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2009 Senator Olafson Prime Sponsored Bills
Senate Bill 2184
Ends the practice of levying excise taxes on motor vehicle manufacture’s discounts and incentives. It is estimated that this will result in a tax savings for North Dakota citizens of $6.4 million during the 2009 - 2011 biennium. The bill passed the Senate 40 - 6 and passed the House on a unanimous vote.
Senate Bill 2224
Provides for a refund of the special fuels tax on the fuel that is used in truck refrigeration units. Dyed fuel, which is not taxed as road fuel, is typically not available at truck stops, so truckers were paying a double road tax on the fuel they were using in the refrigerator units. The bill passed the Senate on a vote of 45 to 2 and passed the House on a unanimous vote.
Senate Bill 2241
Lowers the fee for an annual wide load permit for truckers from $500 to $100. Surrounding states have fees ranging from $25 to $125, and as a matter of fairness for people doing business in our state, the fee will now be consistent with that of surrounding states. The bill passed both the Senate and the House on unanimous votes.
Senate Bill 2281
Provides for greater flexibility for citizens who have set up Health Savings Accounts and will remove the restriction which had previously limited their investment to only savings accounts or certificates of deposit. One of the state’s leading financial institutions in the area of Health Savings Accounts has branches in District 10. The bill passed both the Senate and the House on unanimous votes.
Senate Bill 2282
This was a bill that I introduced at the request of the Secretary of State and will clarify provisions on the use of trade names by franchisees. The bill passed both the Senate and the House on unanimous votes.
Senate Bill 2300
Provides for increased bonding coverage for small political subdivisions and will help to protect them financially when there is a rare case of fraud or theft. Currently, political subdivisions have only been bonded at a level of 25% of their annual expenditures. Under the provisions of this bill, all political subdivisions would be covered at a minimum level of $10,000. This bill will be most significant for townships, and I introduced the bill at the request of the North Dakota Township Officers Association. The bill passed both the Senate and the House on unanimous votes.
Senate Bill 2351
Would have prohibited artificial feeding of big game and hunting big game with the aid of bait. Despite the fact that all of the country’s preeminent nationally acclaimed experts in wildlife biology and animal health recommend ending these activities, the bill failed in the Senate on a vote of 19 to 27. Unfortunately, the disease threats faced by our domestic livestock industry and by our wildlife resources will not go away, and neither will the anger being expressed by the majority of hunters who oppose these activities. Related to this issue was the successful effort I spearheaded to add an appropriation to the Ag Department budget for a full time employee for the Board of Animal Health to provide increased oversight and enforcement of our animal health importation requirements.
Senate Bill 2368
Will allow Soil Conservation District supervisors to raise their tax levies from one mill to two. SCD’s around the state do a lot of good work and the supervisors and staffs are very dedicated and responsible people. The bill struggled in both chambers but did pass the Senate on a vote of 26 to 21 and the House on a vote of 49 to 44.
Senate Bill 2428
Would have provided an arbitration process conducted by the State Engineer when Water Resource Districts in two or more counties are unable to reach an agreement on the cost sharing for a project which benefits more than one county. This bill was an attempt to provide a less costly and less time consuming option for resolving disputes than the only option which is currently available, which is launching into court litigation. The bill passed the Senate on a unanimous vote, but the House saw a boogeyman behind the tree and killed the bill on a vote of 3 to 89.
And, the Winston Churchill quote which is suitable for closing out the 2009 Legislative Session: “You have enemies? Good. That means you've stood up for something, sometime in your life.”
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