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2019LEGISLATIVE REPORTNORTH DAKOTA

Nick HackerFinancial Vice ChairND Guaranty & Title Company President

EXECUTIVE OFFICERS

Bernie DardisPast ChairIndigo Signworks

Jeremy NeuharthChairSycorrCo-Founder

Jill BergChair-ElectSpherion StaffingFranchise Owner

Mark HellandPolicy Vice ChairOtter Tail Power CompanyVP Customer Service

Brekka KramerAt LargeOdney General Manager

BOARD OF DIRECTORS Tom Astrup American Crystal Sugar Company President & CEO

Kent Blickensderfer KPB Consulting, LLC Owner

Josh DeMorrett Conoco Phillips Rockies Stakeholder Relations

Matt Dunlevy SkySkopes President & CEO

Mike Eggl Yellowstone Strategies

Cory Fong MDU Resources Group, Inc. Director of Comm. & Public Affairs

Martin Hannig John Deere Electronic Solutions General Manager

Tonya Holmstrom Schmitz-Holmstrom LLP Partner

Tim Huckle Blue Cross Blue Shield of ND President & CEO

Vaune Johnson Cornerstone Bank Market President

Jeff Klemetsrud Klemetsrud Plumbing, Heating & Air Conditioning Inc. - Owner

Jeff LeDoux Houston Engineering President/CEO

Brent Lohnes Hess Corporation General Manager

Perry Lubbers Trail King Industries VP of Manufacturing Operations

Kevin Magstadt Kraus-Anderson Construction Co Director-Business Development

Amy McBeth BNSF Railway Companies Public Affairs Director

Peter Rackov Steffes Corporation CFO

Roger Reierson Flint Group CEO

Jeff Romsdal Central Sales, Inc. President, GM

Kurt Schley CHI St. Alexius Health Market Chief Executive Officer

Arik Spencer GNDC President & CEO

Jeff Zarling DAWA Solutions Group Owner/President

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(From left):

Chris Kalash Director of Membership Services,

Arik Spencer President/CEO,

Matt Gardner Director of Government Affairs,

Susan Daou Director of Operations

THE GREATER NORTH DAKOTA CHAMBER TEAM

The 2019 legislative session is now history. You are holding the record of what GNDC achieved on behalf of North Dakota’s business community.

Advocacy is at the heart of what we do at GNDC. We take this work seriously which is why we undertook an intensive process last year to develop a policy agenda. No one can say we went into the legislature not prepared.

Our board of directors and policy committee were integral in developing a focused and clear policy agenda. Policy committee members Mark Helland, Jill Berg, Josh DeMorrett, Nick Hacker, Mike Eggl, and Cory Fong did yeomen’s work in guiding our policy development process. They were determined to listen to the concerns and wishes of our members and North Dakota businesses. And they did.

We identified three areas of significant concern: workforce development, business climate, and infrastructure. Policy sub-committees then came together around these three areas and proposed solutions and provided recommendations. This allowed us to walk into the legislative session with purpose and direction.

Our work throughout the session can best be summarized in three objectives. Our first objective was to stop legislation that would hurt North Dakota businesses. Our second objective was to advocate for solutions to our three primary policy areas. Our final objective was to support those other bills that were positive for North Dakota’s business community. As you will see from this report, we achieved our three objectives. In some cases, we exceeded our expectations.

Success can be achieved in many ways. At GNDC, whenever possible, we prefer taking the collaborative route to success. We worked with local chambers, other trade associations, interested stakeholders, and, of course, with legislators and policy-makers from both parties on an issue-by-issue basis. Our efforts were non-partisan. Our approach was bi-partisan. And our goal was always the same: To keep North Dakota open for business.

Our work continues even though the session is over. GNDC is actively monitoring the actions of interim committees. We continue to engage with legislators and policy-makers. Our policy committee will start their work in the near future to examine other policy issues going forward. And we invite you to join us in our efforts.

Please let us know if you are interested in joining a policy committee by sending a message to ndchamber@ndchamber.com.

Arik SpencerPRESIDENT & CEOGreater North Dakota Chamber

MESSAGE FROM THE PRESIDENT & CEO

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“The 66th Legislature did accomplish some significant legislation for the business community in North Dakota. The funding of the State Reinsurance Program, Unmanned Aircraft Systems, $250 million for roads, bridges and other infrastructure, Statewide Interoperable Radio Network (SIRN), Behavioral Health Programs and fully funding County Social Services will impact North Dakota Businesses. The impact will show up as lower health insurance premiums, high tech jobs will be created, improved infrastructure without raising the state gas tax, keeping property taxes from increasing, and programs to help those addicted overcome the addiction and bring them back into the workforce. This all adds up to QUALITY OF LIFE and will help businesses recruit workforce to North Dakota.”

