NORTH DAKOTA LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL
Minutes of the

LEGISLATIVE MANAGEMENT COMMITTEE

Wednesday, May 24, 2000
Harvest Room, State Capitol
Bismarck, North Dakota

Senator Rod St. Aubyn, Chairman, called the meeting to order at 1:00 p.m.

Members present: Senators Rod St. Aubyn, Joel C. Heitkamp, Aaron Krauter, Gary J. Nelson, David E. Nething; Representatives Rick Berg, Merle Boucher, Pam Gulleson, Mike Timm

Members absent: Representatives John Dorso, David Monson

Others present: See attached appendix

MINUTES

It was moved by Senator Krauter, seconded by Representative Berg, and carried on a voice vote that the minutes of the March 8, 2000, meeting be approved as distributed.

LEGISLATIVE COMPENSATION COMMISSION DISCUSSION

Chairman St. Aubyn recognized Mr. Charles Axtman, Chairman, Legislative Compensation Commission, for a review of the discussions by members of the commission. Mr. Axtman said the commission had met earlier in the day and reviewed legislative compensation rates and changes in legislative compensation since 1981. Each member of the Legislative Assembly is entitled to receive compensation of $111 per calendar day during a session, $75 per day for attending committee meetings during the interim, and $250 per month during the member's term of office. The session daily compensation was increased from $90 to $111 in 1997 and the interim daily compensation was increased from $62.50 to $75 per day in 1999. Mr. Axtman inquired as to comments by committee members concerning legislative compensation.

Senator Nelson said he sees no justification for interim daily compensation to be lower than session daily compensation.

Representative Boucher said 25 cents per mile is not reasonable reimbursement based on current expenses. He suggested federal reimbursement rates be used.

Mr. Axtman said legislators receive $20 as meal reimbursement during the interim but not during the session. He said any increase in mileage reimbursement would impact agency costs throughout state government.

Senator Nething said even with the $20 a day meal reimbursement during the interim, there remains a $16 gap between interim and session daily compensation rates.

Mr. Jim Gerl, Legislative Compensation Commission member, asked for comments on providing the Legislative Compensation Commission with authority to establish legislative compensation levels. Senator Nelson said he understands the concern of Legislative Compensation Commission members that legislative leadership needs to support recommendations in order for them to be successful.

Ms. Tish Kelly, Legislative Compensation Commission member, noted prior attempts to change the method of setting legislative compensation have not been successful. Senator Nething said the Legislative Compensation Commission should recommend what the commission determines is right. He said a bill granting the Legislative Compensation Commission authority to set legislative compensation levels may be successful the next time it is introduced.

LEGISLATIVE SPACE RENOVATION

Chamber Acoustics

Chairman St. Aubyn recognized Mr. William H. O. Kroll, William H. O. Kroll & Associates, Inc., Minnetonka, Minnesota, for a report on acoustical enhancements to the House and Senate chambers. Mr. Kroll described his qualifications with respect to acoustics and his review of the acoustics of the House and Senate chambers. He distributed a report entitled House and Senate - A New Sound System - Possibilities and sound system specification information entitled Preliminary Speaker Aiming Data for the House and Senate chambers. Copies of the report and the information are on file in the Legislative Council office. Mr. Kroll said his report focuses on two areas--architectural acoustics and an electronic sound system.

Architectural Acoustics

Mr. Kroll said the House chamber is fraught with enough echoes to garble the spoken word. He said the space is dry, i.e., nonreverberant. He said sounds quickly die out in the room. He said one method to improve the acoustics is to modify the wooden paneling behind the rostrum so as to minimize the formation of echoes, e.g., drilling "zillions" of small holes in the paneling behind the Speaker's desk from one to six feet above the floor and installing sound absorbent material behind the paneling. He said another method is to modify ceiling surfaces, e.g., placing acoustical panels or plaster on selected areas of the ceiling.

Mr. Kroll said the Senate chamber has better acoustics than the House chamber. He said the only recommended upgrade would be a slight change behind the rostrum.

