Hello, NDU members!
With just over one month remaining in the legislative session, more and more bills are coming to final votes. It’s more important than ever to make our voices known to legislators to ensure we protect public workers and educators in North Dakota! Head to the Act section if you’re ready to take action now, otherwise keep reading to learn more about our biggest priorities.
Didn’t catch our previous emails? Check our Issues and Action page to read about our priorities.
Learn
Vouchers
House Bill 1532 – the voucher bill that would give $24 million in public funds to private schools with no regulations or requirements for transparency – was given a 4-2 “do pass” recommendation in Senate Education Committee. The two Senators who voted against the do pass recommendation, Senators Lemm and Conley, received emails from NDU members who were constituents, urging them to oppose the bill. Our pressure works! HB 1532 is headed to Senate Appropriations Education and Environment Division on Tuesday, the 28th, at 8:30 am. Keep up the pressure so we can kill this bill! Head to the Act section to email your Senator and submit written testimony opposing HB 1532.
Pensions
Exciting news on the pensions front! House Bill 1040, which would close the defined benefit pension plan and cost $5.5 billion dollars to taxpayers, came out of Senate State and Local Government with a 4-2 “do not pass” recommendation. Senators Lee, Cleary, Braunberger, and Estenson voted for the do not pass recommendation, so if you are a constituent, please send them a thank you email for their position opposing HB 1040! The bill will be heard on the Senate floor for a final vote early next week, so make sure you go to the Act section to send Senators an email urging them to vote no on this expensive and careless legislation.
Act
Vouchers
We still have a chance to defeat HB 1532! It will be discussed next week in the Senate Appropriations Education and Environment Division, so keep sending emails to Senators urging a NO vote on HB 1532 with the link below!
Email the committee about HB 1532!
The next step is to use your same message to submit written testimony to the committee. We heard from legislators that many of the newer members use the number of submissions when considering issues. You can submit testimony at this link. If you have questions about the mechanics of submitting testimony, click here.
Pensions
House Bill 1040 is headed to the Senate floor next week! We need to flood our Senators’ inboxes with emails urging a NO vote on HB 1040. Click the link below to make your voice heard!
Tenure
Discussion on HB 1446 continues to be pushed back in the Senate Education committee. While we wait for a recommendation out of committee, we need to make sure our voices are heard to protect tenure and our higher education institutions. Keep sending emails to the committee urging a do not pass recommendation on HB 1446!
Email the committee about HB 1446!
Up Next …
Lobby Day Part 2: We’re Back
We are nearing the end of the 2023 legislative session and with it, final votes on bills relating to our top priorities like vouchers, pensions, and public funding. It is more important than ever that we make our voices heard at the Capitol to ensure legislation reflects our needs as educators and public workers. Given the success of NDU Lobby Day earlier this session, we are heading back to the Capitol for a second Lobby Day, being held Friday, April 14th at the Capitol.
Advocacy Training
Whether you have been involved for years or are interested in getting started for the first time, we will be providing advocacy trainings where members can learn more about the importance of their advocacy, how to get started, and some best practices. The same training will be provided every two weeks, with the next training on Tuesday, March 28, at 6pm, so choose the Tuesday that works best for you. You only need to attend once to get all the information!
These updates involve the most urgent matters relating to our top priorities. We’re monitoring many more bills and issues and encourage you to stay tuned to your email for action alerts as the session progresses. Head to our Bills of Interest page to stay informed on other bills we’re monitoring!
If you have any questions, comments, ideas, etc. please contact us at ali.hoffman@ndunited.org, sarah.grossbauer@ndunited.org, and andrew.winter@ndunited.org.