WASHINGTON, D.C. — Senator Heitkamp has been named one of the most effective senators by the Center for Effective Lawmaking. It is a joint initiative between the University of Virginia and Vanderbilt University. Heitkamp was ranked ninth among Democrats in the 114th Congress. She sponsored 29 bills on a variety of issues and got three of those bills signed…
BISMARCK, ND — The North Dakota Legislature will challenge Gov. Burgum over his veto powers. The bipartisan Legislative Management Committee has voted to pursue the litigation in the state Supreme Court, after meeting behind closed doors to talk about strategy. The Republican-led Legislature adjourned on April 27, and Burgum used his line-item veto during the following week to change…
ST. PAUL, Minn. — A legal battle between Gov. Dayton and top Republicans could result in a Minnesota government shut down. Attorneys for the Republican-led Legislature say lawmakers will have to start furloughing employees in December and shut down completely by February unless there’s a resolution. Dayton vetoed the Legislature’s operating budget after the session concluded in late May….
BISMARCK, ND — Gov. Burgum is setting up a new task force aimed at improving North Dakota’s public education system. The Innovative Education Task Force will identify new, creative teaching methods and make recommendations to the governor and Legislature. Burgum says changes are needed in how the state’s students are instructed to meet the needs of the 21st century…
FARGO, ND — Some angry homeowners addressed the Fargo City Commission about their estimated property tax bills. Many of them said they received notices in the mail saying they will be seeing double digit increases. City Commissioner Dave Piepkorn said the new budget actually cuts the tax rate by 2 mills, but he says it was the state legislature’s decision…
ST. PAUL, Minn. — Gov. Dayton and top Republicans have chosen a mediator to try to help them out of a constitutional battle. The two sides have been locked in a legal battle for months over Dayton’s decision to veto the Legislature’s budget. The Minnesota Supreme Court ruled Friday that Dayton acted constitutionally when he vetoed the funding. But…
ST. PAUL, Minn. — The legal battle between Gov. Dayton and Republican lawmakers is in the hands of Minnesota’s highest court and for the first time in the court’s history, it was streamed live. “If we rule in your favor, doesn’t that mean that some future governor could defund the judiciary or that some future legislature could defund the judiciary?”…
FARGO, ND — North Dakota state officials met with the Administrator of the EPA for an agricultural roundtable to express the need to make federal rules more cost–effective. Governor Burgum, Senator Hoeven and Congressman Cramer joined EPA Administrator, Scott Pruitt, in a private discussion behind closed doors about water, agriculture and energy. Some of the state’s politicians are encouraging Pruitt…
ST. PAUL, Minn. — A judge is considering whether Gov. Dayton’s veto of the Legislature’s funding was unconstitutional. The bitter legal dispute between the Democratic governor and Republican-controlled Legislature had its first hearing in Ramsey County court. Dayton zeroed out the Legislature’s funding last month to force lawmakers to rework a $650 million tax bill and other measures. The…
ST. PAUL, Minn. — Minnesota’s legislative leaders are searching for how to salvage a special session to finish a two-year, $46 billion budget. They worked around the clock Tuesday and it took a toll on some lawmakers as you can see when you watch the video. The Legislature missed another deadline this morning as they blew through a self-imposed goal…