Electronic Sound System

Mr. Kroll said he used computer modeling software to determine which and what kind of loudspeaker layout would work best and second best in each chamber. He said the preferred concept is an exploded cluster design. Under this concept, he said, the House system would use three loudspeakers and the Senate system would use two loudspeakers. He said the coverage would be acceptable above and below the balcony, as well as in the main chamber in front of the brass rail. He said it may be wise to consider small tabletop monitors for the presiding officers. He said the preferred loudspeakers are Renkus-Heinz Mikrotrapks, which are 14 inches high by 7¾ inches wide by 7¼ inches deep. He said the loudspeaker boxes could be painted to blend with the ceiling in each chamber. He noted the nature of the lighting in the House chamber is such that the extreme contrast of the dark blue ceiling with bright lights would result in barely perceptible loudspeakers. The approximate location of the three loudspeakers in the House chamber would be on the ceiling directly above each end of the front desk and directly above the midway point between the Chief Clerk's rostrum and the front row of desks. The approximate location of the two loudspeakers in the Senate chamber would be on the ceiling directly above each end of the front desk.

Mr. Kroll said the second best system would use two of the current loudspeaker locations in the front walls and a ring of 14 small loudspeakers mounted around the balcony in each chamber. He said the compromises with this system include the increased number of loudspeakers which will tend to reduce speech intelligibility and the requirement that the loudspeakers be installed with a shallow aiming pitch which may result in increased feedback problems.

Mr. Kroll said his report includes the general design considerations of a recommended sound system, including amplifiers, feedback control, audio distribution amplifiers, and power conditioners. He said his recommendations deal solely with acoustics and a sound system. He said he does not sell the equipment recommended.

In response to a question from Senator Nelson, Mr. Kroll said the regular list price of a Renkus-Heinz Mikrotrapk loudspeaker is $788. He said the second best system would cost more because of the additional loudspeakers required.

In response to a question from Senator St. Aubyn, Mr. Kroll said installation of the sound system as recommended would substantially improve the acoustics and would "overdrive" the architectural acoustics of each chamber and spoken word intelligibility would be improved.

The committee took a tour of the Senate and House chambers and Mr. Kroll pointed out the approximate location of the loudspeakers under each alternative.

It was moved by Senator Nelson and seconded by Senator Nething that the committee recommend that the bid specifications for the sound system for the Senate chamber provide for the preferred system of two Renkus-Heinz Mikrotrapk loudspeakers on the ceiling of the Senate chamber. Senator Nelson said this system is the preferred system recommended by Mr. Kroll and is less expensive than the system with more loudspeakers.

It was moved by Representative Boucher and seconded by Representative Berg that Senator Nelson's motion be amended to include the preferred system of three Renkus-Heinz Mikrotrapk loudspeakers on the ceiling of the House chamber. The motion to amend carried on a voice vote, and the amended motion carried on a voice vote.

It was moved by Senator Nelson, seconded by Senator Krauter, and carried on a voice vote that the general design considerations as recommended by Mr. Kroll be included, where practicable, in the bid specifications for the sound system in the Senate and House chambers.

Chairman St. Aubyn asked for discussion concerning the architectural acoustic recommendations of Mr. Kroll.

It was moved by Representative Berg, seconded by Representative Boucher, and carried on a voice vote that the Legislative Council staff be requested to request the architect to review the recommendations of Mr. Kroll for improvement of architectural acoustics in the House and Senate chambers and provide to the committee a preliminary cost estimate of implementing each recommendation.

The assistant director said the committee has approved a motion that any new audio system provide one microphone for each two desks in a chamber. He said a new audio system would include rewiring the chamber, and he inquired whether wiring should be provided at each desk to allow flexibility in placing the microphones as well as the option to add microphones in the future. It was the consensus of committee members that the bid specifications for the audio system in each chamber provide an alternate for providing sound system wiring and a microphone jack at each desk.

Chamber Smoke Detection System

Chairman St. Aubyn recognized Mr. Curt Zimmerman, Director, Facility Management Division, Office of Management and Budget, regarding the installation of smoke detection systems in the House and Senate chambers. Mr. Zimmerman distributed schematic drawings of the House and Senate chambers which depicted the location for air sampling detectors on each ceiling and speaker/strobe light fire alarm units. A copy of the drawings is on file in the Legislative Council office.

