Whatever your feelings are about higher education in North Dakota, it is undeniable that there is a civil war going on in the university system between Chancellor Hamid Shirvani and a group of university presidents who want him pushed out. And whatever side of that war you’re on – whether you think Shirvani is a…
North Dakota's Government Is Twice As Large As Minnesota's In Terms Of Gross State Product
Yesterday Governor Jack Dalrymple signed into law and praised income tax cuts that were twice as large as what he called for in his executive budget. In fact, had Dalrymple not budgeted for such tiny cuts to state income taxes, the state Senate wouldn’t have had the leverage to bully the House into slashing the…
Thanks To Out Of Control Pensions, Local Governments Spending More To Do Less
The right-left divide on government is between the liberal preference for high-tax, high-service government and the conservative preference for low-tax, low-service government. But thanks to out of control defined-benefit pensions, what Americans are increasingly getting is high-tax, low service government. The worst of both worlds: Local governments are spending less on public services because public…
Can North Dakota's Tax Base Support 171% Growth In Per-Capita State Spending?
North Dakota went into the just-ended legislative session with a lot of money. And they spent a lot of money. Governor Jack Dalrymple kicked the session off proposing a $4.7 billion general fund budget. The legislature tacked another $2.076 billion onto the executive budget to take the state to a whopping $6.862 billion in general…
North Dakota's Budget Increases By 62% For Coming Biennium
The legislature worked late into the night last night (or into early this morning, if you’d rather) hammering out the last remaining taxing and spending issues. And according to Legislative Council’s tentative last analysis as of 11:30pm last night (the final numbers may vary from these slightly), the state is in for a whopping spending…
Senate Passes 324% Increase In Higher Ed Building Spending: "Enormous And Excessive"
The Senate passed SB2003 to fund the colleges. It was a massive bill, which Senator Joe Miller (R-Park River) called “enormous and excessive,” that includes a 12% increase in on-going spending on the universities and a 324% increase in building funds. Senator Ralph Kilzer objected especially to the building projects. “That really bothers me to…
No Ski Slope, But The State Of North Dakota Is Buying A Marina
The House and Senate have both agreed to a version of HB1019, the Parks and Recreation budget, and while that budget doesn’t include a $2.8 million appropriation to by the Frostfire Mountain ski resort the taxpayers are spending $750,000 on purchasing a boat marina at Lake Sakajawea State Park. Here’s Senator Krebsbach explaining the changes:…
Despite Booming Economy, North Dakota Human Services Budget Breaks Record
North Dakota has one of the healthiest economies in the nation – the unemployment rate is the lowest in the nation, and personal incomes are growing the fastest in the nation – but you couldn’t tell that from the growth in the state’s Human Services budget. At the beginning of the legislative session I pointed…
You'd Think Governing With A Super Majority Would Be Easier
North Dakota’s legislators are getting the morning off to attend the funeral of former North Dakota Governor Bill Guy, but that doesn’t mean they don’t have a lot of work to do. On the 79th day of a constitutionally-constrained 80 session the House and Senate are still miles apart on a lot of key issues.…
House Backtracks On Prohibiting Committee Video, But Removes Funding For The Project
In was one step forward and two steps back in the House today on the issue of transparency. Last week the House approved a version of the legislature’s budget which specifically prohibited the creation of an online video streaming/archiving system for legislative committee hearings. The state has – brand new to this session – an…