North Dakota Human Rights Coalition
Working to effect change so that all people in North Dakota enjoy full human rights
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North Dakota Human Rights Coalition Working to effect change so that all people in North Dakota enjoy full human rights |
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~North Dakota Human Rights Coalition~ PAUR Report
Programs ~ Announcements ~ Updates ~ Resources
Visit our Website at www.ndhrc.org
February 3, 2005
Hello members and friends of the North Dakota Human Rights Coalition!
In this week’s PAUR Report:
Announcements 1) Update on Legislative Bills of Interest – Human Rights 2) NDHRC Member Organizations’ 2005 Legislative Activities 3) 2005 North Dakota Community Leadership Awards 4) Promotional Information for the 4th Annual Indian Child Welfare Conference 5) Tri-College NEW Leadership Development Institute Accepting Applications 6) 2005 International Peace Festival Needs Coordinator
Newspaper Articles 7) The Forum (Fargo), Becoming more diverse 8) Grand Forks Herald, UND march honor King 9) Grand Forks Herald, King honored with food drive 10) Bismarck Tribune, Mandan chief featured in new painting in Washburn 11) The Forum (Fargo), King street still in works, Fargo panel runs into roadblocks 12) The Forum (Fargo), F-M Kurds say travel to keep many from voting in election 13) The Forum (Fargo), Girl credits King for how she lives 14) The Forum (Fargo), Jamestown hosts Special Olympics 15) The Forum (Fargo), Bill rewrites laws on permanent total disability 16) Grand Forks Herald, Our Opinion: Repeal the law banning cohabitation 17) Grand Forks Herald, Cigarettes, OK; shacking up, no way 18) Grand Forks Herald, Dorreen Yellow Bird Column: Leave tribal hunting rules alone 19) Bismarck Tribune, Injured -- then worked over 20) The Forum (Fargo), Martin Wishnatsky letter: Fornication is fruit of cohabitation 21) The Forum (Fargo), Mathern wants Guard’s makeup listed properly 22) Jamestown Sun, Nursing Home Lobby deserves lobbyists of the year honor 23) The Forum (Fargo), Elderly, disabled seek property tax breaks 24) The Forum (Fargo), House denies repeal 25) Bismarck Tribune, Historic headdress stolen from Sitting Bull Library 26) Grand Forks Herald, North Dakota Senate: Committee passes tribal hunting bill 27) The Forum (Fargo), ‘Friends,’ ‘vermin’ are back 28) The Forum (Fargo), Forum editorial: The cohab hypocrites win the day 29) The Forum (Fargo), Desira Olien letter: Archaic law shows blatant hypocrisy 30) The Forum (Fargo), Language-barrier bill planned 31) The Forum (Fargo), Youth flock to Spanish class 32) The Forum (Fargo), Cultures, laws clash when young marry 33) The Forum (Fargo), Human rights pushed 34) Bismarck Tribune, Increase in minimum wage draws opposition 35) Wahpeton Daily News, Circle of Nations artist uses sky for inspiration 36) Grand Forks Herald, Some say a new casino would take a chunk out of charity 37) Bismarck Tribune, Lutheran bishop: A healthy church will be full of tension 38) The Forum (Fargo), Fargo housing groups get aid 39) Grand Forks Herald, Housing: Help to arrive soon for the homeless
Events 40) 16th Annual Woodlands and Highplains Tri-College Pow Wow, February 12, Moorhead, MN 41) NDSU Memorial Union Gallery Exhibit, February 2 - 25, Fargo
Reminders 42) Press Release: Bill Filed to Create a North Dakota Commission on Human Rights 43) 2005 NDHRC Membership Drive 44) Diversity Resource Expo & Career Fair, March 3, 2005, Fargo 45) Learning Circle Facilitator Training Coming – Save the Date, February 18 – 20 46) Press Release: ‘Spring Break’ offered for tribal vocational training personnel 47) 2005 Patrick Stewart Human Rights Scholarships 48) Minnkota Health Project, 2nd Annual Celebrating Life Dinner, Gala, & Auction, February 26, 2005 49) 4th Annual Indian Child Welfare Conference, Mandan, ND, February 16 - 18 50) Upper Midwest Human Rights Fellowship Grants 2005 51) Sisters of the Presentation at Sacred Heart Convent, “2004 – 2005 Presentation Peace Studies Forum,” Fargo, ND
Please Note: The NDHRC distributes a weekly PAUR report to inform our members and friends about news, events, and other human rights related information around the state. The opinions expressed within the articles are those of the authors and are not endorsed by the NDHRC.