Mr. Zimmerman said the Legislative Assembly authorized the expenditure of $40,000 to install a fire alarm system in the House and Senate chambers. He described two systems--a beam detection system and an air sampler system. He said the beam detection system would require laser beam emitters be located in the chambers. He said the air sampling system would require air sampling inlets to be placed in the ceiling through which air would be drawn through tubes to monitoring devices.

In response to a question from Representative Berg, Mr. Bob Granlund, Ulteig Engineers, Inc., Bismarck, said the air sampling system is more accurate than the laser beam system because air is constantly being sampled and monitored. He said an additional system under the balcony would be advisable because of the advanced detection that system would provide before smoke reached the upper level of a chamber.

Mr. Zimmerman said Facility Management will be requesting funds during the 2001 legislative session to install a fire detection system under the balconies in each chamber and in the offices around the chamber.

During a tour of the Senate and House chambers, Mr. Zimmerman pointed out an air sampling device that had been temporarily attached to the ceiling in the Senate chamber. He said the devices could be painted to match the ceiling color in each chamber. He noted the placement of the devices in the House chamber would be in the light alcoves and would not be as visible as the placement directly on the ceiling in the Senate chamber.

In response to a question from Representative Berg, Mr. Zimmerman said the cost of either system would be within the $40,000 appropriation.

It was moved by Senator Nething, seconded by Senator Heitkamp, and carried on a voice vote that the Legislative Management Committee approve the installation of a smoke detection system in the Senate and House chambers which uses air sampling and tubes and air inlet devices colored to match the ceiling colors.

Voting System

The assistant director reported the contract with International Roll-Call Corporation for installation of voting systems in the House and Senate chambers had been signed April 27, 2000. He said the contract price is $338,940, which is $425,600 less than the next lowest bid. He said the contract provides for replacement of a portion of the wall displays containing the members' names and vote indications with tricolored (green, red, and amber) displays. He inquired whether the message boards of the four wall displays, which currently provide up to six lines of display in the Senate and six to eight lines of display in the House through red light emitting diodes (LEDs), should be replaced. Replacement of the message boards with tricolor displays similar to the wall displays for the members' names would require fewer spare parts onsite, provide a display of colors of the same intensity and style as the name display boards, allow for replacement of the existing wiring behind the message boards, provide flexibility in font sizes, and provide flexibility in displaying information. He said Mr. Bill Schafer, Vice President, International Roll-Call Corporation, has a mockup of two options for member's voting stations and an example of a tricolor message display board in the House chamber.

During the tour of the Senate and House chambers, Mr. Schafer presented two options for voting stations. One voting station extended across approximately one-half of a member's desk area and provided AC power, a network connection, a "yea" button, a "nay" button, a "speak" button, a "page" button, and a blue telephone ring indicator light. Mr. Warren Tvenge, Tvenge and Associates, said this option would require substantial desk refinishing because the electrical outlet would have to include an outlet box. He said this option includes removing the pop-up grommets and resurfacing the desks in the chambers.

Mr. Schafer presented a voting station in which the existing voting station box would be used and four buttons and a telephone ring indicator light were arranged on a different faceplate.

Mr. Schafer reviewed the options for font size and colors of the proposed message board and illustrated how names could appear in an amber color and change to red or green along with an "N" or "Y" vote indication beside each name to indicate a vote. He said the cost of four display boards to fill the available area in the frames, with a display capacity of 16 lines with 40 characters per line (128 by 240 pixels each) is $104,000. He said the cost of four display boards with the same size display matrix of the existing boards in the House chamber (64 by 224 pixels each) is $57,600.

It was moved by Senator Krauter, seconded by Representative Berg, and carried on a voice vote that the committee recommend that the members' voting stations consist of the existing voting boxes with new faceplates, buttons, and indicators as depicted by the mockup voting station displayed in the House chamber.

