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Senate rejects bill to bar state support for public broadcasting; wider floor votes include school bus fine increase and Indian Child Welfare technical fixes
Summary
House Bill 12‑55, which would have barred state or federal funds from being used to support public broadcasting in North Dakota, failed in the Senate on a 6‑41 vote after floor debate on unintended consequences and emergency‑communication impacts.
The North Dakota Senate on Monday rejected House Bill 12‑55, a proposal to prohibit state officers from using state or federal funds to support public broadcasting, by a 6‑41 vote.
"There are a lot of unintended consequences," said Senator Rohrs, the bill carrier, as he described concerns that the bill would prevent state pass‑throughs of federal funds and could affect weather alerts, educational services and leased tower uses. "Words matter. We can't define public broadcasting at this time, and no one has been able to figure out what that means," he told colleagues.
Supporters of cutting state support said public broadcasting had…
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