Imaginary session: If Legislature convened in '24, workforce would be a big issue, Grand Forks lawmakers say

Jan. 13—GRAND FORKS — North Dakota's workforce shortage likely would be a top issue if the Legislature was in regular session this year, say a number of Grand Forks lawmakers.

According to a survey by the Grand Forks Herald, a majority of lawmakers from the 17th, 18th, 42nd and 43rd legislative districts — all of which include at least a portion of Grand Forks — say they have concerns about various aspects of the state's workforce shortage.

"Workforce continues to be a critical topic, not just for North Dakota but for most of the country," said Sen. Jonathan Sickler, a Grand Forks Republican.

North Dakota's Legislature only meets in odd-numbered years. At times, it means issues that exist sometimes must wait to be addressed. Considering that, a Herald survey asked the local lawmakers: "If there was a session starting this January, what do you feel would be the statewide topic of utmost importance that would need legislative consideration?"

Of the 12 lawmakers who represent Grand Forks in the Legislature, 10 responded: Sickler and fellow Republicans Sen. Jeff Barta, Rep. Mark Sanford, Rep. Steve Vetter, Rep. Claire Cory, Sen. Curt Kreun, Rep. Eric Murphy, Sen. Scott Meyer and Rep. Landon Bahl, along with Rep. Zachary Ista, a Democrat.

Rep. Emily O'Brien, a Republican, and Corey Mock, a Democrat, did not return the survey.

Workforce — including variations of the workforce theme, such as education — was a consistent answer as a likely topic of an imagined 2024 session.

Sickler, for instance, noted that in 2023 the Legislature passed a number of measures to address certain workforce-related issues. Among them, he said, were "including funding for teacher and nurse education to address critical shortages; grants to childcare providers to increase availability; the creation of an Office of Legal Immigration to attract skilled labor; automation grants to reduce the need for certain labor; lower income taxes and investments in quality-of-life projects to make North Dakota a better place to live."

Now, Sickler said, lawmakers must "determine the impact of those measures" and, if needed, adjust state efforts in the 2025 legislative session.

"North Dakota has a unique opportunity to attract workers and families who are more mobile than in the past and want a lifestyle that can only be found in places like North Dakota," he said.

Workforce has been a front-burner issue in North Dakota for several years.

In 2017, Gov. Doug Burgum, established the Workforce Development Council to consider solutions to attract workers to North Dakota, and to retain workers already here. In October 2022,

he said the state's workforce challenge is "our No. 1 barrier to economic growth

."

In August, Burgum — at a National Governors Association event — said the state is making progress on workforce challenges.

"The beautiful thing in our state is that we actually get all the people around the table and they all row in the same direction," Burgum said at a symposium during the event. "We turned the dial this year."

According to a release from the governor's office on Aug. 9, that turning of the proverbial dial included various pieces of recent legislation, including:

*

$66 million to support child

care services

* $12.5 million for the Regional Workforce Impact Grant (RWIP) program, which lends support to more than 60 projects statewide, ranging from workforce training to child care.

* $12 million to

expand the Find the Good Life talent attraction initiative

. The program aims to connect people interested in relocating with "community champions" across the state who provide information about their communities.

* $2 million for skilled workforce training, $1 million to support internships and $2 million for new American workforce training grants.

Last spring, the

Herald reported there were nearly 16,000 job openings in the state

, but it likely was more, since not every single open position is posted through Job Service North Dakota.

Barta believes the workforce conundrum involves much more than just wages or finding people to fill jobs. Developing and expanding the state's childcare industry is part of the solution, he said, as are education and the state's quality-of-life offerings.

"What it boils down to is, how can we keep moving forward? We talk about attracting and gaining folks here. ... What can we do to attract people to give them the freedom to enjoy the lifestyle they want?" he said, pointing to education initiatives, tourism and outdoor activities, and burgeoning industries like unmanned aerial systems and high-tech agriculture.

He said North Dakotans should be "singing the praises of what we have."

Why?

Because "the future is bright for what we can gain and attract," Barta said.

Ista also believes workforce issues are paramount for lawmakers, but contends housing is a big problem, too. They're closely related, he said.