It was moved by Senator Nething, seconded by Senator Heitkamp, and carried on a roll call vote that the committee authorize the installation of four message display boards with tricolor LED displays to fill the available area in the frames. Senators St. Aubyn, Heitkamp, Krauter, Nelson, and Nething and Representatives Berg, Boucher, and Timm voted "aye." No negative votes were cast.

Desk Resurfacing

Mr. Tvenge reviewed an estimate of $62,000 to replace the veneer and resurface the top surfaces of the legislators' desks in the chambers. He recommended individual desks be repaired as necessary rather than replacing the veneer and resurfacing all the desks. He said it may be difficult to obtain a veneer that is as nice as the current veneer and the surface finish. Because the existing voting stations are being retained and the pop-up grommets are not being removed, he said, it would be more cost-effective to repair damaged areas rather than replace all the veneer.

It was moved by Representative Berg, seconded by Senator Heitkamp, and carried on a roll call vote that the committee authorize the Legislative Council staff to proceed with desk repairs as needed, including repairs to the drawer faces. Senators St. Aubyn, Heitkamp, Krauter, Nelson, and Nething and Representatives Berg, Boucher, and Timm voted "aye." No negative votes were cast.

Balcony Chairs

Mr. Tvenge reviewed an estimate of $31,000 for reupholstering the seats of 248 chairs in the House balcony. Originally, he said, the colors of the balcony chairs matched the colors of the legislators' chairs in the chambers, but they no longer do so because of changes in chamber carpet and chair color schemes over the years.

LEGISLATIVE SPACE USE

Mr. Zimmerman described the policy followed by Facility Management regarding the use of legislative committee rooms. He distributed a handout containing the Guidelines for Use of Legislative Committee Rooms, North Dakota State Capitol, which were adopted by the Legislative Management Committee in October 1998; a facility/equipment use request and agreement used by the Facility Management Division; and Attorney General's Opinion 96-12, relating to the use of state property for political purposes. A copy of the handout is on file in the Legislative Council office.

Mr. Zimmerman said the reason he is bringing this to the attention of the committee is to clarify the interpretation of the guidelines on use of legislative committee rooms. He said the guidelines refer to three types of groups--state agencies, organizations sponsored by state agencies, and organizations using committee rooms as necessary for educational and informational purposes. He said the Attorney General has opined that public forum areas are available for use by groups, and Facility Management uses the guidelines adopted by the Legislative Management Committee in determining that legislative committee rooms are not public forum areas. He inquired whether the requirement under subsection 3(c) of the guidelines (which provides that any use of committee rooms is subject to the requirement that no suitable facilities are available on the Capitol grounds or in a privately operated facility that may or may not charge a fee for that use) applies to organizations sponsored by state agencies and whether federal officials need state agency sponsorship. He said examples of requested uses of committee rooms include blood drives, Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts, and United Tribes.

The director said the reason for subsection 3(c) was to make it clear that the state is not in competition with private facilities in providing meeting rooms. He said another question for clarification by the committee is whether individual legislators may request the use of legislative committee rooms for nonlegislative functions.

Senator St. Aubyn requested the Legislative Council staff to prepare an amendment to the guidelines to clarify that subsection 3(c) does not apply to state agencies or organizations sponsored by state agencies.

Senator Nelson said federal officials should be sponsored by state agencies in order to use legislative committee rooms. He requested the Legislative Council staff to prepare various options as amendments to the guidelines to govern use of the press studio and individual legislators requesting use of legislative committee rooms. He said this is a topic for further discussion of the committee, and this discussion would be focused if various options or alternatives were provided in draft form.

LEGISLATIVE REDISTRICTING STUDY

At the request of Chairman St. Aubyn, the assistant director reviewed information presented to the committee concerning computer software available for legislative redistricting purposes. When the committee discussed legislative redistricting software in November, he said, South Dakota was considering autoBound and Minnesota was considering Maptitude software. He said the committee requested information be obtained from South Dakota and Minnesota as to which software they were going to purchase and why. He reviewed a memorandum entitled Legislative Redistricting Software Purchased for Use in South Dakota and Minnesota. He reported a representative of the South Dakota Legislative Research Council said autoBound appears to be well suited for redistricting in that state. He reported a representative of the Minnesota Senate Counsel said Maptitude was chosen because the Minnesota Legislature's geographical information system (GIS) staff developed a preference for Maptitude and although it does not use ArcView (GIS software used by 85 percent of state and local governments, including North Dakota state agencies), Minnesota also would acquire licenses to use ArcView to plot Maptitude maps.

