On my radio show yesterday Aaron Birst from the North Dakota Association of Counties said his group’s membership is grappling with the reality of implementing new medical marijuana policy as created by voters on the 2016 ballot and amended by lawmakers during their 2017 session earlier this year. Among the questions they need to answer?…
Video: Property Tax Transparency Bill Goes Down After Lobbying From Counties
Rep. Ben Hanson, a Democrat from Fargo, introduced HB1069 which would have required that North Dakota counties maintain an online database of property tax information. Not surprisingly local government lobbyists – perhaps the most effective opponents of government transparency in North Dakota – rushed to oppose the measure. “It’s just another state requirement that counties…
Legislators Should Tie Transparency Measures To Local Government Funding
Over the last several bienniums one of the primary opponents to transparency efforts for taxation and spending in the state is local governments. During the 2009 legislative session Rep. Blair Thoreson, a Republican from Fargo, passed legislation creating a searchable database of state spending (you can see it here). That was a big success, and…
Proposed Reforms To Property Taxes Look Pretty Good
Next year will bring with it another session of the North Dakota Legislature, and another debate over property tax reform. Governor Jack Dalrymple has created a property tax task force (to the chagrin of some in the Legislature who feel it is duplicative of their own work) and it seems they’re getting close to solidifying…
From 2012 To 2013 North Dakota Had The Largest Increase In Government Tax Collections In The Nation
Check out this map… ND had largest increase in state government tax collections from 2012-2013 at 27.8% pic.twitter.com/90fmD9GE5k — ND Counties (@ndcounties) June 9, 2014 Above is an interesting map posted to Twitter today by the North Dakota Association of Counties. It shows the rate of change in state government tax collections from 2012 to…
ND Legislature Hall Of Shame Week 6: Rep. Lawrence Klemin And Rep. Nancy Johnson
It was tempting to name every single Republican who voted “no” on HB1256 this week to the SAB Hall of Shame, but I wanted to focus instead on those who rose to argue against the bill which would have created a central state database for all local spending in the state. Rep. Nancy Johnson spoke…
Shameful: ND House Votes Down Local Government Transparency Bill
Rep. Blair Thoreson has been a real champion when it comes to fighting for government transparency here in North Dakota. Back in the 2009 legislative session Rep. Thoreson introduced and got passed a bill creating an online database of all state government spending (you can see it here). Since then Rep. Thoreson has been trying…