(DEA photo)BISMARCK, N.D. (KVRR/KCND) – The North Dakota House has passed a bill which would add spoons, stericups and cotton syringe filters to the needle exchange program. The vote in the Human Services Committee was 7 to 6 for a “do pass.” Fargo Democratic Representative Gretchen Dobervich supports the measure. She says it would provide sterilized supplies that prevent the…
BISMARCK, N.D. – A bipartisan North Dakota bill that would have required clergy to be included in state law as mandatory reporters of child abuse has been withdrawn. West Fargo Republican Sen. Judy Lee withdrew the legislation on Friday, saying the bill has become a distraction. The Roman Catholic dioceses in Fargo and Bismarck had opposed the bill. Private discussions between…
FM Diversion BISMARCK, N.D. (KVRR/KCND) – The FM Diversion Project would receive $435.5 million from a Republican-sponsored bonding bill in the North Dakota legislature. “I know it’ll take a few years to get that done, but if we get that off the table, then we can start looking bigger” House Majority Leader Chet Pollert said. The $800 million bill also…
BISMARCK, N.D. – A plan by some members of the North Dakota Legislature to terminate a pandemic-related emergency declaration could discontinue food assistance to the state’s neediest residents. North Dakota and other states that have emergency orders in place have been getting additional money for food stamps under a package passed by Congress. If lawmakers end the emergency declaration, North…
BISMARCK, N.D. (KVRR/KCND) – The North Dakota Senate has defeated a measure that would allow medical marijuana patients to grow their own plants. Edinburg Republican Sen. Janna Myrdal said the Senate Judiciary Committee gave the measure a unanimous “do not pass” recommendation, after law enforcement raised concerns. The bill’s main sponsor, Minot Sen. Ole Larsen, told the Senate that he…
BISMARCK, N.D. (KVRR/KCND) – The North Dakota Senate Human Services Committee will hold hearings on three bills designed to help lower prescription costs. Two of the bills would allow North Dakota to buy medications wholesale from Canada. A third bill would use price data from the four most populous Canadian provinces to compare with U.S. drug prices, and set the…
BISMARCK (KVRR/KCND) – The North Dakota Senate has passed a bill to make not buckling up a “primary” offense. Right now, the law is a “secondary offense,” which means drivers must be stopped for another violation before the extra $25 is tacked on for not wearing a seat belt. Bismarck Republican Senator Mike Dwyer said law enforcement has been pleading…
BISMARCK, N.D. – A North Dakota lawmaker wants to ban the testing of wastewater for the coronavirus, saying the practice violates the privacy rights of college students. Republican Rep. Claire Cory introduced a bill that would prohibit wastewater testing “for genetic material or evidence of disease.” She says she brought the bill over concerns from people about wastewater testing tracing…
BISMARCK, N.D. (KVRR/KCND) – A Fargo lawmaker has introduced a bill designed to help smaller retailers survive the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. Democratic Rep. Pamela Anderson’s bill would allow retailers with 16 or fewer fulltime employees to keep the state sales tax they collect for 2021. The bill only applies to the 5% state-imposed sales tax, and does not…
BISMARCK, N.D. (KVRR/KCND) – A legislative committee is looking at a bill to eliminate bails and arrest warrants for “low level” offenders, those who commit Class C felonies or misdemeanors. Supporters of the bill say some of the people who are accused of those lower-level crimes often can’t come up with the money to post bail and therefore have to…
