Senator Olafson Legislative Report 5-11-09

This will likely be my last Legislative Report until something newsworthy comes along, so I would like to use this report to summarize just a couple of the major accomplishments of the session and to describe the bills that I prime sponsored and the outcome of each of those bills.
Here are what I feel are the two most significant accomplishments of the 2009 session. First, the $295 million property tax relief bill will significantly shift the cost of funding K-12 education from local property owners to the state. The bill will provide a reduction in school mill levies on a dollar-for-dollar basis and will provide for local accountability by capping school mill levies at 110 mills unless a majority of voters in the district approve a higher mill rate. This will bring the state share of spending on K-12 education near the 70% level which for many has been a benchmark goal. In addition, $110 million dollars was added in new state funding of K-12 education, 70% of which is dedicated to increased compensation for teachers. For the 2007-2008 school year, the average teacher total compensation was $55,405 in salary and benefits.
Second, the transportation funding bill will provide a much higher level of funding for the state, county, city and township road and bridge infrastructure. The bill will provide $1.45 billion total dollars in funding, of which $181 million is federal stimulus money, and $603.5 million is federal highway aid dollars. The remainder is state funding to assist our state, county, city and township road infrastructure. In addition, $43 million was appropriated to a State Disaster Relief Fund which will provide grants to counties, cities and townships for emergency snow removal funding, and flood disaster recovery, and to help them with the local match of FEMA funds. I stated during my campaign for the 2008 election that maintaining our road infrastructure would be one of my highest priorities, so I was glad to see that other legislators agreed that it was a priority for them as well. I must commend the county commissioners, city officials and township officers for their effort in making all of us in the Legislature more aware of the level of need for increased spending as a result of the severe winter weather and the spring flooding.
Now I would like to provide some detail on bills that I prime sponsored during the 2009 session. Senate Bill 2184 will end the practice of levying excise taxes on motor vehicle manufacturer’s discounts and incentives. It is estimated that this will result in a tax savings for North Dakota citizens of $6.4 million during the 2009-2011 biennium. The bill passed the Senate on a vote of 40-6 and passed the House on a unanimous vote. Senate Bill 2224 will provide for a refund of the special fuels tax on the fuel that is used in truck refrigeration units. Dyed fuel, which is not taxed as road fuel, is typically not available at truck stops, so truckers were paying a double road tax on the fuel they were using in the refrigerator units. The bill passed the Senate on a vote of 45 to 2 and passed the House on a unanimous vote. Senate Bill 2241 will lower the fee for an annual wide load permit for truckers from $500 to $100. Surrounding states have fees ranging from $25 to $125, and as a matter of fairness for people doing business in our state, the fee will now be consistent with that of surrounding states. The bill passed both the Senate and the House on unanimous votes. Senate Bill 2281 will provide for greater flexibility for citizens who have set up Health Savings Accounts and will remove the restriction which had previously limited their investment to only savings accounts or certificates of deposit. One of the state’s leading financial institutions in the area of Health Savings Accounts has branches in District 10. The bill passed both the Senate and the House on unanimous votes. Senate Bill 2282 was a bill that I introduced at the request of the Secretary of State and will clarify provisions on the use of trade names by franchisees. The bill passed both the Senate and the House on unanimous votes. Senate Bill 2300 will provide for increased bonding coverage for small political subdivisions and will help to protect them financially when there is a rare case of fraud or theft. Currently, political subdivisions have only been bonded at a level of 25% of their annual expenditures. Under the provisions of this bill, all political subdivisions would be covered at a minimum level of $10,000. This bill will be most significant for townships, and I introduced the bill at the request of the North Dakota Township Officers Association. The bill passed both the Senate and the House on unanimous votes. Senate Bill 2351 would have prohibited artificial feeding of big game and hunting big game with the aid of bait. Despite the fact that all of the country’s preeminent nationally acclaimed experts in wildlife biology and animal health recommend ending these activities, the bill failed in the Senate on a vote of 19 to 27. Unfortunately, the disease threats faced by our domestic livestock industry and by our wildlife resources will not go away, and neither will the anger being expressed by the majority of hunters who oppose these activities. Related to this issue was the successful effort I spearheaded to add an appropriation to the Ag Department budget for a full time employee for the Board of Animal Health to provide increased oversight and enforcement of our animal health importation requirements. Senate Bill 2368 will allow Soil Conservation District supervisors to raise their tax levies from one mill to two. SCD’s around the state do a lot of good work and the supervisors and staffs are very dedicated and responsible people. The bill struggled in both chambers but did pass the Senate on a vote of 26 to 21 and the House on a vote of 49 to 44. Senate Bill 2428 would have provided for an arbitration process conducted by the State Engineer when Water Resource Districts in two or more counties are unable to reach an agreement on the cost sharing for a project which benefits more than one county. This bill was an attempt to provide a less costly and less time consuming option for resolving disputes than the only option which is currently available, which is launching into court litigation. The bill passed the Senate on a unanimous vote, but the House saw a boogeyman behind the tree and killed the bill on a vote of 3 to 89. And, the Winston Churchill quote which is suitable for closing out the 2009 Legislative Session: “You have enemies? Good. That means you've stood up for something, sometime in your life.”

