Mark Jorritsma 4/11/25 Mark Jorritsma 4/11/25

Family Differences

by Marit Heidbreder

As we near the end of the 69th Legislative Session, many bills have been successful in both the House and Senate. But what happens after a bill passes both chambers? If amendments were made in the bill’s second chamber, the original chamber has the opportunity to either “concur” or “not concur” with those changes. Sometimes a conference committee needs to be formed with 3 members of each chamber who then hash out the details of the bill and amendments to create a unified version of the bill that both chambers can hopefully accept. I respect and admire how our legislators work toward compromise and goals that benefit all North Dakotans, despite having to deal with some controversial topics.

I sometimes think that the legislative process bears a lot of similarities to how parents endeavor to blend their differing backgrounds, beliefs, and ideas to ultimately benefit their children and families. I grew up in a loving home with parents who had different political views, and sometimes common ground felt elusive. My parents’ clashing viewpoints created ample opportunity for negotiation and compromise within our family. My siblings and I often got swept into long-winded debates during family dinners, which could get quite spirited as opposing sides presented their arguments while passing the breadbasket. My father was a staunch “old school” democrat who followed politics closely and could often be found behind the latest newspaper, working in the garage while listening to political radio, or with his nose buried in the newest political best-seller. His firm opinions came easily and were well supported by his own research and experiences. My mother, on the other hand, was more independent in her thinking and would carefully evaluate each candidate on their own accord and not necessarily that of their party. How did she vote? She’d rarely tell us, but we knew she leaned more to the right than the left. She felt the best thing she could do was teach us to seek God in those important decisions and encourage us to make them for ourselves based on His guidance.

Holidays especially could lead to an abundance of political fireworks as visiting relatives’ politics entered the mix, but my parents were careful to demonstrate respect and love for each other and others despite any political discord. There were often passionate discussions, but they were closely followed by games and boisterous laughter. Even living amongst disputing ideas, I experienced peace. Ronald Reagan famously stated at Eureka College’s 1982 Commencement Address, “Peace is not the absence of conflict, but the ability to cope with conflict by peaceful means.” I always understood my parents were ultimately on the same team, working towards the same goals for our family.

I’d like to believe that the same is true of North Dakota’s government leaders. I have been encouraged this session by the sincere and diligent efforts of those called to serve as Representatives and Senators for our great state. From my observation, it is not an easy task that they have courageously undertaken, whether Republican or Democrat. I’m thankful for their efforts and appreciate the respect shown both on the floor and in committee when there are conflicts and compromise is necessary to move forward. One could equate our legislature to a big “family” with a diverse group of opinions and backgrounds who are each valued and loved by their Creator. May God bless their combined efforts for the good of North Dakota as they finish up this session!

Mark Jorritsma 4/5/25 Mark Jorritsma 4/5/25

Weekly Legislative Update #12

2380 - Restricting minors' access to pornography websites - House floor vote passed unanimously (3/31)
2244 - Parental rights in education and medical decisions - House floor vote failed 41-49 (3/31)
1511 - Continuing education for OBGYNs on abortion law - Senate floor vote passed 41-5 (4/1)
1561 - Restricting minors' access to pornography websites - Senate floor vote passed unanimously (4/1)
1386 - Prohibiting sexually explicit computer-generated images of a minor - Senate floor vote passed unanimously (4/1)

None of the remaining bills on which we have engaged were signed by Governor Armstrong this week. While that means it was a relatively slower week, we have no doubt that a wave of floor votes will be upon us shortly. We greatly appreciate your prayers as we strive to get these bills across the finish line!

Next Week

We intend to testify on two bills next week: a resolution that recommends we study human trafficking in ND (HCR 3028), and a bill to consider studying state laws relating to criminal conduct against children, such as child sexual offences, neglect, and human trafficking (HB 1410). While both these pieces of legislation are helpful, insofar as they seek to further the goal of protecting children, and eliminate human trafficking in particular, we believe that the state already has ample information that human trafficking is a serious issue (Human Trafficking in ND) and that we instead need bills that actually help stop human trafficking.