– Senator Rich Wardner Senate Majority Leader

For more information about these important pieces of legislation, visit: www.ndchamber.com/2019legislativesession

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The Greater North Dakota Chamber Advocacy Efforts:

Pro-Business Legislative VictoriesMany pro-business, free market pieces of legislation were enacted in 2019

GNDC entered in to the 2019 legislative session with a clear policy agenda. Our primary focus was to advance legislation that would positively address our state’s workforce challenges, preserve or strengthen North Dakota’s business climate, and make necessary investments in infrastructure. We worked diligently in pursuit of these objectives.

Combined with passage of other business-friendly legislation, GNDC ended the session with a success rate of 96.4 percent. It was our most successful legislative session in recent years.

Of course, as is the case in every session, we not only played offense, we also played defense. Prevent defense to be exact. We worked with legislators and strategic partners to stop many pieces of legislation that would have negatively impacted North Dakota businesses. In this regard, our record speaks for itself. Because of our actions, we were able to save businesses more than $570 million in new regulations, insurance costs, and taxes. The following is a report highlighting our offensive and defensive strategy that won big for business in North Dakota.

Matt Gardner Director of Government Affairs

21st Century Manufacturing Tax Credit HB 1040

Reinstates the expired Automation Tax Credit and provides $2 million per biennium for a 20% tax credit on equipment and technology used to automate a primary sector manufacturing process.

Operation Prairie Dog HB 1066

Provides infrastructure funding for non-oil producing counties, cities and airports utilizing oil production tax. Up to $250 million will be available. Also maintains current infrastructure funding for oil producing areas within the state.

Blue Law Repeal HB 1097

Repeals the Sunday retail closing laws to give business the option be open on Sunday mornings.

North Dakota Reinsurance Pool HB 1106

Establishment of a reisurance pool for the individual health insurance market. This will decrease premiums for individual health insurance plans and will bring stability to the North Dakota health insurance market.

Short Duration Insurance Coverage HB 1156

Allows short duration insurance coverage for travel, events and unmanned aircraft applications.

Skilled Workforce Programs HB 1171

The $12 million Skilled Workforce Student Loan Repayment and Scholarship Program would utilize $6 million in state funds with private sector match to repay loans and offer scholarships for workforce who enter high demand careers in North Dakota.

“Automation improves productivity and quality while reducing errors and waste, increasing safety and employee compensation while adding flexibility to the manufacturing process. By passing HB 1040 – North Dakota companies can now aggressively pursue these types of capital investments”.

– Thomas D. Shorma CEO/President, WCCO Belting, Inc.

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Bill Signing of HB 1040 21st Century Manufacturing Workforce Incentive

(Standing – left to right) Matt Gardner – Greater North Dakota Chamber, Ellen Huber – Economic Development Association of North

Dakota, Arik Spencer – Greater North Dakota Chamber, Representative Alisa Mitskog, Representative Thomas Beadle, Representative Jim

Grueneich, Senator Dale Patten, Mason Sisk – Economic Development Association of North Dakota, Brent Bogar – Greater North Dakota

Chamber (Seated – left to right) Representative Craig Headland, Governor Doug Burgum, Senator Dwight Cook

Matt Gardner testifying in front of House Industry, Business and Labor Committee in support of HB 1171 – The Skilled Workforce Student Loan Repayment and Scholarship Program

Minimum Wage Consistency HB 1193

Creates regulatory certainty across North Dakota by ensuring local governments cannot impose a minimum wage higher than the State’s Minimum Wage.

Permanent Trailer Registration HB 1291

Allows for permanent registration of semitrailers and farm trailers. This will encourage more North Dakota based companies to license their fleets in-state.

Innovation Technology Loan Program HB 1333

Creates a $15 million loan program that would offer a three year, 0% interest loan towards applied research and commercialization. The desired outcome is to develop new companies or to expand existing companies to diversify the state’s economy.

Employee Training Tax Benefit HB 1475

Provides an income tax exclusion for employee education assistance provided by an employer.

