DRC WEEKLY LEGISLATIVE UPDATE

FEBRUARY 9, 2007

ACTION IN THE PAST WEEK:

Oil and Gas Bills

• HB 1349:  Was withdrawn by the sponsors. Its landowner notification provisions were weaker than those that the House passed in HB 1229, which DRC supports, so the withdrawal was welcome.
• HB 1511: Under review by the House Appropriations Committee after receiving a "do pass" in committee.  DRC supports this bill, which would use the threat of a single-well bond for non-producing wells as an incentive for timely reclamation

Ag Bills

• HB 1420:  A House Agriculture subcommittee worked on this bill during the week and adopted amendments brought by the State Health Department. The full committee has not yet acted on the amended bill. The bill, as amended, continues to deprive counties and townships of key zoning rights. Farm Bureau and other advocates of factory-style animal production support the bill. DRC opposes it.
• SB 2331: The Senate Agriculture Committee heard this bill Thursday. DRC testified in opposition. Farm Bureau and other advocates of factory-style animal production support the bill. The bill would deprive counties and townships of key zoning rights. The committee has not yet acted on the bill.
• HB 1124: The House Agriculture Committee amended this bill and gave it a 10-2 “do pass” recommendation. DRC initially opposed the bill because it removed responsibility from the State Seed Commission for standing behind the variety on the certified seed tag. DRC’s Food Safety Task Force has not yet evaluated the amendments to see if they are adequate to address concerns. The bill now goes to the House floor.
• HCR 3040: DRC testified in favor of this resolution before the House Industry, Business and Labor Committee. The resolution would ask the U.S. Trade Representative not to negotiate further trade agreements including “investor-to-state” privileges, which allow foreign investors to come before secret trade tribunals and plead for relief from the laws or rules of another sovereign nation. The committee voted, 9-4, to recommend a “do not pass.” The resolution now goes to the House floor.

• Energy Bills
• HB 1221: The House Industry, Business and Labor Committee amended this bill and gave it a 9-4 “do pass” recommendation. The bill sets a procedure for utilities to obtain rate adjustments to recover the costs of complying with new environmental regulations. DRC supported the bill but sought to amend it by repealing 1995 legislation that forbids the Public Service Commission from considering environmental “externality values” (such as health or environmental costs), or environmental regulations that have not yet been enacted, when it sets rates or evaluates resource plans. Rep. Ed Gruchalla (D-Fargo) agreed to move the amendment, but it failed. The bill now goes to the House floor.
• SB 2288: This bill as introduced would have created a $20 million renewable energy fund. DRC supported it. However, the Senate Agriculture Committee gutted the bill, knocked the appropriations down to $3 million, and changed it from a “renewable energy” to an “energy independence” bill. The amended bill now goes to the Senate Appropriations Committee for a hearing Tuesday, February 13, 11 a.m.

ACTION IN THE COMING WEEK:

With “crossover” coming soon, the Senate and House will vote on numerous bills this week. Here are the top 3 bills that merit a call to your legislators:
 

• SB 2331. Call or e-mail your Senator and tell her or him to vote against this bill, which would deprive counties and townships of the right to enact zoning for the health and safety of their communities. (See the DRC web page for home phone numbers and e-mail addresses.)
• HB 1511. Call or e-mail your Representatives and tell them to vote in favor of this bill, which would give oil companies an incentive to clean up old oil and gas sites, and protect the public against having to pay cleanup and reclamation costs. (See the DRC web page for home phone numbers and e-mail addresses.)