"From nursing and teaching to retail and food service, we need more workers in North Dakota, which means we need to find ways to draw new families to our state," he said. "While competitive wages and benefits play a big role, so does affordable and available housing."

He believes the state should advance policies that "incentivize development of new housing, promote affordable borrowing options for prospective homeowners, and assist renters struggling with high costs."

He also suggests examining solutions that work toward eradicating homelessness.

"I am thankful that an interim legislative committee is studying that important issue," he said.

Sanford, a Republican with a deep background in education, said "workforce remains an issue for the state. Several initiatives were enacted last session."

Sanford said some initiatives —

helping paraprofessional classroom aides become teachers, for instance

— are proving to be a success. But, he said, "the need is widespread and will require additional solutions across a wide array of shortage areas."

And on the topic of workforce issues related to education, Kreun is concerned about post-pandemic teacher trends.

"We have fallen behind after the pandemic. Experienced teachers are leaving the profession. Instead of making assumptions for why we have a teacher shortage, we should be directly asking teachers what is pushing them out of the classroom. Even our universities are seeing early retirement in almost all areas, including faculty, staff and support," he said.

Lawmakers "need to find out why," Kreun believes.

"The solution is not to rush potential teachers through preparation programs to fill openings. If we do this without extensive field experience, new teachers' desire to remain teaching will be short-lived, putting us in an even more desperate situation," Kreun said. "We need to focus on the retention of our teachers and keeping them in the classroom."

Meyer said that if this was an in-session year, he would hope lawmakers would discuss ways to "fast-track students to get through college quicker." The idea, he said, is to help postsecondary students achieve a degree at a more affordable cost.

"How can we get students that one, go to universities, because there is some declining enrollment (at some North Dakota universities); and two, get them through with as little debt as possible?" Meyer said.

Meyer appreciates that the

State Board of Higher Education is looking at ways to "speed up the process

," in hopes of reducing costs.

"We need to train (college students) for our workforce needs and we need to try to do it without staggering amounts of student loans," Meyer said.

Other topics also piqued the interest of Grand Forks legislators. For instance, Cory said she would prefer tax reform be discussed if lawmakers were in session this year.

"From a bird's-eye view I believe a statewide topic of utmost importance, from a Republican supermajority standpoint, is tax reform. If we keep collecting more than we need, we need to return the excess back to the people," she said. "(And) from a personal standpoint, since getting elected, I have taken interest in judiciary-related topics. I have served all of my sessions on the Judiciary Committee and I currently am serving on the interim Judiciary Committee as well as the Juvenile Justice Committee. I also sit on the CSG Criminal Justice and Public Safety Committee. In these committees we continuously discuss ways to protect the public from things like fentanyl overdoses and gun crimes while ensuring civil liberties are kept."

Vetter said that if there was a regular session this year, it would be a good way to continue to build on "previous successes." Among them, he said, was House Bill 1225, which "provides a grant for communities to build their information technology for accessible property information."

If lawmakers convened this year, he said he would work to expand on the idea of HB 1225 and create a property information site to generate statewide property data and tax information.

"This would help with making better statewide decisions on tax decisions, including property taxes," Vetter said. "Better information and data benefit all citizens statewide."

Murphy pointed to a local issue:

State funding for a proposed preK-8 school at Grand Forks Air Force Base

. As planned, 80% of the $83 million school would be funded by the federal government. That leaves roughly $17 million to find — possibly from the state.

"If today was (next January), school construction would be a concern. We just need time to figure out how we're going to do that," Murphy said, noting that he and others are working on it.

But, he said, "I personally think that's going to be a big lift."

Bahl focused on four issues, generally about taxes and the economy.

Tax reform would be important, he said, as well as property tax relief. Of the latter, Bahl said "residents are needing more property tax relief now more than ever. Owning a home has never been more expensive or out of reach than it is today."

Further, economy recovery remains an issue, Bahl said, along with various budget and fiscal policies.

"There would be many bills relating to the overall spending of our legislators, specifically in the health and human services area and OMB (Office of Management and Budget) area," he said.