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“GNDC’s success this legislative session can be directly attributed to the fact that we listened to our members and North Dakota’s business community. This was the most engaged policy development process we’ve seen in years from GNDC. Our strong advocacy position is evident in the positive legislation delivered and the defeat of legislation that would inhibit progress in our state’s economy”.

– Josh DeMorrett ConocoPhillips Infrastructure Policy Committee Chair

Bill signing SB 2306 Removes barriers for licensure of military spouses(Standing – left to right) Arik Spencer – Greater North Dakota Chamber, Representative Mike Nathe, Representative Vernon Laning, General Dohrmann, Major Sheldon, Brent Bogar – Greater North Dakota Chamber, John Macmartin – Minot Area Chamber of Commerce, Matt Gardner – Greater North Dakota Chamber, (Seated – left to right) Senator Scott Meyer, Governor Doug Burgum, Senator Randall Burckhard

Tampering With Critical Infrastructure Penalty SB 2044

Institutes a penalty for tampering with or damaging a critical infrastructure facility or a public utility.

Sales Tax Collection For Remote Sellers SB 2191

Institutes sales tax policy for sellers located out-of-state as a result of the Wayfair vs South Dakota Supreme Court decision.

Critical Infrastructure Record Protections SB 2209

Adds protections for records related to critical infrastructure and security planning, mitigation, or threats.

Corridors of Commerce SB 2268

Creates a Corridors of Commerce program with special fund authority for the NDDOT to use on the state highway system.

Military Occupational Licensure Reciprocity SB 2306

Grants occupational licensure reciprocity of military members and spouses if they have practiced in another state. Also contains language to give a provisional license if they do not meet licensure board requirements.

Day of Rest Mandate HB 1293 DEFEATEDAttempted to require employers to give one-day off per seven day work period if requested with no employer protections. This potentially would have created unsafe working conditions in certain industries. State law already exists to provide a day of rest for employees.

Right to Repair HB 1305 DEFEATEDAttempted to mandate manufacturers to provide repair information, testing equipment, firmware access and repair parts to any repair provider with minimal restrictions. This would potentially create unsafe operating conditions for employees and have a chilling effect on innovation.

Infringement of Property Owner Rights HB 1317 DEFEATEDWould have held property owners, lessees and tenants restricting the possession of a firearm or dangerous weapon, liable for injury or death caused by a firearm or dangerous weapon on their property. This would have infringed on basic property rights.

Independent Contractor Reporting Mandate HB 1371 DEFEATEDWould have created a new hire registry mandate for independent contractors for child support. This requirement would be burdensome on employers who utilize independent contractors and further blurs the lines between employee and independent contractor.

Oil Extraction Tax Increases HB 1449, SB 2336 DEFEATEDThese bills would have raised the oil extraction tax from 5% to 6.5%. North Dakota already has the 2nd highest effective oil tax in the country. This tax increase would have negatively impacted small producers and royalty owners the most.

Tobacco Tax Increase HB 1450 DEFEATEDWould have imposed a 100% tax increase of the tobacco products tax rate for cigarettes. This would have negatively impacted North Dakota distributors and local vendors.

Workforce Safety and Insurance Mandates HB 1456 DEFEATEDAttempted to mandate WSI cover mental injuries that occurred on the job and pre-existing conditions triggered on the job. Finding the true source of these types of injuries is difficult and would have significantly increase employer premiums. Mental injury as a result of a physical injury is currently a covered claim.

Paid Family Leave Mandate HB 1509 DEFEATEDAttempted to institute a state paid family leave mandate to be funded by employers and employees. Protections already exist at the federal level and these types of programs are already being offered by employers, competing for workforce.

Health Care Mandates SB 2233 DEFEATEDMandated insurers to cover expenses associated with certain healthcare benefits. The coverage would only apply to a limited number of individuals and is currently offered as optional coverage. This would significantly increase health insurance premiums overall.

Private Contract Mandates SB 2319 DEFEATEDAttempted to mandate language restrictions of certain business to business contracts.

Here’s a breakdown of how the Greater North Dakota Chamber’s work preserved North Dakota’s business climate

Saving Money and Cutting Red Tape for North Dakota Business

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GNDC tracked more than 280 bills during the 2019 session and selected 26 priority bills that GNDC would grade each legislator on. These bills are outlined in the previous pages. This set of bills have or would have had significant impact on keeping North Dakota the best state in the nation to do business. Lawmaker scores are based on their consistency in voting with the GNDC on priorities as highlighted in this publication. In addition to their voting record, certain bills are weighted according to their importance and impact on North Dakota business. If a legislator’s vote aligned with the GNDC’s position, they received positive points, if they voted against the GNDC’s position they received negative points. These same rules applied to bill sponsors on bills that aligned or misaligned with the GNDC’s position on an issue.

