CONNECTION | FEATURE
EDUCATION
STREET UTILITY FEE
HOUSE BILL 2289
HOUSE BILL 1419
Description: SB 2289 aligns certain existing North Dakota scholarships with the state’s choice-ready framework. Choiceready is a component of the Department of Public Instruction to measure whether our high schools are producing students who are ready for success upon graduation — whether they choose to start a career, enter the military, or pursue higher education.
Description: HB 1419 gives cities and counties the option to use a street utility fee to fund street maintenance projects instead of special assessments. Voters must approve the use of a street utility fee instead of special assessments. The Chamber EDC has been working to get this passed for two legislative sessions. The legislation was drafted because of a 2017 law that limited cities’ authority to levy taxes.
Chamber EDC Stance: Support
Chamber EDC Stance: Support
Result: Passed
Result: Passed
“Over a number of years, we have created (various) scholarship programs for high school graduates,” said Sen. Erin Oban, District-35, the prime sponsor of SB 2289. “Since they were created, our expectations of students who are graduating have changed. That really came with the passage of federal Every Student Succeeds Act. With that we created a choice-ready framework. We heard students were having to make decisions between graduating choice-ready versus meeting the qualifications of the scholarships. That is counterintuitive… Now, we are making sure kids who are graduating are choice-ready whether they will be going on to college, starting a career, or entering the military.
“The passage of House Bill 1419 gives another tool in the toolbox for political subdivisions to find a way to get the proper funding of their infrastructure needs,” said Rep. Jason Dockter, District-7, the prime sponsor of the bill. “It’s not a one-size-fits-all. Different political subdivisions do their special assessments differently. It’s up to the city to educate their voters before they bring this forward. It’s another tool in the toolbox.”
“Making sure that our financial incentives are aligned to expectations was a no brainer.”
When You’re Ready, We’ll Be Here.
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