As we explained last week, we do not know which bills are coming up for floor votes soon (we only find out a day or two in advance, at most) and/or which will be sent to Governor Armstrong for his signature. This is the point in the process where we need your help most.

We have shepherded these 62 bills for the past three months, and now we need you to be ready to make your voices heard like never before! We will be emailing a number of Call-to-Action (CTA) Alerts in the next few weeks on key bills we need to make into law. This could be for an upcoming floor vote or possibly even related to Governor Armstrong signing them. We ask that you take 5 minutes out of your day and respond to our Call-to-Action emails as soon as possible. YOU can make the difference in whether or not legislation based on biblical values makes it into law. Last session, all of you sent over 45,000 individual emails to legislators through our CTA system; trust us, it makes a difference!

Current Status

Each bill’s most recent status and future actions are shown in the following table. Pay attention to the "Current Status" column in the coming weeks, as we will be updating this at the very top with bills that have made it entirely through the legislative process. The table is current as of the end of this week, but things can change quickly. To double-check the most current status of any bill, you can go to this page, type the bill number into the upper right box (just the number, not the HB or SB), and click the search button. Once you are on the bill’s page, click on the tab entitled “Actions”. If you have a question, you are always welcome to reach out to us (mark@ndfamilyalliance.org), and we’ll get back to you as soon as we can.

How to Take Action

1.) If a bill hearing has been scheduled, but not yet held, the table shows the date, time, and location of the hearing. If you want to testify, you need to write your comments about the bill into a PDF or txt file. This can be a paragraph or longer, but keep to the point. Once that is written, you can go to this page, type the bill number into the upper right box (just need the number, not the HB or SB), and click the search button. Once you are on the bill’s page, click on the tab entitled “Hearings”, identify the hearing, and click the link on the right where it says, “Submit Testimony”. Just follow the instructions after that. Note that there will be a deadline to submit testimony for bills, often early in the morning on the hearing day (this will show once you click on the “Submit Testimony” link). If you have questions about any of this, prepare your testimony document and then call us at 701-355-6425, and we can walk you through it.

2.) If the bill hearing is over, but it still needs to be voted on in a chamber, you can contact your appropriate legislator(s) and give them feedback. If you do not know who your legislators are or how to contact them, click here and then go to the top right corner and click on “Find my legislator.” Type your house number and zip code into the boxes and click the search button. From there, you should be able to find your Senator and Representatives and all their contact information, such as phone numbers and email addresses.

3.) If the bill has passed both chambers and has been sent to Gov. Armstrong, you can contact the Governor via this link and provide input on the bill. Contact Governor Armstrong

Please remember to be respectful in all communications to our legislators and the Governor, and feel free to contact us with any legislative questions.

Mark Jorritsma 3/29/25 Mark Jorritsma 3/29/25

Weekly Legislative Update #11

We want to provide you with our most recent update on what happened at the Capitol this past week, each bill’s current status, and what to expect next week. As mentioned before, if you ever have questions about a particular bill, feel free to email us at mark@ndfamilyalliance.org or call 701-355-6425.

Last Week

Testimony for our bills essentially ended this past week, as we move into the part of session dominated by floor votes. However, we still testified on bills related to gender usage in the Century Code (HB 1181), transgender bathroom usage (HB 1144), teaching students about the Holocaust (HB 1527), requiring age verification to prevent minors from accessing online pornography (SB 2380), and prohibiting sexually explicit computer generated images of a minor (HB 1386).

Two pieces of legislation we have been working on received floor votes. The first related to education for students about human trafficking (SB 2330) received a floor vote in the House and passed 90-1 and is now headed to the Governor’s desk. The other, SCR 4017, which would study the issue of pornography as a public health hazard, also passed the House. It does not need to go to Governor Armstrong, since it is a resolution. There are still dozens of bills that have been through all committee hearings but have not yet received floor votes. A lot of activity over the next few weeks will be focused on floor votes in both chambers.

