This guest post was submitted by Bismarck resident Dustin Gawrylow. This weekend there are two races at the North Dakota Republican Party state convention that really matter: nominations for the U.S. House of Representatives and the Secretary of State. I have personally known Will Gardner for many years, and have had enough in depth discussions…
Measure 4 Is No Power Grab But Rather Common Sense Reform For Initiated Measures
Fargo Forum reporter Mike Nowtazki has a profile of Measure 4 up today, and this oft-overlooked constitutional amendment is framed as being a “power grab” and a limit on the people’s ability to hold the Legislature accountable. But anyone familiar with the actual language of the measure knows it is neither. “I think it’s an…
Guest Post: The Legislature Must Tame The WAWS Monster
In 2011, the North Dakota Legislature approved the creation of a water project commonly known as WAWS (the official name is Western Area Water Supply Authority). The concept behind WAWS was very well intended: create a rural water system that would provide infrastructure and water to communities in western North Dakota and pay for the…
Why Are North Dakota Republicans Proposing A Tax On Water?
For years, Republicans have complained and called for reform of the state’s 11.5% Gross Production and Extraction Tax on oil production in the state. In the last few years, large scale efforts to “Fix the Tax” have been launched. The oil tax is what has created North Dakota massive influx of cash, and created the…