North Dakota Legislature Resolves Budget Crisis in Special Three-Day Session, Rejects Expanded Income Tax Cut

Legislature passes 14 bills in a three-day special session resolving finance issues and reforms in areas such as education and public employee retirement plan, while Governor Burgum's proposal for further income tax cuts misses Senate approval.

• North Dakota Legislature concluded a three-day special session to rewrite a major budget bill previously invalidated by the state Supreme Court for violating a single-subject requirement.
• Lawmakers passed a total of 14 bills to reconstruct the provisions of the voided legislation, successfully handling critical financial matters and policy reforms.
• Specific content of the new bills encompass state fund transfers, K-12 education funding, a $125 million incentive program for a fertilizer plant construct, and the structuring of the state's public employee pension plan. The same bills also established a criminal penalty for supplying drugs causing overdose-related deaths/injuries.
• The Senate declined an additional income tax cut initiative pressed by Governor Doug Burgum, who termed the decision as a 'missed opportunity' for the state's taxpayers amid the inflationary period.
• Despite this, the tax proposal, which would have utilized $91 million of excess state tax revenue in future years, was well-received by the members of the state House of Representatives.

3 Articles

Fox News Washington Post Associated Press