It's hard to believe the 2017 North Dakota legislative session is over. I would like to thank Agweek for the opportunity to communicate with their readers on our legislative actions. After 77 days, we introduced 799 bills, and in the end, 441 survived and passed in some form.
We had to make difficult decisions, but we balanced the budget. We used a conservative revenue forecast to build a budget made up of general fund revenues, oil revenues and transfers from reserve funds - money saved for harder times, like the ones we are facing today. We addressed our priorities and considered what available resources can help us to sustain this budget into the future.
The passage of a subsurface water management bill was a big achievement for North Dakota agriculture. We are providing a more efficient and streamlined process for farmers to permit subsurface water management practices on their farmland. This allows farmers to improve productivity and add value to their farms. It also addressed the concerns of downstream landowners. It allows local water district boards to review applications and require reasonable controls or, if necessary, deny a permit to protect downstream interests.
We also created an agency called the Department of Environmental Quality, separating it from the rest of the Health Department. Establishing a DEQ will help us develop our natural resources responsibly and, under local control, protect our energy and agriculture jobs from federal overreach.
Providing extra funding for maintenance of township roads was another major achievement for rural North Dakota. Townships in the oil counties will share $24 million, and non-oil townships will receive $16.1 million with each township receiving $10,000 for their needs. Most times, the first few miles that a bushel of wheat, a barrel of oil, or a load livestock takes to market are on townships roads. Good, reliable infrastructure in the rural areas helps our farmers and industry folks compete in a global market by reducing costs in getting products to market.
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We faced a few disappointments this section, including the closing of eight Department of Transportation shops in rural areas. The DOT thinks that with larger equipment available today they can meet needs more efficiently. We tried to require keeping them open, but a majority of the Legislature thought we should not micromanage the DOT. I contend that people in these rural areas have every right to know how their services will be delivered without a local DOT shop.
These rural areas produce most of state's wealth in oil and agriculture, and the people living there work hard and pay taxes. They need to be assured that they will not be forgotten when it comes to emergency winter services and their safety.
However, we did get some concessions from the DOT. We required a study of their services and stated that if an employee continues to live near a closed shop, they will place a snowplow there during the months of November through March. In addition, all real property at these shops cannot be sold by the DOT for the next two years.
The final issue to mention is property taxes. The total amount of state-paid property tax relief for the next biennium will be $1.362 billion, an amount that would have been the responsibility of North Dakota property owners prior to 2007. Most of this property tax relief comes in the form of the state's takeover of costs related to education and social services, removing local mill levy authority for these same costs. This is real property tax reform.
Again, thank you for this opportunity. I hope these reports have been interesting and informative. I have tried to focus on subjects I felt would be of interest to rural North Dakotans and those involved in agriculture. I'm looking forward to going home and farming. God bless and be safe.
