GOV. DOUG BURGUM

N.D. Legislative Session Ends With Passage of Nearly $20 Billion Budget

BISMARCK, N.D. (KVRR/KFGO) — North Dakota lawmakers ended the legislative session this morning by approving a record budget of $19.6 billion. The session gaveled out at 2:55 a.m. Sunday. “Motion carries and the North Dakota House of Representatives is adjourned sine die.” The legislature met for 75 days, five days less than the maximum 80 days allowed. Among the final…

Gov. Burgum Veto of Book Banning Bill Will Stand

BISMARCK, N.D. (KVRR) — Gov. Doug Burgum’s veto on a book banning bill will stand after the House failed to override it. The vote was 53-41, a two-thirds majority was needed. The bill would force librarians to review their collections for sexually explicit material. Burgum said the bill goes too far in criminalizing potential disagreements over what constitutes material that…

Gov. Burgum signs $500 million tax relief bill

BISMARCK, N.D. (KVRR) — North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum signs a bill into law providing more than $500 million in savings for state and property taxpayers over the next two years. The bill compresses five income tax brackets down to three. Taxes on the lowest bracket would be eliminated. That includes single filers under $45,000 a year and married couples…

North Dakota sends transgender pronoun bill to governor

BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) — Public school teachers in North Dakota would be allowed to ignore the pronouns their transgender students use, under a bill that state Senate lawmakers passed Thursday with a veto-proof majority. The bill would also allow employees of government entities to ignore the pronouns their transgender colleagues use. And, it would further prohibit transgender public school students…

Burgum vetoes ‘book ban’ bill, approves bill regulating children’s content

BISMARCK, N.D. (KVRR-KFGO) – Gov. Doug Burgum has issued the seventh veto of this legislative session, this time rejecting a Senate Bill that would have required North Dakota’s public libraries, including school libraries, to review their collections for sexually explicit material and criminalize the display of such material. In a letter accompanying his veto of SB 2360, Burgum cited the…

Burgum signs bill regulating restroom access for transgender people

BISMARCK, N.D. – Gov. Doug Burgum signed a bill that limits access to restrooms, locker rooms and shower rooms for transgender and gender-nonconforming people in several state facilities. That includes dorms and living facilities controlled by the state board of higher education, penitentiaries and correctional facilities for youths and adults. Restrooms and shower rooms at these facilities would be designated…

North Dakota House fails to override veto of voucher bill

Gov. Doug BurgumBISMARCK, N.D. (KVRR) – The North Dakota House has failed to override Governor Burgum’s veto of a bill that would have allocated $10 million to provide financial relief for children in private schools. Supporters of the “voucher bill” in the House called the veto a sign of disrespect of the process of legislation. House Majority Leader Mike Lefor…

North Dakota’s 6-week abortion bill becomes veto-proof

BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) — North Dakota state senators overwhelmingly passed a bill Wednesday that would ban abortion at six weeks of pregnancy, even in cases of rape or incest. The bill has passed the Senate and House with veto-proof majorities, so it could become law without Republican Gov. Doug Burgum’s approval. It would be one of the strictest abortion bans in…

Gov. Burgum Signs Trans Athlete Bans Into Law

BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) — North Dakota’s Republican Gov. Doug Burgum on Tuesday evening signed two transgender athlete bans into law, effectively prohibiting transgender girls and women from joining female sports teams in K-12 and college. Lawmakers in the House and Senate passed the bills with veto-proof majorities this year. If the governor had vetoed the bills or refused to sign…