Two bills pushed by Grand Forks legislators that improve life for the state's military community are officially law after being signed by Gov. Doug Burgum.
That includes Senate Bill 2306 from Sen. Scott Meyer to create licensing reciprocity for eligible trailing spouses of military personnel, along with House Bill 1053 from Rep. Steve Vetter to reduce income taxes for veterans.
Meyer and Vetter are both Republicans serving District 18, which encompasses downtown Grand Forks and a chunk of Grand Forks Air Force Base.
Burgum signed Meyer's bill Thursday night, and it was filed with the Secretary of State Friday morning.
Amended versions of the bill passed both the House and Senate unanimously before entering conference committee and eventually ending up on the governor's desk. Meyer said Friday the bill comes from a new "quality of life" standard U.S. military officials are using to grade communities for missions and base retention.
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"Now that this 'quality of life' metric is being used, licensing reciprocity is so important," said Meyer. "Being able to have that pass in North Dakota finally is a tremendous step in the right direction."
The issue was proving troublesome for many military families, since their length of stay in a particular state may only be two years. Meanwhile, it sometimes took more than a year to complete requirements for state licensing for a job they have done their entire professional careers.
With licensing reciprocity, many leaders-at both the state and local level-feel it creates a tighter bond between the state and the military bases located here.
Now that the bill is law, Meyer said the state Department of Commerce will begin collecting data to make sure the bill is working.
"And maybe later we can use it not just on military spouses, but other reciprocity for people moving into our state," Meyer said.
Burgum signed Vetter's bill Monday, April 8. Two weeks earlier the bill had passed the Senate 38-6 after passing the House in February.
HB 1053 applies to benefits received by veterans for their time in the U.S. military, and it also applies to those benefits received by a veteran's surviving spouse.
During a presentation to the House floor in February, Vetter said his bill would help North Dakota overcome a "workforce shortage" and help the state fill the roughly 13,000 open jobs it reported in December 2018 with military veterans who have experience in cybersecurity, maintenance, security, technology and more.
