State Auditor Josh Gallion joined me on this episode of the Plain Talk podcast to talk about a report his office released detailing nearly $100 million in state funds tied up in state agency funds, despite those agencies getting appropriation increases amid overall budget cuts. I also talked about the debate over a bill to…
Plain Talk Podcast: Sealing Criminal Records, Blue Laws, Measure 1, and Why Initiated Measures Make for Bad Policy
Are initiated measures a good way to make public policy? I don’t think so, and I talk about it in this episode of the Plain Talk podcast. Measure 1 – a constitutional amendment approved by voters in the 2018 election – is one reason why many, like me, feel that way. Also Rep. Shannon Roers…
Brandon Medenwald: Repeal North Dakota’s Blue Laws
North Dakotans will have the opportunity to sign a statewide petition to place a repeal of the Sunday Closing Law, more commonly known as the Blue Law, on the ballot in November 2018. I would like to take this opportunity to outline why we believe that the time has come to let North Dakotans choose…
Video: Senate Votes Down Blue Laws Repeal Amid Bizarre Rant About Atheists
After the House passed a repeal of North Dakota’s blue laws – the prohibition on some types of retail sales on Sunday mornings – I expected smooth sailing in the state Senate. The Senate, after all, is typically perceived as being at least somewhat less socially conservative than the House. Boy was I wrong. The…
House Reconsiders, Passes Legislation Repealing Blue Laws
Yesterday the state House of Representatives defeated HB1163 on a 44-50 vote after a lengthy debate with a lot of religious justifications for keeping some businesses closed Sunday mornings. Today state Rep. Keith Kempenich, who was a “no” vote yesterday, moved to reconsider the bill. The vote on his motion passed 54-48, and this time…
Video: ND House Shoots Down Bill Ending Blue Laws in “Tent Revival” Floor Debate
“We’re having a damn tent revival,” one legislative observer told me of the debate today over HB1163. “Anybody who watched can safely skip church on Sunday.” At issue was North Dakota’s so-called “blue laws,” or the prohibition on Sunday morning openings. Currently stores can’t open before noon on Sundays. This legislation would have repealed that…
House Passes Bill Allowing Earlier Alcohol Sales On Sundays
HB1434 – the so-called “brunch bill” introduced by Rep. Marie Strinden (D-Grand Forks) – passed the state House narrowly today, but without much debate. The final vote was 49-42, but Rep. Ben Hanson who carried the bill out of the Industry, Business, and Labor Committee (where it got a 10-4 “do pass” recommendation) was the…
ND Legislature Hall Of Shame Week 5: Rep. Kim Koppelman
It was hard to pick this week’s Hall of Shame winner, because I was inclined to award it to every single Republican who voted against HB1437, introduced by Rep. Rick Becker, which would have ended the state’s ban on some business opening Sunday mornings and allowed political subdivisions to set their own policies in that…
NDGOP Disappoints on Sunday Opening
The North Dakota House of Representatives defeated a bill on Wednesday, sponsored by Rep. Rick Becker of Bismarck, that would have empowered local governments to decide if allowing retail businesses to open on Sunday morning was the right thing for their community. The bill was HB 1437, and added the following key language to Century…
Should North Dakota Allow Earlier Sunday Openings?
The Sunday closing law is a fascinating one because a lot of the support and opposition to it. Rep. Rick Becker has introduced HB1437 which doesn’t mandate an end to Sunday closing laws but rather gives local government the option of allowing businesses to be open (this is different from HB1367 introduced by Rep. Randy…