It was moved by Representative Timm and seconded by Senator Nelson that the committee approve the use of autoBound, a software product of Digital Engineering Corporation, for legislative redistricting purposes of the Legislative Assembly. In response to a question from Senator Krauter, the assistant director said the main reason for asking for a decision on the legislative redistricting software is to acquire the software with enough lead time to become proficient in its use before release of the 2000 census information. He said autoBound software allows use of 1990 census information as well as recent census estimates. In addition, he said, the software can be used for verification of the Phase 2 voting district project. He said an additional feature described by Digital Engineering representatives is that after legislative districts are developed, providing a street address will give the legislative district of residence. He said the number of licenses eventually obtained will depend on the decision as to the extent of distribution of the software once redistricting activities start. After this discussion, the motion carried on a roll call vote. Senators St. Aubyn, Heitkamp, Krauter, Nelson, and Nething and Representatives Berg, Boucher, Gulleson, and Timm voted "aye." No negative votes were cast.

LEGISLATIVE INFORMATION SERVICES

Legislative Document Subscription Fees

The assistant director reviewed subscription fees for legislative documents during the 1999 legislative session and the costs for printing legislative documents during the 1999 session, and he proposed fees for the 2001 legislative session. Past practice, he said, has been to base subscription fees on the cost of printing the various documents during the previous session, divided by the number of documents printed. The number of subscribers for the particular documents in 1999, the 1999 subscription fees, and cost and number of legislative documents printed in 1999 are:

1. Seventy-three entities paid $125 each to pick up a set of bills and resolutions, and three paid $235 each to receive a set by mail. The cost of printing 500 copies of the 1999 bills and resolutions was $54,854, or approximately $110 per set.
2. Thirty-five entities paid $65 each to pick up a set of journals, and three paid $175 each to receive a set by mail. The cost of printing 900 copies of the 1999 journals and providing pressboard covers was $48,476, or approximately $54 per set.
3. Twenty-one entities paid $25 each to receive the journal index. The cost of printing 237 copies of the 1999 journal index was $6,067, or approximately $26 per index.
4. Twelve entities paid $310 each to pick up the bill status report, and one paid $420 to receive it by mail. The cost of printing 44 bill status reports was $13,374.49, or approximately $304 each.
5. No charge was made for picking up daily calendars (printed at a cost of $37,126.94), but one entity paid $55 to receive the calendars by mail.
6. No charge was made for picking up committee hearing schedules (printed at a cost of $9,956.20), but three entities paid $30 each to receive the schedules by mail.
7. No one paid $700 to receive special photocopies of bills and resolutions under Senate and House Rules 404.

The assistant director described the legislative document library distribution program. The program consists of sending on a weekly basis, through United Parcel Service, copies of introduced bills and resolutions, daily journals, and bill status reports to participating libraries. He said the program was first approved for the 1983 Legislative Assembly for 30 libraries when no other document subscription service was available. He said the Legislative Assembly absorbs the costs of the program except for the costs of printing the bill status reports delivered to the libraries. The number of participating libraries peaked at 51 in 1989. (In 1991 a subscription program was initiated for anyone to obtain a bill status report; and in 1993 a subscription program was initiated for anyone to obtain other legislative documents.) He said seven libraries participated in the legislative document library distribution program during the 1999 legislative session at a subscription fee of $310 per library (the United Parcel Service charges during the 1999 session were $1,590.30). He recommended the committee consider elimination of this program because all information provided to the libraries is now available on an individual subscription basis and through the Internet.

The assistant director said Joint Rule 603 provides for a copy of each engrossed bill or resolution and reengrossed bill or resolution to be delivered to any person who subscribes to receive a copy of each bill and resolution introduced upon payment of a subscription fee set by the Legislative Management Committee. During the 1999 legislative session, he said, 1,079 bills and resolutions were introduced, totaling 3,631 pages. He said there were 485 engrossments, totaling approximately 1,632 pages. At 5.5 cents per page, he said, the approximate cost of a set was $90.