Senator Olafson Legislative Report
3-9-09

As I have mentioned in a previous column, the 2009 Legislative session is acknowledged by many, including the longest serving members, as being the busiest they have ever seen. For me personally, I had the time last session to write a legislative report most every week, but that has been a challenge this session, and I have not always been able to write. I know my District 10 colleagues, Representatives Monson and Damschen have had the same challenge, so I hope that between the three of us we are getting some helpful information out to the citizens of our District and area when we are able to write our reports.

The reason this session has been so busy is, of course, directly related to the fact that we have the largest budget surplus in our state’s history. I would like to discuss in this column a couple of the most important financial issues that will be addressed in this session.

The first is the major property tax relief bill, Senate Bill 2199. This bill would provide an appropriation of $295 million, which would be transferred from the permanent oil trust fund to the Department of Public Instruction for the purpose of significantly reducing local school mill levies. The net effect of this legislation would be a significant shift in the responsibility of K-12 education funding from the local level to the state. While I have had some constituents suggest that the state ought to bear a greater share of local school funding, I have only had one constituent tell me that they feel that property taxes are too high and they would like to see some property tax relief. I am not suggesting that only one constituent in District 10 feels that way, but I have only heard the complaint from one constituent. I believe the reason why it is not a big issue in District 10 is because our elected officials in our local political subdivisions have done a good job of managing our tax dollars and the people are for the most part satisfied with their actions. I have always been reluctant for the Legislature to get involved in the issue of property tax relief because it is a local issue and the Legislature does not levy property taxes. Still, the mood across the state is that property taxes in many areas are rising too quickly, so people are asking the state to intervene. SB 2199 will provide a reduction in school mill levies on a dollar-for-dollar basis, and it provides a new lower cap of 110 mills on the maximum mills that can be levied without a vote of the people. I have always said that I will not support any property tax relief bill which does not provide for some accountability and some restrictions on the ability to raise taxes again once the property tax relief is implemented.

The other major financial issue this session is the Federal Stimulus money that will be coming to the state of North Dakota. The information we received just last week is that we will be receiving $573.5 million dollars. We will learn more in the coming days about how we will disburse these dollars. I would like to see that money focused on our many infrastructure needs. I must say that this federal program is an experiment that could backfire and not achieve its intended purpose. Only time will tell. We do know this-the stock market is reeling and many analysts say it is in part a result of the fact that people are skeptical that the stimulus plan will achieve its desired result of turning around the economy. In closing, the Winston Churchill quote of the week that reflects my personal opinion on the chances of success of the stimulus spending: “The idea that a nation can tax itself into prosperity is one of the cruelest delusions which has ever befuddled the human mind.”