Seven bills we’ve been fighting for made it to Governor Armstrong’s desk and were signed into law this past week. These included: the Pledge of Allegiance bill (HB 1222), establishing and funding an internet crime investigation unit (SB 2167), an increase to the problem-gambling fund (SB 2205), a comprehensive study of state higher education institutions (SB 2242), revocation of teaching licenses for sexual/child crimes (SB 2043), establishing Military Appreciation Month (HB 1148), and establishing Prisoner of War and Missing in Action Day (HB 1403). We want to thank Governor Armstrong for signing these bills and making them into law.

Finally, I mentioned last week that on Tuesday, our “trigger law” hearing would be held before the ND Supreme Court. The hearing went quite well, with the State of ND presenting strong arguments in favor of the law and doing a good job answering questions from the justices. We will have to keep praying that the court sides with those of us fighting to protect unborn life.

Next Week

At this point, we do not know which bills are coming up for floor votes soon (we only find out a day or two in advance, at most) and/or which will be sent to Governor Armstrong for his signature. This is the point in the process where we need your help most.

We have shepherded these 62 bills for the past three months, and now we need you to be ready to make your voices heard like never before! We will be emailing a number of Call-to-Action (CTA) Alerts in the next few weeks on key bills we need to make into law. This could be for an upcoming floor vote or possibly even related to Governor Armstrong signing them. We ask that you take 5 minutes out of your day and respond to our Call-to-Action emails as soon as possible. YOU can make the difference in whether or not legislation based on biblical values makes it into law. Last session, all of you sent over 45,000 individual emails to legislators through our CTA system; trust us, it makes a difference!

Current Status

Each bill’s most recent status and future actions are shown in the following table. Pay attention to the "Current Status" column in the coming weeks, as we will be updating this at the very top with bills that have made it entirely through the legislative process. The table is current as of the end of this week, but things can change quickly. To double-check the most current status of any bill, you can go to this page, type the bill number into the upper right box (just the number, not the HB or SB), and click the search button. Once you are on the bill’s page, click on the tab entitled “Actions”. If you have a question, you are always welcome to reach out to us (mark@ndfamilyalliance.org), and we’ll get back to you as soon as we can.

How to Take Action

1.) If a bill hearing has been scheduled, but not yet held, the table shows the date, time, and location of the hearing. If you want to testify, you need to write your comments about the bill into a PDF or txt file. This can be a paragraph or longer, but keep to the point. Once that is written, you can go to this page, type the bill number into the upper right box (just need the number, not the HB or SB), and click the search button. Once you are on the bill’s page, click on the tab entitled “Hearings”, identify the hearing, and click the link on the right where it says, “Submit Testimony”. Just follow the instructions after that. Note that there will be a deadline to submit testimony for bills, often early in the morning on the hearing day (this will show once you click on the “Submit Testimony” link). If you have questions about any of this, prepare your testimony document and then call us at 701-355-6425, and we can walk you through it.

2.) If the bill hearing is over, but it still needs to be voted on in a chamber, you can contact your appropriate legislator(s) and give them feedback. If you do not know who your legislators are or how to contact them, click here and then go to the top right corner and click on “Find my legislator.” Type your house number and zip code into the boxes and click the search button. From there, you should be able to find your Senator and Representatives and all their contact information, such as phone numbers and email addresses.

3.) If the bill has passed both chambers and has been sent to Gov. Armstrong, you can contact the Governor via this link and provide input on the bill. Contact Governor Armstrong

Please remember to be respectful in all communications to our legislators and the Governor, and feel free to contact us with any legislative questions.

Mark Jorritsma 3/22/25 Mark Jorritsma 3/22/25

Weekly Legislative Update #10

We want to provide you with our most recent update on what happened at the Capitol this past week, each bill’s current status, and what to expect next week. As mentioned before, if you ever have questions about a particular bill, feel free to email us at mark@ndfamilyalliance.org or call 701-355-6425.

Last Week

As expected, this week was a bit slower than last week, with testimony on 10 bills. However, all these bills were packed into Monday and Tuesday, so that still meant a spike of work for us at the beginning of the week.