It was moved by Representative Berg, seconded by Representative Timm, and carried on a roll call vote that for the 57th Legislative Assembly:

1. A complete set of bills and resolutions as introduced and printed or reprinted be available from the bill and journal room only after payment of a subscription fee of $110, with a set to be mailed upon payment of an additional fee of $110.
2. A complete set of bills and resolutions as introduced and printed or reprinted, including a set of all engrossed and reengrossed bills and resolutions, be available from the bill and journal room only after payment of a subscription fee of $200, with a set to be mailed only after a payment of an additional fee of $375.
3. A complete set of daily journals of the Senate and House be available from the bill and journal room only after payment of a subscription fee of $55, with a set to be mailed only after an additional fee of $110.
4. The index to the House and Senate journals be available only after payment of a subscription fee of $25.
5. A printed bill status report be available from the bill and journal room only after payment of a subscription fee of $305, with the report to be mailed only after payment of an additional fee of $110.
6. House and Senate daily calendars and weekly committee hearing schedules be available at no charge if picked up from the bill and journal room, but a set of House and Senate daily calendars be mailed by the bill and journal room only after payment of a fee of $55 and a set of weekly committee schedules be mailed by the bill and journal room only after payment of a fee of $30.
7. State agencies and institutions and representatives of the media as determined under Joint Rule 802 be able to obtain copies of bills and resolutions as introduced and printed, daily journals, daily calendars, and committee hearing schedules without payment of subscription fees.
8. Two copies of the bill status report be provided to the press room in the State Capitol without payment of subscription fees.
9. No more than five copies of a limited number of bills and resolutions be obtained without charge as provided by Joint Rule 603.
10. The library document distribution program be continued on the same basis as in the past, but a subscribing library must pay a fee of $305, and an additional fee of $25 if the subscription to the program is received after the deadline determined by the Legislative Council staff.
11. Senate and House Rules 404 be amended to eliminate the provision for providing copies to statewide organizations and for setting a subscription fee.

Senators St. Aubyn, Krauter, Nelson, and Nething and Representatives Berg, Boucher, Gulleson, and Timm voted "aye." No negative votes were cast.

LEGISLATIVE SESSION ARRANGEMENTS

State of the State Address - State of the Judiciary Address

The assistant director said the committee traditionally has authorized the Legislative Council staff to contact the Governor with respect to arrangements for the state of the state address to a joint session of the Legislative Assembly on the first legislative day. He said the committee traditionally has authorized the Legislative Council staff to contact the Chief Justice with respect to presentation of a state of the judiciary address to a joint session on the second legislative day.

It was moved by Senator Nelson, seconded by Senator Krauter, and carried on a voice vote that the Legislative Council staff be requested to contact the Governor-elect with respect to the time for a joint session to hear the state of the state address by the Governor on the first legislative day and to contact the Chief Justice to make plans for the state of the judiciary address on the second legislative day.

Tribal-State Relationship Message

The assistant director described the past process whereby a representative of the Indian tribes has been invited to address each house of the Legislative Assembly on the third legislative day of each session since 1987. He inquired whether the committee desired to extend an invitation to the tribes for a tribal-state relationship message during the 2001 legislative session.

It was moved by Senator Nething, seconded by Senator Krauter, and carried on a voice vote that the Legislative Council staff be requested to invite a representative of the Indian tribes to address each house of the Legislative Assembly on the third legislative day, similar to the procedures followed in prior sessions, and that the invitation include notice that acknowledgment must be received before November 8 to allow scheduling of the presentations.

Legislative Compensation Commission Report

The assistant director described the committee's traditional responsibility of indicating a preference for a report by the chairman of the Legislative Compensation Commission on the third legislative day to each house of the Legislative Assembly. He said the report has been given in written form to the presiding officers since 1993. He inquired whether the committee desired an oral report to each house or a written report to the presiding officer of each house.