New NDHRC members: as a membership benefit you have received an e-mail subscription of our weekly e-mail newsletter, the NDHRC PAUR Report. If you would like to be removed from the PAUR Report mailing list, please send an email to humanrights@ndhrc.org.
********************************************* Announcements *********************************************
1.) Updates on Legislative Bills of Interest – Human Rights
Message from the North Dakota Fair Housing Council:
HB 1171: Relates to qualifications and appropriation for disability benefits. Came out of Committee Do Pass w/amendment 11-2. HB 1203: Regarding business incentives and economic accountability. Came out of Committee Do Pass w/amendment 12-1. HB 1216: Gives Labor Commissioner rulemaking authority regarding smoking in the workplace. Came out of Committee Do Pass 8-5. HB 1350: Requires landlords to provide smoke alarms for heairng impaired in rental units. PASSED House floor vote 57-33. HB 1424: Regarding economic development accountability. Came out of Committee Do Not Pass 11-2. HCR 3017: Designates life as beginning at conception. Hearing scheduled for 2/8 at 9:00. HCR 3030: Regarding privatization of social security. Hearing scheduled for 2/11 at 10:30. HCR 3031: Study tribal relations. Hearing scheduled for 2/8 at 9:00. SB 2261: Exempts breast feeding from form of sexual contact. Came out of Committee Do Pass 6-0. SB 2300: Relating to smoke-free environments. Hearing scheduled for 2/9 at 9:00. SB 2337: Creates a Human Rights Commission. Came out of Committee Do Not Pass 4-1.
For more information on any of these bills, go to: http://www.state.nd.us/lr/assembly/59-2005/leginfo/bill-inquiry/index.html
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2.) NDHRC Member Organizations’ 2005 Legislative Activities
A listing of bills and other information for the North Dakota Human Rights Coalition member organizations' is available at: .
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3.) 2005 North Dakota Community Leadership Awards
DATE:
February 2, 2005
Please complete and return to the ND Chamber no later than March 31, 2005. If you have any questions, contact me at 701-222-0920 or 800-382-1405 or laura@ndchamber.com.
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4.) Promotional Information for the 4th Annual Indian Child Welfare Conference
Message from ND Department of Human Services:
I am writing
on behalf of the planning committee for the 4th Annual Indian Child Welfare
conference. The conference will be held February 16-18 and we are planning for
250 registrants. We will be providing conference participants with a 'bag' from
the Bismarck-Mandan Chamber of Commerce that will hold a packet of information.
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5.) Tri-College NEW Leadership Development Institute Accepting Applications
The
Tri-College NEW (National Education for Women's) Leadership Development
Institute will be held on May 22 - 26, 2004 at Minnesota State University
Moorhead, in Moorhead, Minnesota. The institute is an intensive five-day
residential program designed to encourage civic and political participation and
to provide public leadership training to women who do not already have extensive
leadership experience. There is a particular emphasis on recruiting women from
groups that have typically been underrepresented voices in the political
process.
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6.) 2005 International Peace Festival Needs Coordinator
Message from the North Dakota Peace Coalition:
The International Peace Festival, held the third weekend in June, needs a coordinator for 2005, as the Peace Gardens need to know if we are having a festival this year. The coordinator works with a committee, books 4 or 5 speakers to address various issues of peace, sets up a schedule of activities and times for the week, and sends out a brochure and registration form. We have a small budget and need someone with time and energy to put into carrying this festival on. More than ever, we need to gather people and reaffirm our commitment to World Peace. If I do not have 3 or 4 people to commit to this event, within a week, I don't believe we will be able to have a festival this year. Please have anyone who is serious about working on this contact Lynn Barrie Mclean at lbmclean@mts.net as soon as possible.
********************************************* Newspaper Articles *********************************************
7.) The Forum (Fargo), Becoming more diverse
Becoming more diverseBy Dave Olson and Don DavisThe Forum – 01/17/2005
When Miguel Balderas moved to Moorhead in 1988, relations between whites and non-whites were "pretty bad."
Balderas, who came from the Pasadena, Texas, area, said his family -- which includes three grown children -- experienced "institutionalized racism," both in school and elsewhere.
