Dem-NPL Caucuses ask for Special Session
The leaders of the North Dakota Democratic-NPL Senate and House Caucuses have asked Governor Dalrymple to call a Special Legislative Session to address infrastructure and other needs facing oil counties and communities.
In a letter sent early this morning, House Democratic-NPL Leader Kenton Onstad, of Parshall, and Senate Democratic-NPL Leader Mac Schneider, of Grand Forks, stated, "We cannot wait until the 2015 session to address these challenges."
Senator John Warner, of Ryder, also signed the letter. Representative Onstad and Senator Warner both represent District 4, a region directly impacted by oil and gas development.
In their letter, the three legislators stated that current state funding levels are failing to keep up with the pace of development. Onstad, Schneider, and Warner wrote: "The affected western counties do not think that the current funding level is adequate to meet the demand for services they are facing. Impacted cities are reaching their bonding limits and are increasingly frustrated with lack of assistances to adequately fund development projects…If present state funding levels do not change, many local leaders and residents fear that Western North Dakota may never catch up to the pace of oil and gas development."