Senator Olafson Legislative Report
2-23-09

We have reached the halfway point in the legislative session, which is called crossover. Every Legislator I talk to agrees that it has been an extremely busy session, and we have all had a real challenge on our hands to respond to emails and phone calls from constituents. We simply don’t have time to respond if the message comes from a person who is not a constituent. If you have emailed or called and haven’t received a response from me or other Legislators, please know that we are doing our best to respond to as many as we can. If you write or call and suggest a certain vote on a certain bill, we certainly take note of your message even if you don’t receive an answer.
A group of us from the Senate were having supper together recently and even the longest-serving Senators agreed that this session is unlike any they have ever seen in terms of the workload. The Dean of the Senate, Senator David Nething of Jamestown has been in the Senate since 1966, and he offered his take on why it is such a busy session, and his explanation makes perfect sense. During this session, we are dealing with an unprecedented budget surplus. That has prompted most everyone, me included, to introduce bills which would have a fiscal impact, either by reducing tax revenues as a result of a tax reduction, or bills that would increase spending. The most significant fiscal impact bill I introduced would have been the bill which would end the practice of taxing vehicle incentives and discounts, and that bill has passed the Senate and is headed for the House. Any time a bill has a significant fiscal impact; it must be first heard in the policy committee. After the policy committee has acted on the bill, it comes to the Senate floor, and if approved, is then re-referred to Appropriations, where the bill is heard and acted on again. Then it comes back to the Senate floor for a final vote, and if approved, is then sent to the House to go through the same process. All of this takes time and effort and preparation for the bill sponsors, for the committees that hear the bills, and on the floor itself. We worked several evening sessions before crossover just to get all the bills through the floor sessions.
During this session, all of the bills on which I am prime sponsor have passed the Senate with the exception of one, which was the bill that would have prohibited the feeding of big game and hunting big game with the aid of bait. If you have read my previous columns, you know that the main concern with these activities is the risk of disease transfer. Other concerns are fair and equitable access to our wildlife resources and the fact that a disease outbreak is very costly for all taxpayers. The latest figures from Minnesota show that $75 million has been spent there in response to the outbreak and Michigan is now over $250 million and is spending $25 million per year with no end in sight. The bill was supported by the North Dakota Game and Fish Department, the North Dakota State Veterinarian, the North Dakota Board of Animal Health, the North Dakota Veterinary Medical Association, the North Dakota Stockmen’s Association, the North Dakota Chapter of the Wildlife Society, the North Dakota Wildlife Federation, the North Dakota chapter of the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation, the North Dakota Farmer’s Union, and the North Dakota Weed Control Association. During the hearing on the bill, the committee heard over an hour of science-based testimony which came from work done by the country’s preeminent experts on the issues of animal health and wildlife behavior. All of the science and all of the expert opinions have reached the same conclusion, which is that feeding big game and hunting with the aid of bait significantly increases the risk of disease transfer and threatens the domestic livestock industry, our wildlife resources and our taxpayers. The opponents to the bill presented no scientific evidence or expert opinion to support their position. It was clear during the hearing that the supporters of the bill were concerned about the greater public good and the opponents were only concerned about their own self-interests. The committee voted for a Do Not Pass recommendation on a vote of 4-3 and the bill failed on the Senate floor after a heated debate on a vote of 19 to 27. If 5 Senators had changed their vote, the bill would have passed. It was very disappointing to me to see that science and reason and expert opinions were trumped by emotion and self-interests.
The opponents to the bill believe that they have prevailed over their adversaries, but they should recognize that their adversaries are not me or other supporters of the bill. Their adversaries are science and the disease threat posed by the activities which the bill sought to prohibit. The science and the disease threat are not going to go away, nor are they going to be intimidated by political pressure. The science and the disease threat will be here as long as domestic animals and wildlife try to co-exist on our planet. Sadly, it appears that the only thing that will convince people of what needs to be done is a major disease outbreak. It is also unfortunate that we have the experience of other states to learn from, but we are ignoring the lessons and the warnings. In closing, a Winston Churchill quote that aptly describes the issue: “Want of foresight, unwillingness to act, lack of clear thinking, confusion of counsel; these are the features which constitute the endless repetition of history.”