It worked out that the main focus of many bills this week was pornography. In particular, we testified on bills and resolutions that would: declare pornography a public health hazard (SCR 4017), ensure that children are not exposed to inappropriate books in public and school libraries (SB 2307), prohibit a commercial entity from publishing material harmful to a minor (HB 1561), and prohibit sexually explicit deepfake videos. (HB 1351).

Other key bills for which we provided testimony included major education funding bills (HB 1540 and SB 2400), a bill for mandatory minimum sentencing for human trafficking offenders (HB 1361), one to provide guidance for OB/GYNs on abortion laws (HB 1511), and SB 2200, which would fund a 988 mental health hotline.

HB 1205, a bill to allow Safe Haven Baby Boxes passed its second chamber and awaits concurrence on final amendments in the House. After that, it will be sent to Governor Armstrong's desk for signature.

Next Week

Next week is looking like a slightly slower version of this week, with a number of bills packed into the first part of the week. Some of these include gender usage in the Century Code (HB 1181), a transgender bathroom bill (HB 1144 ), and the bill to teach students about the Holocaust (HB 1527). In addition to these, our ND “trigger law” which has been in court since the overturn of Roe v. Wade in 2022, will be heard in the ND Supreme Court on Tuesday, March 25th at 10 am. You can attend in person at the Capitol on the 1st floor of the Judicial Wing (same level as Memorial Hall) in the Supreme Court chambers, or stream it live at this link. Please pray that the court may side with the thousands of us who want to protect the unborn here in North Dakota!

Current Status

Each bill’s upcoming actions are shown in the following table. NOTE THAT THE STATUS OF EACH BILL CAN CHANGE MULTIPLE TIMES, IN EVEN A SINGLE DAY. To double-check the most current status of any bill, you can go to this page, type the bill number into the upper right box (just need the number, not the HB or SB), and click the search button. Once you are on the bill’s page, click on the tab entitled “Actions”. This will indicate where the bill is at in the process. If you want to testify on a bill or have a question, you are always welcome to reach out to us (mark@ndfamilyalliance.org) and we’ll get back to you as soon as we can.

How to Take Action

1.) If a bill hearing has been scheduled, but not yet held, the table shows the date, time, and location of the hearing. If you want to testify, you need to write your comments about the bill into a PDF or txt file. This can be a paragraph or longer, but keep to the point. Once that is written, you can go to this page, type the bill number into the upper right box (just need the number, not the HB or SB), and click the search button. Once you are on the bill’s page, click on the tab entitled “Hearings”, identify the hearing, and click the link on the right where it says, “Submit Testimony”. Just follow the instructions after that. Note that there will be a deadline to submit testimony for bills, often early in the morning on the hearing day (this will show once you click on the “Submit Testimony” link). If you have questions about any of this, prepare your testimony document and then call us at 701-355-6425 and we can walk you through it.

2.) If the bill hearing is over, but it still needs to be voted on in a chamber, you can contact your appropriate legislator(s) and give them feedback. If you do not know who your legislators are or how to contact them, click here and then go to the top right corner and click on “Find my legislator.” Type your house number and zip code into the boxes and click the search button. From there, you should be able to find your Senator and Representatives and all their contact information such as phone numbers and email addresses.

3.) If the bill has passed both chambers and has been sent to Gov. Armstrong, you can contact the Governor via this link and provide input on the bill. Contact Governor Armstrong

Please remember to be respectful in all communications to our legislators and the Governor, and feel free to contact us with any legislative questions.

Mark Jorritsma 3/15/25 Mark Jorritsma 3/15/25

Weekly Legislative Update #9

We want to provide you with our most recent update on what happened at the Capitol this past week, each bill’s current status, and what to expect next week. As mentioned before, if you ever have questions about a particular bill, feel free to email us at mark@ndfamilyalliance.org or call 701-355-6425.