Things couldn't be more different today, he said.
"It (the community) has tried so hard to be tolerant and accepting of minorities," the 46-year-old sanitation worker said.
The family's experience may bode well for a state that will become increasingly diverse over the next 25 years, according to a report released by Minnesota's State Demographic Center.
In 2000, 9 percent of Minnesotans identified themselves as non-white. By 2030, that number will grow to 16 percent, the report said, Statewide, the Latino population is expected to rise 47 percent by 2030.
<snip>
View full article here
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8.) Grand Forks Herald, UND march honor King
UND march
honors King Grand Forks Herald – 01/18/2005
Marchers on the UND campus Monday braved 30-below wind chills to honor a man whose struggle, they say, made anything they endured pale in comparison.
The mercury hovered around 11 below as more than 50 people gathered inside UND's Memorial Union for the short march to the Christus Rex Center, about a block away, for a tribute to slain civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr.
They lined up two abreast, with their arms interlocked. The scene was reminiscent of the parade of civil rights demonstrators King inspired who marched the same way from Selma to Montgomery, Ala., and in many other Southern cities in the 1960s.
As they marched at UND, they sang, "This little light of mine, I'm going to let it shine."
Once in Christus Rex, a candlelight vigil followed as members of the school's Black Student Association lit seven candles and publicly stated what King's legacy has meant to them.
'Dream' speech
A viewing of King's famous "I Have a Dream" speech on the National Mall followed the vigil. The audience broke into enthusiastic applause after King's climatic phrase, "Free at last, free at last; thank God almighty; we're free at last."
<snip>
View full article here
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9.) Grand Forks Herald, King honored with food drive
King honored with food drive Grand Forks Herald – 01/18/2005
For more information on the Retired & Senior Volunteer Program, call 229-8318 Emily Buttaro of Aberdeen has a ritual every time she goes shopping.
"I look for the good deals," she said. "Then I buy them and give them to the Salvation Army."
On Monday, that's exactly what Buttaro was doing at Ken's SuperFair Foods in Aberdeen.
As she walked out the door, she placed a bag of groceries into a cart manned by Reinie Gutjahr. Just a little way away, Gutjahr's wife Elinor handed out fliers explaining the Retired & Senior Volunteer Program's Martin Luther King Day project, a food drive for the Salvation Army. The flier said the project was "a way to transform Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s life and teachings into community service."
RSVP volunteers stood at Ken's from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. collecting goods. By 2 p.m. they had collected two carts full of food and pantry items.
"I don't know if that's a lot or not," Reinie Gutjahr said. "I'm having fun though. We started volunteering when we retired. It's fun to get out and do things like this."
Buttaro said it's also very useful.
"To volunteer and to give is the only way you can sustain programs like the Salvation Army," she said.
<snip>
View full article here
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10.) Bismarck Tribune, Mandan chief featured in new painting in Washburn
Mandan chief featured in new painting in Washburn By the Tribune staff Bismarck Tribune – 01/15/2005
"Hunting with Sheheke," an original painting by Michael Haynes, will be unveiled at 10:30 a.m. Jan. 22 the Headwaters Fort Mandan Visitor Center in Washburn.
The painting is the fifth in a series of six commissioned by the Lewis and Clark Fort Mandan Foundation from Haynes, each depicting scenes in and around Fort Mandan during the Lewis and Clark Expedition. Its commission was made possible by a gift from Bette Bergeson, of Arizona, in memory of her parents, B.E. and Nora Persinger, longtime Washburn residents.
Following the unveiling, Haynes will discuss the research undertaken to create the scene, depicting the Mandan Indian chief on horseback, riding alongside an expedition member, with Fort Mandan in the distance. Haynes, who is from Wildwood, Mo., has a national reputation as an authoritative historical artist, and has been focusing on the Lewis and Clark Expedition for several years. His works are published in numerous books and have been shown throughout the country.
Bismarck author Tracy Potter also will present "Sheheke: Mandan Indian Diplomat" during the program, sharing stories of the Mandan chief gleaned from his extensive research undertaken for the book of the same title. Haynes will be signing limited edition prints of Sheheke and his other Lewis and Clark prints, along with his book "Lewis & Clark: Tailor Made, Trail Worn; " and Potter will be signing his book as well.
