Winning Train ND funding, stopping local government overreach highlight accomplishments for small business
State Director Alison Ritter reports from Bismarck on how the small-business agenda fared
When the Legislature adjourned at the end of April, NFIB was confident that your voice was heard loud and clear in Bismarck.
Because of NFIB’s lobbying efforts:
- cities and counties cannot impose higher minimum-wage rates than the state or federal government
- a proposed surcharge on unemployment insurance was defeated
- the imposition of paid medical leave was stopped
- fertility treatment mandates on health insurance plans were shelved
- local governments were prohibited from regulating auxiliary containers, such as plastic bags, bottles, or straws.
Not all of NFIB’s efforts were consumed by defeating bad-for-small-business bills. We also successfully advocated for $2 million in funding for Train ND, which provides companies with help in training staff in technical, health, computer, organizational and soft skills. The training is provided in-person or online and is beneficial for companies looking to keep training their workforce.
Other bills of note coming out of the 66th Legislative session included:
- passage of civil asset forfeiture reform
- blue law repeal
- the Wayfair bill measure, which brings the state into compliance with the U.S. Supreme Court’s Supreme decision regarding the collection of online sales tax.
NFIB will continue to monitor studies throughout the interim that could have an impact on small business as we head into the 2021 session.
