North Dakota Legislature Begins Special Session to Redo Voided Budget Bill

Special session convened to revise budget bill deemed unconstitutional, with legislative focus on restoring 14 bill provisions alongside Governor Burgum's proposals to allocate excess tax revenue towards tax cuts, infrastructure, and tourism grants.

• North Dakota's Republican governor, Doug Burgum, used special legislative session to push for the allocation of $91 million for an expansion of a previous income tax cut, $50 million for infrastructure projects, and $20 million for expanding a tourism attraction grant program.
• The session followed the state Supreme Court's ruling that a key budget bill was unconstitutional for violating a single-subject requirement for bills, resulting in an urgent need to restructure the budget.
• Fourteen bills are under review to restore provisions of the invalidated budget that has traditionally acted as a catch-all or cleanup bill at the end of the biennial session.
• One of Governor Burgum's proposals includes fixing the language on a military income tax exemption and allowing the University of North Dakota and Bismarck State College to receive non-state funds for campus improvements.
• While the special legislative session began with a focus on addressing the voided budget bill, the Republican House Majority leader, Mike Lefor, confirmed that discussions about the governor's proposals were still ongoing.

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