<snip>
View full article here
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11.) The Forum (Fargo), King street still in works, Fargo panel runs into roadblocks
King street
still in works, Fargo panel runs into roadblocks
When the idea to name a Fargo street after Martin Luther King Jr. was first suggested, Barry Nelson thought it seemed like a no-brainer.
"Martin Luther King Jr. was a great leader … a hero in my mind," said Nelson, a member of Fargo's Human Relations Commission.
But for the past two years, the human relations group has hit one road block after another in its quest to name a street - preferably one that's shared between Fargo and West Fargo - after the slain civil rights leader.
Today, on Martin Luther King Jr. Day, commissioners are back to where they started, searching for a street to brand in honor of the man and hoping the idea might finally come to fruition this year.
"We're committed to it," Nelson said.
In coming months, commissioners intend to meet with the city's planning staff or planning commissioners to identify developers who might want to dedicate a street in a future subdivision. The focus is on new streets in new developments, said Yoke Sim Gunaratne, chairwoman of the Human Relations Commission.
<snip>
View full article here
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12.) The Forum (Fargo), F-M Kurds say travel to keep many from voting in election
F-M Kurds
say travel to keep many from voting in election
For local Kurds, little is more important than voting in the Iraqi election later this month. Yet, travel could keep many expatriates from participating.
Hussein Weled, a member of the North Dakota Kurdistan Democratic Party, is among those who want to cast a ballot.
"This will decide the future of Iraq, the future of the Kurds," said the West Fargo man. "I'd love to go, but I have a job."
Eligible Iraqis must travel to one of five U.S. cities to register for the election before Sunday. Chicago, about 650 miles away, is the closest polling location to Fargo-Moorhead.
Voters then must return Jan. 28-30 to cast a ballot.
Other U.S. cities where Iraqis can vote are Detroit, Nashville, Tenn., Los Angeles and Washington.
Many people won't be able to vote because they can't take time off from work nor afford the trip, local Kurdish leaders said.
"They are not making it easy," Yassin Barwari of Fargo said, referring to a Geneva-based agency organizing the overseas vote. "It doesn't make sense to me."
<snip>
View online article here
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13.) The Forum (Fargo), Girl credits King for how she lives
Girl
credits King for how she lives
Praise Naadubon says she wouldn't have many friends if it wasn't for Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
The 11-year-old Fargo Agassiz Middle School student said King deserves credit for how she lives today and the number of Caucasian friends she has.
Naadubon was among 300 people who paid tribute to King Monday night at the Fargo Theatre.
The Fargo Human Relations Commission shared King's dream nearly 37 years after the activist was gunned down in his fight for civil rights. The evening included songs, speeches and pictures of what he represented.
The audience dominated by Caucasians spoke in unison, pledging to eliminate discrimination. "We remember that the dream still needs a lot of work," said Janeen Kobrinsky of the Fargo Human Relations Commission.
The event also honored the Rev. Shawnthea Monroe-Mueller, Ruth Meberg and radio station KNDS 105.9 for their contributions to human relations.
Monroe-Mueller received the Individual Award for her compassion, vision, justice and advocacy for those often overlooked or forgotten.
<snip>
View full article here
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14.) The Forum (Fargo), Jamestown hosts Special Olympics
Jamestown
hosts Special Olympics
JAMESTOWN, N.D. -- The North Dakota Special Olympics will hold the opening ceremonies for its 2005 Winter Games Saturday in Jamestown Middle School. The competition will be held at the school and the Jamestown College football practice field.
Two athletes competing in Saturday’s state games will compete in February’s World Winter Games in Nagano, Japan. Kent Tarno, Valley City, N.D., and Heather Wintermeyer, Jamestown will complete in the world games’ snowshoe racing and figure skating events, respectively. In addition, coach Cindy Schopper, Valley City, will coach snowshoe racing for TeamUSA in Nagano.
For more information, call (701) 746-0331.
View online article here
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15.) The Forum (Fargo), Bill rewrites laws on permanent total disability
Bill
rewrites laws on permanent total disability
BISMARCK - Until three years ago, Deb Bale was addicted to hard physical labor, she told legislators Monday. But after a spreading strep infection disabled her hands and arms, the Jamestown nurse has not been able to work and can barely drive.
Her condition is progressive.
She gets $93 a week in workers' compensation.
Now a bill in the Legislature might not allow others with similar work-related disabilities even that much, she said.
