BISMARCK - North Dakota legislators tackle hot-button issues such as the so-called "shoot-the-burglar" bill and an abortion ban this week.
Hearings also are set for bills that would make chokecherry the official state fruit and the "North Dakota Promise" tuition grant program.
House 1466 is the abortion bill. It prohibits abortions in the state but would only take effect if the Roe v. Wade decision that legalized abortion is overturned on the national level. The hearing is at 10:30 a.m. Tuesday in the Senate Judiciary Committee.
The Senate Natural Resources Committee is expecting a crowd when it hosts the hearing for House Bill 1319, known variously as the "deadly force," "castle doctrine" or "shoot the burglar" bill. The hearing is 9 a.m. Friday in the Capitol's large Brynhild Haugland Room.
The session's bill hearing process is beginning to wind down. Appropriations committees have heard most state agency budget bills and are now ensconced in deliberating budgets and other bills that cost money. Many other committees also have completed hearings but haven't acted on bills, so their schedules show only "committee work."
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Highlights from the week's hearing schedule:
Monday
-- Senate Bill 2345: Senate Appropriations takes up the funding of the Red River Valley Water Supply project, which will carry Missouri River water to the east via the McClusky Canal and Sheyenne River. The bill allows the state Water Commission to issue bonds. 9 a.m.
-- House Bill 1417: This would allow consumers to put a freeze on their credit as a way to prevent financial damage from identity theft. 11 a.m., Senate Industry, Business and Labor.
-- Senate Bill 2347: Sen. Tony Grindberg's plan to offer free tuition to students who attend all or most of their K-12 years in North Dakota and have good grades is heard in House Education at 10 a.m. Some printed schedules mislabel the bill number as House Bill 1237.
-- Senate Bill 2256: Regulates sex offenders' presence on school property. 8 a.m., House Judiciary.
-- Senate Bill 2317: Makes hallucinogenic weed Salvia divinorum an illegal controlled substance. House Judiciary, immediately following Senate Bill 2256.
Tuesday
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-- Senate Bill 2181: Allows minors to seek prenatal care - but not abortions - without permission from parents or guardians. 9 a.m., House Human Services.
-- Senate Bill 2415: Prohibits persons from having radio frequency microchips implanted on their bodies against their will. Unspecified time, House Judiciary. Bill is fourth of five bills to be heard beginning at 8:30 a.m.
-- House Bill 1346: Allows diners to take the remainder of a bottle of wine with them after dinner. 9:30 a.m., Senate Industry, Business and Labor.
-- House Concurrent Resolution 3025: Calls for study of growing North Dakota population and its available work force. 11 a.m., Senate Industry, Business and Labor.
Wednesday
-- House Bill 1169: Removes from state law the requirement for the state superintendent of public instruction to be a certified teacher. 10 a.m., Senate Education.
Thursday
-- Senate Bill 2121: Changes name of state Labor Department to Department of Labor and Human Rights.
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Friday
-- Senate Bill 2145: Designates the chokecherry as North Dakota official state fruit. 10:30, House Government and Veterans Affairs.
Cole works for Forum Communications Co., which owns the Herald.