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2019 How They Voted

HOUSE

Legislator Party District Vote Index Grade

Adams, Mary D 43 62% D-

Anderson, Bert R 02 93% A

Anderson, Dick R 06 80% B-

Anderson, Pamela D 41 71% C-

Beadle, Thomas R 27 100% A+

Becker, Rick R 07 62% D-

Bellew, Larry R 38 78% C+

Blum, Jake R 42 100% A+

Boe, Tracy D 09 65% D

Bosch, Glenn R 30 96% A

Boschee, Joshua D 44 71% C-

Brandenburg, Michael R 28 99% A+

Buffalo, Ruth D 27 63% D

Damschen, Charles R 10 88% B+

Delzer, Jeff R 08 73% C

Devlin, William R 23 79% C+

Dobervich, Gretchen D 11 65% D

Dockter, Jason R 07 100% A+

Eidson, Matt D 43 61% D-

Ertelt, Sebastian R 26 49% F

Fegley, Clayton R 04 91% A-

Fisher, Jay R 05 94% A

Grueneich, Jim R 12 100% A+

Guggisberg, Ron D 11 60% D-

Hager, LaurieBeth D 21 68% D+

Hanson, Karla D 44 72% C-

Hatlestad, Patrick R 01 100% A+

Headland, Craig R 29 99% A+

Heinert, Patrick R 32 100% A+

Holman, Richard D 20 65% D

Hoverson, Jeff R 03 61% D-

Howe, Michael R 22 100% A+

Johnson, Craig R 06 96% A

Johnson, Dennis R 15 98% A+

A+ 100-97 A 96-93 A- 92-90

B+ 89-87 B 86-83 B- 82-80

C+ 79-77 C 76-73 C- 72-70

D+ 69-67 D 66-63 D- 62-60

F 59 & below

85% or higher signifies a Chamber Champion

For more detailed information on how they voted, visit: www.ndchamber.com/2019legislativesession

Legislator Party District Vote Index Grade

Johnson, Mary R 45 95% A

Johnston, Daniel R 24 57% F

Jones, Terry R 04 81% B-

Kading, Tom R 45 75% C

Karls, Karen R 35 94% A

Kasper, Jim R 46 94% A

Keiser, George R 47 91% A-

Kempenich, Keith R 39 93% A

Kiefert, Dwight R 24 71% C-

Klemin, Lawrence R 47 91% A-

Koppelman, Ben R 16 77% C+

Koppelman, Kim R 13 76% C

Kreidt, Gary R 33 94% A

Laning, Vernon R 08 75% C

Lefor, Mike R 37 88% B+

Longmuir, Donald R 02 94% A

Louser, Scott R 05 81% B-

Magrum, Jeffery R 28 56% F

Marschall, Andrew R 16 85% B

Martinson, Bob R 35 100% A+

McWilliams, Aaron R 20 60% D-

Meier, Lisa R 32 91% A-

Mitskog, Alisa D 25 75% C

Mock, Corey D 18 81% B-

Monson, David R 10 84% B

Nathe, Mike R 30 100% A+

Nelson, Jon R 14 91% A-

Nelson, Marvin D 09 47% F

O’Brien, Emily* R 42

Owens, Mark R 17 79% C+

Paulson, Bob R 03 70% C-

Paur, Gary R 19 79% C+

Pollert, Chet R 29 94% A

Porter, Todd R 34 99% A+

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“We are grateful to the GNDC for their leadership on the repeal of the Sunday closing law. We are also grateful that the Legislature and Governor saw fit to make this change happen. It was important for the state to eliminate this law that had “unnecessary regulation” written all over it.”