House Bill 1171 rewrites the laws on who is entitled to permanent total disability payments. It also would declare when wage replacement payments for temporary total disability ends.
Tim Wahlin, attorney for Workforce Safety and Insurance, the state's workers' compensation agency, told the House Industry, Business and Labor Committee Monday that current state laws have ambiguous definitions of permanent total disability and temporary total disability.
As a result, he said, quoting auditors who examined WSI, "This state has an inordinate number of workers declared totally, permanently disabled," 980 people. The audit of the agency showed the percentage to be 2½ times the national average.
<snip>
View full article here
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16.) Grand Forks Herald, Our Opinion: Repeal the law banning cohabitation
OUR OPINION: Repeal the law banning cohabitation Tom Dennis for the Herald
Grand Forks Herald – 01/18/2005 Our view: The law, which hasn't been enforced for more than 50 years, is long overdue for repeal.
It's time for North Dakota to break up with its long-time domestic partner: the cohabitation law.
The law bars unmarried individuals of the opposite sex from living together. There may have been a time when such living arrangements could be prohibited; after all, the law has been on the books since statehood.
But statehood was a long, long time ago. Society has changed a lot since then - and for evidence, you needn't look farther than your own family and friends.
Do you know and love someone who currently is breaking the cohabitation law? You probably do: After all, out of 149,000 "coupled households" in North Dakota, as the 2000 Census describes married-couple and unmarried-partner households, nearly 11,000 or 7.2 percent consisted of "opposite-sex unmarried partners." That's close to 22,000 cohabitators, or about one out of every 28 people in the state.
County and state lockups had better start adding beds if they're going to jail those scofflaws. In reality, of course, the jails needn't do any such thing, because the cohabitation law hasn't been enforced since 1938. And that's the point. A law so thoroughly out of touch that people disobey it freely and police couldn't care less has no business being on the books.
Drug laws also are violated with some impunity, yet still remain law, supporters of the cohabitation law might argue. But there are two big differences. First, illegal drugs are socially destructive in obvious ways. That's not the case with POSSLQs, or "persons of opposite sex sharing living quarters," again as the Census describes it. The practice can't be connected to any great social harm.
<snip>
View full article here
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17.) Grand Forks Herald, Cigarettes, OK; shacking up, no way
Cigarettes,
OK; shacking up, no way Grand Forks Herald – 01/20/2005
BISMARCK - An 18-year-old man returning from military service in Iraq can buy cigarettes at a gas station but can't move in with his girlfriend, North Dakota's House of Representatives decided Wednesday.
The House voted down two bills - one that would have raised the age to buy tobacco to 19, and one that would have repealed North Dakota's law against cohabitation.
Supporters of the tobacco bill, HB1183, urged lawmakers to vote yes as a way to help discourage smoking among young people. But a solid majority thought otherwise. Several lawmakers argued it would be hypocritical to allow 18-year-olds to fight for their country but prohibit them from smoking.
"An individual who is 18 years old is a consenting adult in this state and should be fully capable of making a decision whether they want to smoke or not," said Rep. Todd Porter, R-Mandan. The bill was intended to address situations where school officials could not punish 18-year-old students who were seen smoking off school grounds. After such a situation last spring in Hillsboro, N.D., Attorney General Wayne Stenehjem issued an opinion saying schools had no jurisdiction over students in such instances.
"The present school authorities are just going to have to suck it up," said Rep. Darrell Nottestad, R-Grand Forks.
The House killed the bill by a vote of 28-62.
The House also voted down a proposal that would remove a law against unmarried, unrelated people of the opposite sex living together.
<snip>
View full article here
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18.) Grand Forks Herald, Dorreen Yellow Bird Column: Leave tribal hunting rules alone
DORREEN YELLOW BIRD COLUMN: Leave tribal hunting rules alone
Grand Forks Herald – 01/15/2005 We've come a long way since the days when my father hunted game on the rolling North Dakota prairie or walked the breaks of the Badlands. I knew it was a new day for hunting when I listened to the conflict between the tribe and the North Dakota Game and Fish Department officials. Many years ago, there were no reservation licenses and nonmembers probably didn't consider hunting the reservations.