It was moved by Senator Nelson, seconded by Representative Berg, and carried on a voice vote that the Legislative Council staff be requested to notify the chairman of the Legislative Compensation Commission that a written report of that commission should be submitted to the presiding officer of each house in lieu of an oral report to each house.

Legislative Tour Guide Program

The assistant director said for the past 12 legislative sessions there has been a tour guide program to coordinate tours by high school groups during the legislative session. He inquired whether the committee wished to continue this program during the 2001 legislative session.

It was moved by Representative Berg, seconded by Senator Nelson, and carried on a voice vote that the Legislative Council staff be authorized to hire a tour guide and an assistant tour guide, if necessary, during the 2001 legislative session to be paid from Legislative Assembly funds.

Legislative Intern Program Director

The assistant director noted the committee had approved continuation of the legislative intern program for the 2001 legislative session. He said the committee traditionally has authorized employment of a director of interns to be paid from Legislative Assembly funds. The director said the Legislative Council staff has absorbed the responsibilities of director of interns during recent legislative sessions, and this authority would be used only if circumstances warrant it and a person can be found with adequate experience with respect to the legislative process.

It was moved by Representative Berg, seconded by Senator Krauter, and carried on a voice vote that the director of the Legislative Council be authorized to employ a director of interns to be paid from Legislative Assembly funds.

Chaplaincy Program

The assistant director described the chaplaincy program in effect during the 1999 legislative session. He said the Bismarck and Mandan ministerial associations traditionally have been asked to schedule chaplains for opening prayers for both houses each day of the session. Since 1984, he said, a letter has been distributed to all legislators giving them until December 31 to schedule clergy from their home districts, after which the schedule prepared by the local ministerial associations would be followed. He said this letter is included in the packet of informational materials distributed to legislators during the organizational session.

The assistant director said two questions arose in 1999 concerning the chaplaincy program. He inquired whether under the program a senator or representative can schedule a chaplain for the other house. He also inquired whether a senator or representative can schedule one chaplain to handle both houses, e.g., during the morning session of the House and the afternoon session of the Senate, and thus receive two $25 honorariums rather than one.

It was moved by Senator Nelson, seconded by Representative Boucher, and carried on a voice vote that the Bismarck and Mandan ministerial associations be invited to schedule chaplains for opening prayers for both houses each day of the 2001 legislative session, that the Legislative Council staff be requested to distribute a letter to all legislators notifying them they have until December 31 to schedule out-of-town clergy to give the opening prayer any day of the session for their house, after which the schedule would be followed and preemption would not take place.

Agricultural Commodity Promotion Groups Report

The assistant director said North Dakota Century Code (NDCC) Section 4-24-10 requires 12 agricultural commodity promotion groups to file a uniform report at a public hearing before the standing Agriculture Committee of each house. He said the report must be filed between the 1st and 10th legislative days. In 1998, he said, the Legislative Management Committee designated the second legislative day the Agriculture Committees meet as the day for a joint hearing by the Senate and House Agriculture Committees to receive this report.

It was moved by Representative Berg, seconded by Senator Nelson, and carried on a voice vote that the second legislative day the Agriculture Committees meet be designated as the day for a joint hearing by the Senate and House Agriculture Committees to receive the report of the agricultural commodity promotions groups under NDCC Section 4-24-10.

Higher Education Reports

Senator Nething said the Higher Education Roundtable will recommend that an official of the University System report to the Legislative Assembly concerning higher education. He inquired whether this should be through an address to the appropriate house before the Appropriations Committee hears the higher education bill in that house.

Senator Nelson said he is hesitant to set a precedent of having an agency appear before the full legislative body before the hearing on that agency's appropriation bill.

Legislative Council Meeting

Representative Gulleson said the Legislative Council meeting in November reviews major issues and receives reports of interim committees and inquired whether there is a way legislators could be compensated for attending the Legislative Council meeting in November. Senator Nelson said the Legislative Council pays expenses but not per diem for legislators who are not interim committee chairmen or members of the Legislative Council.

No further business appearing, Chairman St. Aubyn adjourned the meeting at 4:10 p.m.

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Jay E. Buringrud
Assistant Director

___________________________________________
John D. Olsrud
Director

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