Last Week

This week was certainly interesting. We had 14 assorted bills for which we submitted testimony on your behalf (a few more than we initially thought). These included three bills focused on various aspects of human trafficking, such as education (SB 2330), more money for the Human Trafficking Victims Fund (HB 1003), and the permanent establishment of a Human Trafficking Commission (HB 1308). There were a couple of bills dealing with parent-child relationships: children in need of protection (HB 1556), and parents' right to be involved in their child’s education (SB 2244). It’s sad that we even need this latter bill. Some of the rest of this week’s bills included ones such as school district compliance with state laws (SB 2104), students reciting the Pledge of Allegiance in schools (HB 1222), and safe haven boxes for abandoned infants (HB 1205).

Despite these important bills, nearly all the media attention was on one resolution. House Concurrent Resolution (HCR) 3013 would ask SCOTUS to reconsider its ruling in the 2015 Obergefell v. Hodges decision that required all states to grant same-sex marriages. The media was all over this, as you might imagine, given that it was an LGBTQ+ issue. The resolution was passed out of the Senate Judiciary Committee with a “No Recommendation” decision and was ultimately defeated in the Senate by a 16-31 vote, which was done as a verification vote. A verification vote is somewhere between a voice vote, which is normally done for a resolution, and a roll call vote where all legislator votes are shown on the tally board. As a verification vote, it was impossible to see how each senator voted. Senator Boschee asked for a roll call vote, but it did not have enough support from other Senators.

HCR 3013 was certainly a contentious topic, although one has to ask why it was so much more contentious than many of the bills (not resolutions) passed last session. This topic truly brought out the worst in people, and it didn’t have to be that way. It was a “die on the hill” issue for many people on both sides, and we get that, but the thousands of emails sent to legislators with obscenities and threats were beyond the pale. It was not democracy in action; it was intimidation. I thought we were better than this, North Dakotans.

Next Week

Next week promises to be a bit slower than this week, but there will still be quite a few bills on which to testify. We will engage on bills related to Education Savings Accounts (HB 1540 and SB 2400), controlling various aspects of pornography (SCR 4017, SB 2307, HB 1351, HB 1561), continuing education instruction on ND abortion laws for OBGYNs (HB 1551), and a few others on a variety of subjects. In all, we plan to testify on ten bills, which are listed in more detail, below.

Current Status

Each bill’s upcoming actions are shown in the following table. NOTE THAT THE STATUS OF EACH BILL CAN CHANGE MULTIPLE TIMES, IN EVEN A SINGLE DAY. To double-check the most current status of any bill, you can go to this page, type the bill number into the upper right box (just need the number, not the HB or SB), and click the search button. Once you are on the bill’s page, click on the tab entitled “Actions”. This will indicate where the bill is at in the process. If you want to testify on a bill or have a question, you are always welcome to reach out to us (mark@ndfamilyalliance.org) and we’ll get back to you as soon as we can.

How to Take Action

1.) If a bill hearing has been scheduled, but not yet held, the table shows the date, time, and location of the hearing. If you want to testify, you need to write your comments about the bill into a PDF or txt file. This can be a paragraph or longer, but keep to the point. Once that is written, you can go to this page, type the bill number into the upper right box (just need the number, not the HB or SB), and click the search button. Once you are on the bill’s page, click on the tab entitled “Hearings”, identify the hearing, and click the link on the right where it says, “Submit Testimony”. Just follow the instructions after that. Note that there will be a deadline to submit testimony for bills, often early in the morning on the hearing day (this will show once you click on the “Submit Testimony” link). If you have questions about any of this, prepare your testimony document and then call us at 701-355-6425 and we can walk you through it.

2.) If the bill hearing is over, but it still needs to be voted on in a chamber, you can contact your appropriate legislator(s) and give them feedback. If you do not know who your legislators are or how to contact them, click here and then go to the top right corner and click on “Find my legislator.” Type your house number and zip code into the boxes and click the search button. From there, you should be able to find your Senator and Representatives and all their contact information such as phone numbers and email addresses.

3.) If the bill has passed both chambers and has been sent to Gov. Armstrong, you can contact the Governor via this link and provide input on the bill. Contact Governor Armstrong

Please remember to be respectful in all communications to our legislators and the Governor, and feel free to contact us with any legislative questions.