But today, Game and Fish wants to claim a right of jurisdiction over nontribal members who buy hunting licenses on reservations. When I was young, we lived with my grandparents on the bench lands above the Missouri River. The White Shield, N.D., community wasn't established until years later. The Missouri River was in its banks, and the trees and vegetation along the river held abundant game. Prairie chickens were one of our main sources of food because the birds came close to our area and were plentiful.
I remember my father coming home with what seemed to my young eyes to be hundreds of prairie chickens. Mom and my grandmother spent the day preparing the birds. They put us to bed early that night, but we could smell the aroma of cooking chicken, and we could hear them laughing and talking long into the night. Even the steam from the bubbling canning jars on the stove made its way into our upstairs bedroom.
My mother and grandmother also dried other game such as venison. Fish from the turbulent, muddy Missouri was another mainstay of our diets - and they used fish traps, which I think are not legal today by state standards. But then in those days, they governed themselves and took only what they needed to eat.
Hunting and fishing were an important part of our livelihood. <snip> View full article here
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19.) Bismarck Tribune, Injured -- then worked over
Injured --
then worked over Bismarck Tribune – 01/19/2005
I was
employed by the state of North Dakota for 26 years. For 25 years, my work
consisted of desk duties. I was considered a good employee and was well thought
of by customers. The last year I was employed with the state, my employer
assigned me work in a printing area. It was an either-or situation -- either you
work in printing, or we can't keep you employed.
Why aren't
these settlements done in writing, like other decisions or notices? Is the
intimidation necessary? After I read the investigation report, I was convinced
my decision not to settle was correct. The investigation report contains new,
conflicting information given by all reporting -- yes, even the investigator.
What I find interesting is that information given in the report is contradicted
by other documents or comments within the report.
<snip>
View online article here
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20.) The Forum (Fargo), Martin Wishnatsky letter: Fornication is fruit of cohabitation
Martin Wishnatsky letter: Fornication is fruit of cohabitationThe Forum – 01/19/2005
Far from being "hypocrisy at its worst," (Forum editorial, Jan. 14), the North Dakota cohabitation law is sensible public policy aimed at deterring people from living as married when they are not. The fruit of cohabitation ("fornication") is abortion. Society is entitled to discourage irresponsible behavior which is often fatally harmful to children (85 percent of abortions are performed on unmarried women).
If the cohabitation law is gutted, landlords will have no recourse to refuse to rent their properties to fornicators. In 2001, the North Dakota Supreme Court refused to force landlords to rent to cohabiters solely because the criminal law prohibited the behavior. North Dakota Fair Housing Council, Inc. v. Peterson, 2001 N.D. 81, 625 N.W.2d 551. If § 12.1-20-10 of the Century Code loses its current cohabiting prohibition, landlords will be forced, as they are in California and Massachusetts, to rent to those whose behavior offends their religious principles.
The Forum's habitual and wearisome attack on morality is consistent with its general support of abortion and sexual perversion. The community deserves better than to have its remnants of morality further shredded by its daily newspaper.
Martin Wishnatsky
Fargo View online article here
Please note, the following letter to the editor has been sent to the Fargo Forumn response to the above Letter to the Editor:
RE: Clarification to Martin Wishnatsky Letter 1/19/05
In Mr. Wishnatsky's letter to the editor dated 1/19/2005, he misquoted the impact of HB1184 (bill to repeal the North Dakota Cohabitation Law) and I wish to clarify. Mr. Wishnatsky is incorrect when he states that passage of HB1184 would limit a landlord's ability to deny rental housing to unmarried opposite gender couples. HB1184 only repeals North Dakota's Cohabitation Law which makes it illegal for people of the opposite gender and of marrying age to live together outside of marriage. North Dakota's Cohabitation Law applies regardless of whether a couple is renting or own their own home.
HB1184 as currently drafted DOES NOT repeal the language included in the North Dakota Housing Discrimination Act (14-02.5-02.4) which states, "Nothing in this chapter prevents a person from refusing to rent a dwelling to two unrelated individuals of opposite gender who are not married to each other." Since 2001, landlords have been free to choose if they want to rent to unmarried opposite gender couples. This section of law was added into the North Dakota Housing Discrimination Act during the 2001 Legislative Session and following the filing of the lawsuit "North Dakota Fair Housing Council/Kippen v. Peterson" which dealt with marital status discrimination in North Dakota.
