SB 2444 sent
to governor
BISMARCK Senate Bill 2444, which provides $12.5 million in general funds and $20 million in spending authority for federal funds came to the House with a unanimous "do-pass" recommendation from the House Appropriations Committee.
The bill passed the Senate this past Friday. It passed the House on Monday with another unanimous vote. Because both chambers passed the bill without changes, it will go to the governor's office to be signed.
Gwen Bristol
Homeschooling bill passes in senate
BISMARCK House Bill 1171, which would loosen homeschooling oversight requirements, passed in the Senate on Monday.
Currently homeschooling parents who have a bachelor's degree or greater don't have to have a monitor. As the bill came out of the House, parents wouldn't need a minimum level of education and wouldn't need a monitor.
The Senate amended the bill so that a homeschooling parent without a high school degree or its equivalent would have to have a monitor, but parents who have at least a high school degree wouldn't need one.
After several minutes of debate, the bill passed the Senate by a vote of 27 to 20.
Gwen Bristol
State youth council passed by House
BISMARCK The bill that sets up a state youth council to help investigate issues facing youth in North Dakota passed the House on Monday.
The original bill would have provided around $83,600 to help cover the costs of traveling to meetings, but that money was amended out in the House. The Senate further amended the bill so that the meetings would be held electronically and so that the council could get and use money from private sources for their meetings.
The House concurred with the Senate amendments on Monday and then passed the bill for the final time by a vote of 59-31.
"It's wonderful that we're going to listen to the kids," said Rep. Lisa Wolf, D-Minot, who sponsored the bill. "Hopefully we'll be able to listen to them."
Gwen Bristol