Hello and Happy Monday to everyone!

We were back at the Capitol and also on the phone today talking to Senators trying to get support for SB 2331.

We also have a few updates!

SCR 4006 DID NOT get voted on today.  The Senate ran out of time.  It will be up for a vote TOMORROW (2/10/2024)

There will be a vote on SB 2331 tomorrow, but that vote will ONLY be to accept the amendments suggested by Senator Boschee.  It SHOULD go for a full senate vote WEDNESDAY 2/12/2025.  Please note if they finish tomorrow’s agenda, there is a chance that 2331 could be voted on tomorrow (Tuesday) but it is unlikely. 

I can’t go back to the Capitol tomorrow, we have Giving Hearts Day commitments that I think may help!  We will be at Dickinson State University from 11-2 where we will have a table set up with these flyers and our brochures out. 

This will be a great opportunity to get in front of students and faculty to talk about our advocacy work!

Then from 4-6 you will find us at the 701 Social (Upstairs from Blue 42 in Dickinson) for a Business After Hours event where we will have our information on hand and will be able to talk to members of the community about our advocacy work.

Hopefully both events will help generate some additional emails and phone calls to our legislators!

I had some good conversations today.  Notably with Senator Bekkedahl from Williston.  He remembered me – I always hope this is a good thing!  He was the Sponsor of SCR 4014 in 2023, and he LOVES the idea of SB 2331!  He and Senator Boschee told me that there is a lot of chatter around the senate chamber about 2331. 

I also spoke with Governor Armstrong’s office today.  The Governor is staying out of the way of our legislators – but they are watching SCR 4006 and SB 2331, along with other pieces of legislation. They appreciated us checking in and the update.

While I was waiting outside the committee meeting rooms, I got to meet Keonia Swift from KX News.  We had a great conversation, and she asked me to keep her posted on our legislation.

I also had a chance to talk to our ND House Majority Leader, Mike Lefor. Representative Lefor is also one of my two representatives in Dickinson. He appreciated the updates on SCR 4006 and SB 2331.

Our day at the Capitol ended with a quick chat with our friend Jay Thomas from the Jay Thomas Show.  You can listen to our quick chat here: https://www.wdayradionow.com/episode/jay-thomas-show-governors-police-duty-and-horses-2-10-25/ fast forward to 111:10 for our segment.

Noth Dakota residents can use our one click form to email your North Dakota Senators and ask them to support SB 2331.  You can find the form here: https://secure.everyaction.com/SjddRw3YAEqfhttddUiopg2

You can also use the 2025 Senator Roster to call and/or email your senator.  You can download the roster here:

The updated list of our Yes/No/Maybe and now Probably is below. 

I also want to remind everyone that you can watch the vote on SCR 4006 tomorrow and SB 2331 on Wednesday live on the North Dakota Legislative website: https://ndlegis.gov/

We need 24 votes for SB 2331 to pass!

The confirmed YES votes:

1. Josh Boschee (Sponsor of SB 2331)
2. Ryan Braunberger
3. Kathy Hogan
4. Greg Kessel (co-sponsor of SB 2331 he will vote yes)
5. Dean Rummel (he is a co-sponsor of SB 2331 we are assuming he will vote yes!)
6. Donald Schaible
7. Chuck Walen
8. Tim Mathern
9. David Clemens
10. Brad Bekkedahl
11. Sean Cleary
12. Scott Meyer

Senators I have talked to that are currently undecided:

1. Senator Boehm
2. Senator Conley
3. Senator Patten
4. Senator Wanzek
5. Senator Larson
6. Senator Powers
7. Senator Sorvaag

The NO’s:

1. Jeff Barta (voted NO as a member of the State and Local Government Committee)
2. Jose Castaneda (voted NO as a member of the State and Local Government Committee)
3. Judy Lee (voted NO as a member of the State and Local Government Committee)
4. Kristin Roers (voted NO as a member of the State and Local Government Committee)
5. Kyle Davison will vote NO (as the committee recommended) and stated he is tired of the conversation

NEW GROUP THE PROBABLY’S!  They said they were NOT maybe’s – not quite a yes but PROBABLY they would vote for SB 2331:

1. Jonathon Sickler
2. Cole Conley

Lastly, Giving Hearts Day is just a few days away!  We need your help to meet our fundraising goal of $5,000!  We already raised $5,000 in matching funds which means that EVERY $1 you donate is AUTOMATICALLY DOUBLED through midnight (Mountain Time) on February 13^th!  Every $10 counts toward our goal!  You can make your Giving Hearts Day donation by clicking here: https://app.givingheartsday.org/#/charity/1669 or on the graphic below.

Thank you again for your support and we will continue to share updates as we have them!

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