Jamestown leaders monitor bills at legislative crossover

Keith Norman, The Jamestown Sun, N.D.
·3 min read

Feb. 27—Local officials are monitoring several bills in the North Dakota Legislature at crossover.

Crossover occurs about halfway through the session and marks the point where each house must have acted on bills that originated in its house. The bills then "cross over" to the other house for consideration.

Jamestown Mayor Dwaine Heinrich said he was monitoring some of the bonding bills where the state would issue bonds for infrastructure but was also paying close attention to House Bill 1425.

"The bill uses a portion of the Legacy Fund to invest in North Dakota," he said. "It is of major interest in the state and received overwhelming support in the House."

House Bill 1425 passed the North Dakota House of Representatives by a vote of 85 to 8. The bill creates a Legacy Infrastructure Loan Fund for water and other infrastructure projects in North Dakota and sets a target of 10% of the Legacy Fund to be invested in the state.

"Passing 1425 would be a huge step for economic development diversification," said Connie Ova, CEO of Jamestown/Stutsman Development Corp. "We would see a return on investment (to the Legacy Fund) and the economic impact from the companies that are invested in."

One of those projects could be the Buffalo City Park. The park is a cultural and entertainment park planned for south Jamestown along Interstate 94 and near the Frontier Village and World's Largest Buffalo. Developers have a preliminary design and have done economic studies on the viability of the park.

"The Buffalo City Park is a great fit to test the waters," Ova said. "Should the bill become law it might be one of the projects considered."

Another bill that could have an impact on economic development in the region is House Bill 1475 that creates an Agriculture Innovation Fund from some of the proceeds of the Legacy Fund that would normally go to the North Dakota general fund. The bill is sponsored by Rep. Bernie Satrom, R-Jamestown, with several other area legislators as cosponsors.

The bill caps the amount of the Innovation Fund at $150 million each biennium.

"That money could be available for a host of ag projects in this area," Ova said.

Heinrich is also monitoring some bills that have passed so far but he hopes will fail in the future including one that would strip away the authority of the mayor of a city or any other government official from mandating that face masks be worn in public.

"I'm confident it will die in the Senate," he said, referring to House Bill 1323 that passed the House by a 50 to 44 vote.

Another bill, House Bill 1419, would allow cities to implement a monthly street maintenance fee rather than rely on special assessments to fund projects like chip sealing and other basic street maintenance. The monthly street maintenance fee would be put to a vote of the city's residents before implementation.

"I fully support the cities having the option," Heinrich said. "I'm really skeptical it would work in Jamestown."

The North Dakota Legislature reconvenes for the second part of the session on March 3 after the crossover recess. The North Dakota Constitution limits the legislative session to 80 days which falls on May 4, although the Legislature can adjourn at any time it has completed its business.