Legislative Report
by
Christopher Dodson
Executive Director, North Dakota Catholic Conference
February 2009
As I write this, the 2009 North Dakota Legislative Assembly
is finishing its fifth week. By the time you read this,
however, the legislature will be in its seventh week --
coming to its half-way point. A lot can happen during that
time. Bills that have not even had a hearing in committee
could be defeated or passed on the floor by that time.
Bills can also experience significant revisions. What may
be a good bill today may be a bad bill a week later. For
these reasons, I hesitate to write about specific bills and
instead offer some general observations about developments
so far.
Stay Informed
If you want up-to-date information, go to the North Dakota
Catholic Conference web site, especially the News and
Updates page. (ndcatholic.org) Check it daily. New postings
can come several times a day.
While there, check to see if there are any legislative
action alerts. If you don’t check regularly, you
might miss them. Already a few times this session action
alerts had expired by the next day.
Make sure you are on the e-newsletter mailing list. Sign-up
at the North Dakota Catholic Conference web site or send us
an email at ndcatholic@btinet.net.
Wisely Moving Forward
Having passed a ban on abortion in the 2007 session that
can go into effect when permitted by the courts, pro-life
organizations and legislators are behind several bills to
help reduce abortion until that time. A bill requiring that
women have the opportunity to view an ultrasound of their
unborn child before consenting to an abortion has already
passed the state House of Representatives. Another bill
would require abortion facilities to post a sign informing
women that they cannot be forced to have an abortion. A
bill to improve the informed consent statute would require
that women be told that an abortion will terminate the life
of a whole, separate, unique, living human being. Finally,
legislators are considering a bill to improve the abortion
alternatives program.
These type of constructive approaches work. According to a
new study by Americans United for Life, North Dakota is
among the top ten most pro-life states when it comes to
laws protecting human life. According to the report:
“North Dakota has taken the lead in two important and
emerging areas: public funding for abortion alternatives
and meaningful regulation of biotechnologies. North Dakota
has allocated hundreds of thousands of dollars in state
funds to organizations promoting alternatives to abortion.
North Dakota is also one of only a handful of states that
bans human cloning and destructive embryo research.”
Tax and Finance
Legislators this year face many bills dealing with taxes
and finances. In one respect, this is not unusual. However,
the state budget surplus has resulted in a high number of
bills providing tax credits, tax cuts, tax rebates, and the
like. The North Dakota Catholic Conference has supported
some of these proposals, such as measures to eliminate the
sales tax on clothing and tax credits to help families with
children in nonpublic schools.
Several principles should guide questions of taxation.
First, taxation should be based on one’s ability to
pay. Second, taxation should be fair and just in its
treatment of the poor. Lastly, taxation must ultimately
serve the human person, not the state or the economy. Visit
the North Dakota Catholic Conference web site for more
information on Catholic teaching and taxation.
Health Care
Governor Hoeven’s budget request includes much needed
increases in funding for the state children’s health
insurance program and Medicaid reimbursement. Five weeks in
to the session, both of those proposals face challenges.
This could drag out to the final weeks of the session. Stay
tuned.