Amy Schauer Nelson http://www.in-forum.com/articles/index.cfm?id=80937§ion=News
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21.) The Forum (Fargo), Mathern wants Guard’s makeup listed properly
Mathern
wants Guard’s makeup listed properly
BISMARCK -- Sen. Tim Mathern has introduced a state constitutional amendment to clarify that North Dakota has both men and women in its National Guard.
“The amendment would acknowledge that militia members are men and women, 18 years of age and older,” he said. “The present constitution notes the militia to be males between 18 and 45 years of age.”
A similar measure was killed in the 2003 Legislature.
“I think that is an embarrassment to North Dakota and our support for the Guard,” the Fargo Democrat said. “Our Guard, women and men, some above age 45, are fighting a war in Iraq and some die for our country in the process.”
Monday was the 10th day of the Legislature and the bill introduction deadline for House members. Senators are restricted to introducing no more than three more bills each after the 10th day.
In all, legislators had filed 865 bills by end of the 10th day. This compares to 828 at this time in 2003. Since 1997, legislators have filed between 800 and 900 bills in the first 10 days.
The House passed a bill Tuesday that may cut down on what one legislator called an abuse of the court system.
<snip>
View full article here
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22.) Jamestown Sun, Nursing Home Lobby deserves lobbyists of the year honor
Nursing Home Lobby deserves lobbyists of the year
honor Jamestown Sun – 01/14/2005
The 2005 legislative session is just about a week old, and I would like to give “kuddos” for the award of “lobbyists of the year.” That laurel goes to the Nursing Home Lobby (a.k.a. The North Dakota Long Term Care Association).
It has been five years since the U.S. Supreme Court rendered the Olmstead decision, whereby the elderly or people with disabilities should be served in a least restrictive environment, in other words in their own homes in their communities as opposed to a nursing home or other institution.
In a time where most states are attempting to increase funding for home and community-based services for those populations, the North Dakota Office of Management and Budget (OMB), as well as Gov. John Hoeven’s budget, calls for a direct increase of $30,332,902 to nursing homes and an increase of $4,416,997 for basic care services (provided by nursing homes) for the next two years.
According to the federal Center for Medicaid Studies, North Dakota already spends at a ration of 34.6 to 1 (for every $34.60 spent toward nursing home care, $1 is spend in home and community-based care). That is the second worst ratio amongst the 50 states in the United States. Only Tennessee’s ratio is worse. For comparison, Minnesota’s spending is at a 2.2:1 ratio, Montana 3.5:1 and South Dakota 14.4 to 1.
Granted both the OMB and governor’s budget offer some increase to home and community-based service in the state, they do not compare to the dollar increase for nursing homes and will increase the spending gap.
<snip>
View full article here
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23.) The Forum (Fargo), Elderly, disabled seek property tax breaks
Elderly,
disabled seek property tax breaks
BISMARCK - Kathy Onsum just finished paying off her house, and the Fargo woman told legislators her high property taxes might force her to sell it.
"I need your support," Onsum told senators Tuesday at a hearing of the Senate Finance and Taxation Committee. "I want the American dream, to live in my own home."
The panel is considering two bills, offered by Republican Gov. John Hoeven and three Democratic legislators, that would increase the benefit offered by a state homestead credit on property taxes. The full Senate will vote on the bills later.
Low-income North Dakotans who are permanently and totally disabled, or are at least 65 years old, are eligible for the property tax break. Individuals lose their eligibility if they have more than $14,000 in annual income.
Under current law, if a person makes less than $8,000 annually, he or she does not have to pay property taxes on the first $44,444 of a home's value. That is the maximum exemption available; its value decreases as a person's income rises.
Two Fargo Democratic senators, Tim Mathern and Carolyn Nelson, and Rep. Steve Zaiser, D-Fargo, have introduced legislation to exempt the first $100,000 of a home's value for someone who qualifies for the homestead benefit.
<snip>
View full article here
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24.) The Forum (Fargo), House denies repeal
House
denies repeal
BISMARCK -- Driven by impassioned arguments about morals, the Legislature, for the second consecutive session, voted against repealing an old state law barring couples from cohabiting.
The House killed the bill 52-37 on Wednesday, with opponents shrugging off appeals from bill supporters who reminded them the law is unenforced, unenforceable, and likely unconstitutional and archaic.
House Bill 1184 would have replaced the current law with one that bars cohabiting if couples pretend to be married with the purpose of defrauding someone.
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