Weekly Legislative Update #2
We want to provide you with our most recent update on what happened this past week at the Capitol, each bill’s current status, as well as what to expect next week. As mentioned before, if you ever have questions about a particular bill, feel free to email us at mark@ndfamilyalliance.org or call 701-355-6425.
Last Week
Over the first three days of this past week, we provided testimony on 15 bills! On top of that, we made appearances on two local TV shows and hosted our ND Pro-Life Conference. We are tired! But rest assured, that will not stop us from defending your values and representing you at the Capitol every day this session.
Most bills we’ve testified on to date are still in committee discussions, but a few of them moved to floor votes. SB 2167, a bill to require those convicted of sex crimes to pay fees for internet investigations, passed unanimously in the Senate. Similarly, SB 2043, a bill that would deny/revoke a teaching license for crimes against a child and sexual offenses, also passed unanimously in the Senate with a 47-0 vote. HCR 3002, which would have allowed for legalized sports betting to be put on the ballot, was defeated 24-70 on the House Floor! On the other side of things, the bill to institute Sunday closing laws (HB 1150) failed by a significant margin in the House.
Current Status
Each bill’s most recent status and future actions are shown in the following table. We only show “alive” bills in this table (i.e., those that have not been defeated in a chamber, not combined with another bill, etc.), since those are the ones on which you can still take some action. NOTE THAT THE STATUS OF EACH BILL CAN CHANGE MULTIPLE TIMES, IN EVEN A SINGLE DAY.
To double check the most current status of any bill, you can go to this page, type the bill number into the upper right box (just need the number, not the HB or SB), and click the search button. Once you are on the bill’s page, click on the tab entitled “Actions”. This will indicate where the bill is in the process.
How to Take Action
Find the bill in the following table and look at the “Possible Action to Take” column. Based on the next planned action, follow the appropriate step outlined below.
1.) If a bill hearing has been scheduled, but not yet held, the table shows the date, time, and location of the hearing. If you want to testify, you need to write your comments about the bill into a pdf or txt file. This can be a paragraph or longer, but keep to the point. Once that is written, you can go to this page, type the bill number into the upper right box (just need the number, not the HB or SB), and click the search button. Once you are on the bill’s page, click on the tab entitled “Hearings”, identify the hearing, and click the link on the right where it says, “Submit Testimony”. Just follow the instructions after that. Note that there will be a deadline to submit testimony for bills, often early in the morning on the hearing day (this will show once you click on the “Submit Testimony” link). If you have questions about any of this, prepare your testimony document and then call us at 701-355-6425 and we can walk you through it.
2.) If the bill hearing is over, but it still needs to be voted on in a chamber, you can contact your appropriate legislator(s) and give them feedback. If you do not know who your legislators are or how to contact them, click here and then go to the top right corner and click on “Find my legislator.” Type your house number and zip code into the boxes and click the search button. From there, you should be able to find your Senator and Representatives and all their contact information such as phone numbers and email addresses.
3.) If the bill has passed both chambers and has been sent to Gov. Armstrong, you can contact the Governor via this link and provide input on the bill. Contact Governor Armstrong
Please remember to be respectful in all communications to our legislators and the Governor, and feel free to contact us with any legislative questions.
Here is a map of the Capitol, so you can find the indicated rooms. Please let us know if you have any questions.
Weekly Legislative Update #1
This is the first of many weekly updates we will be providing to you, our ministry partners, about what’s going on in the halls of Bismarck during the 2025 Legislative Session, and how we are defending your deeply held values every day. If you ever have questions about a particular bill, feel free to email us at mark@ndfamilyalliance.org or call 701-355-6425. It may take a bit before you hear back from us, but we promise to get back to you. Now on to the good stuff.
The first full week of the session is over. What a week it was! Last week started a bit slowly, with Legislative Council (the State agency that drafts the final bills) releasing bills in groups, instead of doing a “dump” of 1,000 bills all at once, which usually happens. As I write this, they have released roughly 700 bills, and the bills are being assigned to committees. If some behind- the-scenes discussions are correct, there could be as many as 1,200 bills this session – definitely higher than the 986 bills last session.
The first thing we do when a group of bills is released into the wild is review them 3 times to spot any possible pro-life or pro-family bills. We don’t want to miss anything! We then read every bill and determine whether we should engage on it in some way. This can be everything from formal testimony at a hearing, to simply written testimony, or even just talking to legislators before a floor vote. Or all of these, and more. Of the 700 bills released so far, we’ve identified about 30 on which we will engage in some manner.
