Hoeven Issues Statement Regarding Special Session

Gov. John Hoeven today issued the following statement regarding the Special Session of the Legislature and the bills he has vetoed.

"Last Monday I vetoed three budget bills and called a Special Session of the Legislature. Since then I have gone through all remaining bills and have taken action on these bills to enable the Legislature to fully complete its work.

"Today I have vetoed section 15 of House Bill 1015, section 2 of House Bill 1421 and several sections of Senate Bill 2015. The remaining bills from the 58th Legislative Assembly have been signed.

"My veto messages explain the specific reasons why those certain bills were vetoed. This statement is intended to summarize what I would like to see accomplished in the Special Session. I want to be very clear about what is needed to make the Special Session productive.

"First, the education funding bill did not target increased education funding for teacher compensation. In order to continue the great progress we started in the last legislative session, the Legislature should direct that new education dollars be used primarily for teacher compensation.

"Second, the funding bill for the Information Technology Department (ITD) set up a bureaucratic maze that, despite its good intentions, would have created more administrative costs. I will support the 5 percent reduction in each agency's technology budget. I cannot support the additional bureaucracy created by a purchasing pool in ITD that will cost taxpayers more and slow down technology-based services.

"Third, the budget bill for our corrections system is short of what is needed to pay prison guards, support staff, and addiction counselors currently on staff. While we are all concerned with the rapidly rising cost of our prisons, we cannot take risks with the public safety in this area. In addition, I believe the Legislature has underestimated the number of prisoners that will have to be placed in county jails in the coming two years. All together, we believe the costs are underestimated by as much as $3 million, which must be provided for, through a combination of additional appropriations and contingency funding.

"Finally, several policy sections of the budget bill for the Office of Management and Budget required significant government reorganization without allowing administrators adequate flexibility and discretion to accomplish the goals outlined by the Legislature. Three sections called for a consolidation of information technology services throughout state government. If the Legislature wants more consolidation of technology services, these sections should be rewritten to allow discretion to manage a flexible conversion, without disrupting services to our citizens.

"Several other sections in the OMB bill called for the elimination of 176 state employee positions with a complex system for pooling the savings from these roll-ups and dedicating them to public employee salary increases. These sections must be addressed to allow flexibility and discretion for agencies to manage position roll-ups and at the same time to maximize the creation of salary increase dollars.

"I have also asked the Legislature to consider that their final budget may be too tight, not only for the needs I just outlined, but also the funding levels for senior services and college students. We could reduce this pressure on the budget and our citizens by providing a modest amount of revenue, through even a small increase in the tobacco tax. We will then be in a more secure financial position to address unforeseen financial needs.

"I look forward to working with the Legislature to complete its work and build the best plan possible for the people of North Dakota."