– Brad Schlossman CEO, West Acres Mall

Legislator Party District Vote Index Grade

Pyle, Brandy R 22 100% A+

Richter, David R 01 94% A

Roers-Jones, Shannon R 46 100% A+

Rohr, Karen R 31 91% A-

Ruby, Dan R 38 79% C+

Ruby, Matthew R 40 90% A-

Sanford, Mark R 17 100% A+

Satrom, Bernie R 12 87% B+

Schatz, Mike R 36 75% C

Schauer, Austen R 13 88% B+

Schmidt, Jim R 31 94% A

Schneider, Mary D 21 66% D

Schobinger, Randy R 40 87% B+

Schreiber-Beck, Cindy R 25 94% A

Simons, Luke R 36 65% D

Skroch, Kathy R 26 69% D+

Steiner, Vicky R 37 91% A-

Strinden, Michelle R 41 97% A+

Toman, Nathan R 34 81% B-

Trottier, Wayne R 19 92% A-

Tveit, Bill R 33 94% A

Vetter, Steve R 18 88% B+

Vigesaa, Donald R 23 94% A

Weisz, Robin R 14 87% B+

Westlind, Greg R 15 96% A

Zubke, Denton R 39 90% A-

*Extended Absence

Legislator Party District Vote Index Grade

Anderson, Howard R 08 99% A+

Bakke, JoNell D 43 82% B-

Bekkedahl, Brad R 01 100% A+

Burckhard, Randall R 05 100% A+

Clemens, David R 16 92% A-

Cook, Dwight R 34 92% A-

Davison, Kyle R 41 100% A+

Dever, Dick R 32 92% A-

Dotzenrod, Jim D 26 80% B-

Dwyer, Mike R 47 90% A-

Elkin, Jay R 36 92% A-

Erbele, Robert R 28 90% A-

Fors, Robert R 19 92% A-

Grabinger, John D 12 72% C-

Heckaman, Joan D 23 77% C+

Legislator Party District Vote Index Grade

Hogan, Kathy D 21 72% C-

Hogue, David R 38 90% A-

Holmberg, Ray R 17 100% A+

Kannianen, Jordan R 04 100% A+

Klein, Jerry R 14 92% A-

Krebsbach, Karen R 40 100% A+

Kreun, Curtis R 42 100% A+

Larsen, Oley R 03 85% B

Larson, Diane R 30 90% A-

Lee, Gary R 22 90% A-

Lee, Judy R 13 100% A+

Lemm, Randy** R 20

Luick, Larry R 25 83% B

Marcellais, Richard D 09 72% C-

Mathern, Tim D 11 63% D

Meyer, Scott R 18 98% A+

Myrdal, Janne R 10 92% A-

Oban, Erin D 35 77% C+

Oehlke, Dave R 15 100% A+

Osland, Arne* R 20

Patten, Dale R 39 100% A+

Piepkorn, Merrill D 44 77% C+

Poolman, Nicole R 07 100% A+

Robinson, Larry D 24 73% C

Roers, Jim R 46 98% A+

Roers, Kristin R 27 100% A+

Rust, David R 02 92% A-

Schaible, Donald R 31 92% A-

Sorvaag, Ronald R 45 99% A+

Unruh, Jessica R 33 90% A-

Vedaa, Shawn R 06 91% A-

Wanzek, Terry R 29 92% A-

Wardner, Rich R 37 92% A-

2019 How They Voted

SENATE

*Resigned due to health issues**Appointed to fill the vacant seat by Arne Osland10

“At MDU Resources, our tag line is Building a Strong America®. Infrastructure is what we do – whether it’s getting energy to homes and businesses or building the roads that are the backbone of our state’s growing economy. So, for us, and our family of companies operating in North Dakota, Operation Prairie Dog was a critical piece of legislation that passed during the 2019 Legislative Session. We credit, and congratulate, the bill sponsors and GNDC for leading the charge in getting Operation Prairie Dog across the finish line.”

– Dave Goodin President & CEO, MDU Resources Group, Inc.

The Greater North Dakota Chamber’s ND Chamber PAC is a non-partisan, pro-business political action committee that...

Supports state and federal candidates who support North Dakota’s job creators

Supports causes that protects free market principles

Advances policies to ensure North Dakota remains the best state in the nation to do business

Make your voice heard. Join other business leaders by contributing today and be part of our ND Chamber PAC Capitol Club.

To become a member, simply make a contribution of $141, or one dollar for each member of the legislative assembly.

Membership levels are: Capitol Club: $141 or more Capitol Club Captain: $250 or more Capitol Club Champion: $500 or more

Capitol Club members will receive a lapel pin and an invitation to an exclusive Capitol Club reception with lawmakers.

Your investment in the ND Chamber PAC will help GNDC amplify our voice, deepen our impact, and keep North Dakota open for business.

To learn more about the ND Chamber PAC or donate, log onto www.ndchamber.com or call (701) 222-0929

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