Rep. Roscoe Streyle, a Republican member of the North Dakota Legislature from Minot, has ripped Auditor Josh Gallion in a letter to the editor. Gallion’s sin? Launching a review of travel expenses in Governor Doug Burgum’s office. “I don’t use this term lightly, but this is clearly a witch hunt,” Streyle claims. That’s not the…
Outspoken Minot Lawmaker Decides Against Running for Another Term
State Rep. Roscoe Streyle, who was first elected to the North Dakota House of Representatives in 2010, has shared with me that he’s not seeking a third term. “Been a tough day, but I’m making the best decision for myself and my family, it’s really that simple,” he told me this morning. He’s circulating the…
What if North Dakotans Started Financing Infrastructure by Lending Money to Themselves?
In 2009 the North Dakota Legislature passed a constitutional amendment to create a fund out of a portion of taxes on oil and gas development. It was passed by the voters in the 2010 election, and the result is the Legacy Fund which has a balance of going on $5 billion. It’s projected to have…
Podcast: State Rep. Marvin Nelson Talks About Proposed Ballot Measure Expanding State Worker’s Compensation Coverage
In North Dakota, worker’s compensation insurance is a monopoly. If you own a business you are required to purchase worker’s compensation coverage for your employees, and the only place you can get it is the state-run Workforce Safety & Insurance. Despite this – or because of it, depending on your point of view – North…
Roscoe Streyle: Creating the Department of Environmental Quality Makes Sense
The name-calling, angry, “retired” attack dog of the left Jack Zaleski has been at it again. Readers have to wonder why The Forum still gives him a platform to spew his dishonest venom. The poor excuse of a column he wrote on April 16, 2017, “‘Quality’ in eyes of beholder,” is the epitome of poor…
Audio: Lawmaker Rips Burgum Vetoes, Calls Them “Terrible” and “Reckless”
Governor Doug Burgum announced vetoes for parts of nine bills today. “We deeply appreciate the Legislature’s good work this session, evidenced by the fact I signed 430 bills with no line-item vetoes, including 43 appropriations bills,” he said in a statement announcing the vetoes. “Where I did exercise veto authority, I did so to clearly…
Reform to North Dakota’s Oil Spill Guidelines Is Imperfect but an Improvement Over the Status Quo
The problem with a lot of the reporting on oil spills in North Dakota is that it tends to lump all spills of all sizes together into one uniform number. As if all spills were created equal. But that’s just not the case. Most spills are very small. Most spills are entirely contained and have…
Wind Power Is a Sacred Cow Ripe for Slaughter, but a Tax Is the Wrong Way to Do It
There is a lot of very bad public policy surrounding wind power. One example is the massive, market-distorting wind power production credit. An unfortunate amount of wind power’s market share is built on this subsidy. Another example is the preference the wind industry gets when selling their power to the grid. Currently politically popular power sources…
With No Debate State House Passes Reforms to Oil Spill Reporting Requirements
State Rep. Roscoe Streyle introduced legislation which, in its original form, would have stopped the reporting of oil/produced water spills that are contained and of a volume that’s 10 barrels or less. Today in the state House, with no debate, an amended version of Streyle’s bill passed on a 82-11 vote with Republicans and Democrats…
Burgum Is Right to Prioritize Good Data in Oil Industry Regulation
State Rep. Roscoe Streyle has introduced legislation to limit reporting of oil spills (it’s HB1151). Currently all spills of any amount are reported. His bill would prohibit the reporting of spills of oil or produced water that are 10 barrels or less and contained on site. Streyle told me in an interview that most of…