Having served six years in the North Dakota Senate and another six years in Congress, I can say from experience it’s rare to work on tax policy that helps those who need the most relief first, while also providing the greatest relief to those who pay the most taxes.

But that’s exactly what was achieved last weekend when lawmakers passed and I signed the landmark property tax relief and reform package in House Bill 1176.

From historic property tax relief to meaningful action on education, public safety and infrastructure, this session demonstrated the power of collaboration and shared commitment to our state’s future.

House Bill 1176 dramatically reduces the burden on homeowners by more than tripling the existing primary residence credit from $500 to $1,600 per year. In 2025-27, homeowners will see an estimated $409 million in relief, using earnings from the state’s $12 billion Legacy Fund.

In addition, the Legislature capped increases in local property tax budgets at 3% annually. This will encourage responsible financial planning across cities, counties, schools and park districts, and ensure that property tax growth is kept in check – providing relief for families and promoting fiscal discipline at the local level.

This package is responsible, affordable and durable. The framework allows future legislatures to increase the primary residence credit as the Legacy Fund’s earnings grow, putting a majority of homeowners on a path to zero property taxes while aiding our workforce recruitment efforts.

Homeowners spoke. We listened. Ensuring this tax relief continues to increase will be a top priority for our administration in future sessions.

Another priority is the education and well-being of our young people. In one of the most impactful bills of the session, we took bold action to improve the learning environment in North Dakota’s K-12 public schools by requiring bell-to-bell phone-free policies. Requiring students to stow their personal electronic devices during the school day will limit distractions and set our youth up for greater academic success and improved mental health.

We also became the 47th state to allow public charter schools to help drive innovation in education, improve student outcomes and increase parent satisfaction.

With a strong focus on public safety and corrections reform, we passed a series of bills designed to ease prison overcrowding and support rehabilitation. These measures include new reentry programs and continuing successful initiatives such as Free Through Recovery.

We secured over $35 million to complete the Heart River Correctional Center in Mandan – a long-overdue, modern facility for female inmates – and we’re working with local governments to secure more jail beds to ease overcrowding across the state.

Funding was also approved for a new State Hospital in Jamestown to provide 140 acute mental health treatment beds. These investments will help ensure North Dakotans who need mental health services have access to the care they deserve.

A long-discussed pipeline to offload natural gas from western North Dakota to the east is one step closer with a $100 million line of credit through the Bank of North Dakota to purchase pipeline capacity. This takeaway capacity will not only supply natural gas to homes and businesses in the east, supporting economic growth, it also will keep oil production from being constrained by excess natural gas as the Bakken matures.

We also approved numerous bills supporting the military and first responders and made hefty investments in roads, bridges, airports and other infrastructure critical to North Dakota’s future.

While our work is just getting started, this session delivered real, meaningful results and set a strong foundation for continued progress in the years ahead.

We look forward to building on these successes to make North Dakota an even better place to live, work and raise a family.

Kelly Armstrong is the 34th governor of North Dakota.