North Dakota legislators and legislators-elect will be gathering at the state Capitol in Bismarck Tuesday for a three-day organizational session. One of the first items of businesses will be setting the operating rules meant to guard against the spread of COVID-19.

Even with precautions expected to be in place, legislators with concerns will have the option to participate remotely.

Several Minot legislators contacted Friday indicated they plan to attend the organizational session and participate from the floor.

“I certainly intend to be there,” Rep. Jay Fisher, R-Minot, said. “We need to conduct the state’s business.”

Sen. Randy Burckhard, R-Minot, said he is pretty comfortable after attending a Legislative Management Committee meeting in mid-November that set the tone for what’s to come.

“I think they have done as much as they can to help make it a safer workplace,” he said.

Senate Majority Leader Rich Wardner, R-Dickinson, said technology allowing videoconferencing between the House and Senate chambers and allowing members to choose to participate remotely from other parts of the Capitol should help ease concerns of those uncomfortable with legislative gatherings.

Sen. David Hogue, R-Minot, said he is comfortable with the measures in place for floor sessions, but he knows some senators prefer to work outside the chambers and they will be accommodated.

Larger rooms will be used for party caucuses and meetings to allow for better social distancing. Among the more controversial rules to be voted on will be one requiring the wearing of masks.

Rep. Jeff Hoverson, R-Minot, said he expects the mask requirement to pass in the House, forcing legislators such as himself to comply or leave the chambers to continue participating remotely in another room.

“We should have gotten together to end the State of Emergency, but there wasn’t enough will or guts to do that in the Legislature, especially by the leadership,” Hoverson said. Hoverson is among legislators who see Gov. Doug Burgum’s executive orders as an abuse of power.

“The virus is real but the mitigation of the virus is a bigger threat,” he said. “We have to get out of the sandbox and quit playing these kid games with masks and pretending that little piece of plastic between us is actually going to do anything.”

He said he plans to introduce a bill prohibiting mask mandates and hopes to bring in a retired military, respiratory expert to present the science regarding the ineffectiveness of masks. He said the state should be focused on therapies such as hydroxychloroquine and immune boosters rather than measures that offer a false sense of security.

“We can do a lot better than what we are doing,” he said. “North Dakota has an opportunity to be an island of hope but we can’t do it with this governor.”

Although he’s not a fan of mask wearing, Rep. Matt Ruby, R-Minot, said he will follow whatever rules are in place because he needs to participate in person to be effective for his constituents.

“If that’s what it takes to get the most participation from legislators and lobbyists and the people, then I guess that’s what we have to do,” he said.

Rep. Larry Bellew, R-Minot, said he will be on the floor to be sworn in but then will assess the situation to determine how he wants to continue participating. Although concerned about holding the organizational session so soon after people have been congregating at Thanksgiving, he added, “I think there’s enough precautions to do what we need to do.”

Senate Assistant Minority Leader Joan Heckaman, D-New Rockford, said she expects all but one from her caucus to attend in person. One has hesitated due to the high rate of COVID-19 in his community.

Heckaman said there will be opportunities to use balconies and other areas outside the Senate chamber to create social distancing, or senators can choose to participate remotely from another room. The availability of sanitizers and spray disinfectants and an improved air exchange system increase the safety, she said.

“I think most of the legislators are pretty comfortable with that,” she said. “We are going to be ready. We feel we are in the best shape we can be in right now.”