Unofficial Election Results for District 10 Senate

Curtis Olafson 3,222 59.08%

Paul Bonaime 2,232 40.92%

My sincere thanks to the citizens of District 10 for your support! I am grateful for, and honored by, the confidence you have placed in me. I would also like to thank my family, my business partners, our employees, and my friends and neighbors with whom I share community leadership responsibilities. Without their support, I would not be able to commit the time needed to effectively represent District 10 in the Legislature. I would ask anyone who appreciates my Legislative service to please say a word of thanks to these people.

I would also like to commend my opponent, Mr. Paul Bonaime, for running a positive campaign in which he focused on the issues at hand. He was always pleasant and cordial to me, and far more importantly, he was always very respectful to the office he was seeking. The citizens of District 10 have every reason to be appreciative of his candidacy and for the positive way in which he conducted his campaign.

In the coming days, I will be working on many Legislative initiatives for the 2009 session. Please feel free to contact me with any issues of concern.

Sincerely,

Senator Curtis Olafson

I am proud to announce that I have recently received the endorsement of the following organizations:

North Dakota Farm Bureau

National Federation of Independent Business

North Dakota Public Employees Association

In the August 15th edition of the Grand Forks Herald, the Fargo Forum, the Jamestown Sun and the Dickinson Press, an article was published which was critical of some legislators whose state email accounts are full and will not accept new messages. In the article, I was wrongly included on a list of 4 legislators who “do not have a listed state e-mail address.” Readers could be misled into presuming that I am not using modern technology, or worse, not responsive to my constituents and neither of those is true. Most people tell me that when they seek out email addresses for legislators they go to the most logical place to find it-the North Dakota Legislative Branch website. My state email address, colafson@nd.gov , is prominently displayed on my profile page, and has been displayed there since I took office in December of 2006. Obviously, the reporter did not check that page, and used only one source, which contained an error. An old rule in journalism is to verify your information with more than one source whenever possible. Furthermore, a Google search of “Senator Curtis Olafson” would have quickly led the reporter to my campaign website, which includes a link to my profile page on the Legislative Branch website. My state email address is also listed on many different informational websites. I check my state email address on a regular basis, most often daily, and I try my best to respond in a very timely manner to messages which require a response. As to my adopting new technology, I was the first GOP legislator to have my campaign website linked on the North Dakota GOP home page, where it remains as the first legislator website listed. I can assure my constituents that I welcome their input and I enjoy communicating with them on any issues of concern.

Republican incumbents defeat challengers

Jun 11, 2008 - 07:11:14 CDT Associated Press

Four incumbent Republican legislators defeated challengers in three separate primary races.

Edinburg Sen. Curtis Olafson, who is running for his first four-year term after being appointed to the Senate in December 2006, defeated Harvey Hope of Langdon 74 percent to 26 percent in unofficial GOP primary results. "It takes a significant amount of time, but it was time well spent," Olafson said of his primary effort. "I really enjoyed the campaign, actually."Olafson got 1,099 votes to Hope's 377 in unofficial returns. Olafson represents District 10, which includes Cavalier County, most of Pembina County and part of Towner County in North Dakota's northeastern corner, along the Canadian border. Olafson served during the 2007 Legislature as the successor to former Sen. Tom Trenbeath, R-Cavalier, who resigned his seat to take a job as deputy attorney general. Olafson is running this fall for a full four-year term. His Democratic opponent, Paul Bonaime, of Neche, was nominated Tuesday without primary opposition. "I was appointed rather than elected, and it wasn't too surprising that someone would try to mount a challenge in the primary with that fact in the background,"Olafson said. "I think (the primary race) will make me a stronger candidate in the fall."