BISMARCK - A proposal to merge the state's schools for the blind and deaf received a "do not pass" recommendation on a 3-2 vote from the Senate Education Committee.
Senate Bill 2173 asked the superintendent of public instruction to develop a plan to merge the schools in Devils Lake, where the School for the Deaf is located. Cost efficiency was a reason for the proposed merger.
However, opposition arose earlier this week about Devils Lake being chosen as the site for the schools without considering Grand Forks. The North Dakota Vision Services School for the Blind is located in Grand Forks.
They're at 877 and counting
As of Monday evening, the Legislature's ninth day, lawmakers had introduced 877 bills and resolutions, 12 more than the 2005 Legislature had created at a similar point in its session.
ADVERTISEMENT
Legislative Council Director John Olsrud said the total was boosted by a run-up in resolutions. The number of bills proposing changes in law is 521, compared to 522 in 2005.
The number will likely change. Senators have a few more days to introduce more bills.
The highest total for the ninth day of the session since 1981 was in 1991, with 1,126 bills and resolutions.
Board could use help, Carlson says
Rep. Al Carlson, R-Fargo, supports a bill that adds state Insurance Commissioner Jim Poolman and the head of the state Information Technology Department to the Workforce Safety and Insurance board of directors.
They would serve as nonvoting members.
Carlson said Poolman's input would be valuable because he regulates the state's insurance companies, and WSI, which provides workers' compensation coverage, is the largest insurance provider in the state.
ITD could help the workers comp agency's operations because its handling of claims is "tech-driven," he said.
