City staff summarizes status of multiple state bills, urges monitoring

Good evening, council president Sandy and members of the Grand Forks City Council. City staff summarized activity at the state Legislature on several bills and budget items that could affect Grand Forks.

City staff member Mr. Boerstrom told the committee that a property tax bill (referred to in the meeting as “property tax bill 1176”) had a scheduled Appropriations hearing canceled and that staff is watching for amendments and a new hearing date. He said Senate Bill 2254, described in the update as a public transit bill that passed the House with changes, had its grant funding reduced in the legislative process from $15,000,000 to $2,000,000 and still contains a study provision. Boerstrom identified other measures staff is tracking, including a water bill (referred to as Water Bill 1020), a public education bill (referred to as 1013, which contains funding for the children’s museum), and Prairie Dog funding included in the OMB budget (referred to as 1015).

“Everything’s in committee. I was hoping to give an update on the property tax bill 1176. It was scheduled to have a committee hearing this afternoon, and they canceled that meeting,” Mr. Boerstrom said. He added that all bills must be out of committee by April 9 and that conference/concurring processes follow committee action.

Boerstrom also reported briefly that bill 1332 — referenced in the update as “our Grease Bridal” — had come out of committee and was awaiting a Senate Appropriations hearing. He invited council questions at the close of his update.

Why it matters: Several of the items staff flagged contain direct funding or study language that could change local funding levels or impose new mandates; staff indicated continued monitoring and outreach would follow as committee and floor schedules evolve.

No formal action or vote was taken on the legislative update; it was presented as informational.