020419 Legislative Report #4
Rep. Rick Holman, ND District
20
The Veterans Affairs Agency’s
responsibility is to work with the many veterans' organizations, as well as
county Veterans Service Officers (VSO) to make sure that no one is left out of
access to available services. We must not forget that these men and women took
time out of their lives to serve their country in a variety of ways. Away from
home, away from their family, and often in dangerous situations. Part of the Agency’s
work is to help those needing extra help by finding counseling, arranging
access to health care, training service dogs, providing transportation, and
just bringing them together so someone having problems can find the help he or
she needs.
Our daily floor sessions have
been lasting about an hour and a half. Something different from my last five
sessions is the number of bills coming to the floor vote with Do Not Pass
committee recommendations. Sometimes it is because the idea in the bill is not
something the people of ND need added to their list of laws. Other times,
however, it may just be that the issue has already been solved or appears in
another place, such as the Governor’s proposal or in a Senate bill. This early
in the session, the Governor, the Senate and the House have independent
proposals that will eventually come together sometime in April. The
nine-hundred bills we started with will likely be trimmed to three-hundred
before we’re done, hopefully in less than the required 80 days.
I joined with the Senators
Rich Wardner (Dickinson) and Judy Lee (West Fargo) as well as fellow House
member Gary Kreit (New Salem) on a bill that helps provide needed funding for our
nursing homes by adding a provider tax. Not a popular move. What I hope, is
that it will encourage the Governor and other appropriators to accept an across
the board proposal to help our nursing homes have enough income to keep their
balance sheet in the black, hence be able to continue providing this necessary
service. If nursing homes and DD providers are allowed a small increase in
funding from the Department of Human Services, the provider tax can go away.
On Thursday, I voted against
a proposal that failed to pay for legislator meals. It failed. I believe it's a
misguided reaction to the Measure One Ethics ballot measure that passed in the
November election. An ethics committee is currently working out the details on
how to implement this legislator transparency issue that most ND citizens voted
for. It’s a little early to react to something that may not happen.
Finally, I voted against historical
horse racing gaming even though the concept could have helped the industry,
including some local operations. I've always had a problem with using gambling
to raise money for organizations. It raises money, but sometimes takes money
from people who don’t have a lot to spare and sometimes can create more
problems than it solves. Those who race horses in Fargo or Belcourt brought
forward a proposal to help the industry keep operating, but after weighing the
pros and cons and hearing from some of the charitable organizations that
currently have gaming operations, I had to vote no on this expansion.
Stay warm and keep
smiling…………..In a month, we'll be thinking spring……….
Please attend the next Legislative Forum sponsored by
Mayville State University students at the
MSU Library on March 2nd at
10:00 a.m.
Rep. Rick Holman, ND District 20. rholman@nd.gov , rholman2
on Facebook, Text or call 701-238-1124
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