Bismarck, N.D. — Gov. John Hoeven today laid out a plan and a vision for North Dakota's future during his State of the State Address to the members of the 61st Legislative Assembly. Hoeven said that building a strong reserve fund puts the state in a position of strength to undertake the major initiatives that will move the state forward.

"This is a time to make well-placed investments in our economy — investments that will stimulate further growth — a time to set aside a healthy reserve for a rainy day — and a time to provide hard-working North Dakotans with real tax relief," Hoeven said. "We have set forth a budget and a clear roadmap to do these things; a roadmap to help build a brighter future for ourselves and our children."

Hoeven outlined four major initiatives that will move the state forward:

Tax Relief

"Our more than $500 million Tax Relief and education Funding Reform initiative includes $300 million in property tax Relief, $100 million in income tax relief, and $130 million in additional K-12 education funding," Hoeven said. "Combined, our plan will improve the quality of education for our children, reform the way we fund education, return tax dollars to the citizens of North Dakota, and provide real, permanent tax relief to homeowners, businesses, farmers, and ranchers across our state."

Hoeven's tax relief plan is simple and straightforward. The $300 million in property tax relief will be funded by a dollar for dollar reduction in local school mill levies throughout North Dakota. To ensure that all North Dakota taxpayers benefit from tax relief, the plan includes $100 million to reduce income taxes, which will also stimulate our state's economy.

"As we grow and diversify our economy, we must always make it a priority to reduce the tax burden and return tax dollars to our citizens. No one can better decide how to spend those dollars than the hard-working North Dakotans who earned them," Hoeven said.

Education

Hoeven's K-12 education plan incorporates the recommendations from the Governor's Commission on Education Improvement, a bi-partisan group of state and local education leaders chaired by Lt. Gov. Jack Dalrymple. The plan includes $130 million to build student performance, enhance curriculum, provide strong professional development and mentoring, as well as improved compensation for teachers. The proposal will enable the state to reach the goal of funding 70 percent of the cost of public education.

To ensure that quality, affordable higher education is accessible to all North Dakotans, Hoeven has proposed $170 million in additional funding for the state's University System. This funding includes both ongoing and one-time support to help the state's campuses maintain and improve the outstanding quality of education they provide.

The proposal includes the Governor's $40 million Aid for College Tuition plan, ACT-ND, for needs-based tuition assistance. When combined with a federal Pell Grant, ACT-ND will cover between 80 and 100 percent of the cost of tuition at colleges and universities in North Dakota. To attract and prepare our young people for the jobs and careers being created in North Dakota, Hoeven has also proposed STEM Grants, a merit-based program for students in the fields of science, technology, engineering and math. Eligible students will receive up to $2,000 a year for five years - $10,000 in total — to help with their technical training or education.

"I can think of no better way to invest in our future than to invest in our young people. They are the builders of tomorrow," Hoeven said.

Helping Families

"As we pursue education and tax relief initiatives that will help to create good-paying jobs and raise our standard of living, we must also recognize that some North Dakota working families are facing financial challenges," Hoeven said.

Hoeven proposed several measures to assist families and North Dakotans of all ages, including:

Raising the income level for the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) from 150 percent to 200 percent of the poverty level

childcare Assistance grants and criminal background checks for childcare workers

State-funded prekindergarten education

An Aged and Disabled Resource Center to provide a single point of entry for long-term care services in North Dakota

Increased Medicaid reimbursement rates to help hospitals, Nursing Homes, and other healthcare providers continue to provide quality care

Increasing counseling services, expanding the state veterans' bonuses, and enhanced funding for the new Veterans Home in Lisbon to support our veterans

Economic Development

Through aggressive economic development efforts, per capita income in North Dakota has risen from 84 percent of the national average in 2000 to 93 percent today. With continued efforts, we can take it to 100 percent and beyond, Hoeven said.

Hoeven cited a number of businesses throughout the state for their innovation and entrepreneurial spirit, including Basin Electric, Coventry health care and Microsoft. These companies and others have taken advantage of the state's outstanding business climate and educated workforce to grow their business right here in North Dakota.

"The goal of aggressive economic development is to raise our standard of living and improve our quality of life," Hoeven said. "Our initiatives in tax relief, education and workforce development are helping to strengthen North Dakota's business climate, so that quality companies can expand here."

Building a Strong Reserve

"As we do all of these things, we must do them from a position of financial strength. That is why we must continue to prudently manage the taxpayers' dollars and continue to build our reserves for the future."

In the current biennium, the state of North Dakota set aside $200 million in the Budget Stabilization Fund and another $200 million in the Permanent oil Tax Trust Fund as a reserve for the future. The Governor's plan for the next biennium includes setting aside between $800 million and $1.2 billion to further strengthen the state's reserve funds.

"Building our reserves, combined with our major initiatives — reducing the burden of taxes, reforming and strengthening our education system, helping families, and above all, pursuing aggressive economic development efforts — these are the right investments and the right balance to move our state forward," Hoeven said. "The results — the return on investment — will be | save this article / add to your favorites list