BISMARCK – A compromise on a budget bill that the Legislature left hanging when it adjourned April 29 is on its way to the House and Senate for consideration.
Lawmakers reconvened at 8 a.m. today for a one-day session to resolve Senate Bill 2022 in an unprecedented move for the Legislature.
Each chamber appointed a House-Senate conference committee made up of the same six lawmakers who negotiated a tentative compromise on the bill last week.
The committee voted 5-1 this morning to forward the compromise to the two chambers.
Sen. Joan Heckaman, D-New Rockford, cast the lone dissenting vote, saying the “waters are muddy” on policy changes in the bill related to the North Dakota Public Employees Retirement System. She said stakeholders hadn’t had the chance to testify on the changes and lawmakers didn’t have all the facts they needed.
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Senate Majority Leader Rich Wardner, R-Dickinson, said the deal was reached last week through good-faith negotiations, “and I have to honor what we came up with.” Heckaman’s motion to forward the bill without the policy changes failed on a 4-2 vote along party lines.
House Majority Leader Al Carlson, R-Fargo, said all of the policy issues in the bill were vetted during hearings on House Bill 1475, a bill that was defeated in the Senate and spurred the House amendments to SB2022, the $14.8 million appropriations bill for the NDPERS and state Retirement and Investment Office.
“We did have good faith negotiations, and both sides didn’t get everything they were looking for here,” he said.
A key amendment would add two lawmakers – one from each party – to the seven-member NDPERS board.
Carlson said some members of the House GOP caucus had concerns that appointing one member from each party doesn’t reflect Republicans’ supermajorities in the House and Senate.
“I think it is imbalanced according to the way we’re elected today,” he said.
Heckaman noted that membership of some other legislative committees also isn’t proportional to party balance. Wardner said the reason for having one from each party is, “We want to keep it nonpolitical.”
Another policy change would clarify the conditions that require rebidding of the NDPERS contract, which was awarded to Sanford Health Plan in February and takes effect July 1. Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Dakota has held the contract for 37 years.
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The House was standing at ease until 10:30 a.m., the Senate until 10:45 a.m.