This week, our work started with providing supporting testimony for the Attorney General’s office in their critical work of enforcing our laws. This was followed by bills related to sports betting, blue laws, military appreciation month, and a number of other topics. In all, we provided testimony on 7 bills and resolutions during the week. Next week looks pretty busy with testimony planned for as many as 15 bills, as well as hosting our 2025 Pro-Life Conference on Wednesday, so please keep us in your prayers.
Below is the list of bills on which we will engage and their current status, as of COB today. This list will undoubtedly grow as more bills are released. If you are interested in more information any of these bills, go to ndlegis.gov and type the 4-digit bill number in the search bar in the top right corner, and you will be taken to the menu for that particular bill.
Announcing North Dakota's 2025 Annual Pro-Life Conference!
Please mark your calendars for Wed. January 22nd, 2025, and join us at 9am at the Heritage Center in Bismarck as we celebrate North Dakota’s annual Right-To-Life Day! We’ll have life-affirming messages from several speakers, a delicious lunch, and fellowship as we give thanks for God’s precious gift of life! You can purchase tickets for $25 here.
We’re excited to welcome Melissa Ohden as our keynote speaker this year. She is the Founder and Director of The Abortion Survivors Network, the only healing and advocacy organization for abortion survivors and their families. She will share her profound experiences as an abortion survivor.
Melissa Ohden is the survivor of a failed saline infusion abortion. Despite the initial concerns regarding Melissa’s future after surviving the attempt to end her life at approximately seven months gestation, she has not only survived but thrived. She is a Master’s level prepared Social Worker and the author of two books: You Carried Me: A Daughter’s Memoir and Abortion Survivors Break Their Silence. Melissa speaks at events around the world, inspiring audiences with her powerful life story, and she is a sought-after expert on abortion survivors.
We’ll also be privileged to hear from several other impactful speakers including:
Dr. Patti Giebink, MD, is an OB/GYN physician who has over 30 years’ experience delivering babies here and in hospitals overseas. While working in her private practice in Sioux Falls, SD, she began working part-time performing abortions at Planned Parenthood, the only abortion clinic in South Dakota. After shifting to full-time at Planned Parenthood she eventually left September 1997 and has not performed any abortions since. Her book, Unexpected Choice – An Abortion Doctor’s Journey To Pro-Life chronicles her career, and her transformation, and gives readers insight into both sides of this divisive issue.
*Bridget Turbide, Executive Director of North Dakota Right To Life
*Dr. David Tamisiea, Executive Director of North Dakota Catholic Conference
*Nadia Smetana, RN, BSN, Clinic Director at Dakota Hope Clinics
*Senator Janne Myrdal, Chair of the ND Legislative Pro-Life Caucus
Tickets will be $25 and can be purchased here or they can be purchased at a group rate by calling 701-355-6425. We hope to see you on Wed. January 22nd as we seek to reaffirm the dignity and value of every human being!
Legislative Organizational Session Highlights
The halls of the Capitol are relatively quiet today, but earlier this week it was quite different. The first three days of this week, excitement permeated the Capitol as legislators gathered to prepare for the 2025 session. North Dakota Family Alliance Legislative Action was right there with them, on the ground doing prep work before session started. It was a bit like returning to school after a long summer. Old friends reconnected, new friendships began, seats and tasks were assigned, and a foundation was laid for the important work that officially begins in January. One thing was quite obvious – we are blessed to have many strong Christian legislators and many nonprofit allies who will stand with us on critical issues relating to faith, family, and freedom.
We had the opportunity this week to discuss some upcoming legislation and strategize with our allies. Several significant topics will be on the agenda for us including human trafficking, life, school choice, pornography, and protecting our God-given freedoms. We participated in a Pro-Life Caucus meeting and are extremely thankful for the passionate support for life that exists within our North Dakota government. We’ll continue to fight for those precious lives who don’t yet have a voice themselves!
Finally, I’m happy to report that we plan to have three staff working as lobbyists at the Capitol and doing background research this session! With the addition of a third staff member, we can provide more support to legislators and increase our influence in defending your deeply held beliefs. Thank you for any financial support you may be able to contribute to underwrite our growing presence during the legislative session.
Please be in prayer for the upcoming session and our legislators. May we all glorify God in our legislative work, and always seek to do what is best for North Dakota.
