legislative Management, a bipartisan committee of legislative leaders, before it reaches the full Legislature.

Senate Majority Leader David Hogue, R-Minot, chair of Legislative Management, said Wednesday he feels the school meal issue was already addressed by state lawmakers.

“I’m not in favor of relitigating issues that were already heard and decided by the legislative assembly, in regular session, back in January through April,” Hogue said.

If the bill comes before Legislative Management when the committee meets next Wednesday, Hogue said the committee will listen to the presentation and make a decision at that time.

Lefor, vice chair of Legislative Management, said he hopes to keep the session focused on the rural health funding.

“We’re going to want to be really tight with bills that get introduced simply because we have a three-day session,” he said.

Lefor said he believes any bill that could be brought to the full Legislature outside of the rural health funding would need to be an emergency that can’t wait until the 2027 legislative session.

Legislative Council, the research arm of the Legislature, has received requests to prepare about 20 bill drafts for the special session, said Director John Bjornson. More information has not been made public. A bill draft request is not a public record unless a lawmaker chooses to disclose it.

Lawmakers could choose to meet longer than three days. In October 2023, the most recent time the Legislature had a special session, lawmakers met for three days after the state Supreme Court invalidated the Office of Management and Budget bill approved earlier that year. Legislative Management chose to keep that session narrowly focused, rejecting many bill proposals except for a resolution of support for Israel.

Meanwhile, proponents of the ballot measure plan to continue to gather signatures, said Robin Nelson, chair of the ballot measure sponsoring committee.

“At this point, we are just forging forward,” she said. “It’s hard for us to comment on their plan without seeing the verbage.”

Nelson said funding school meals for students has widespread support across the state.

“I think it’s undeniable that our ballot initiative is motivating them to take action now,” she said.

North Dakota Monitor reporter Michael Achterling can be reached at machterling@northdakotamonitor.com.