N. Dakota bill to have new committee review fed environmental laws and regs

Sponsors of the bill say House Bill 1432 is pushback against what they call constant federal government meddling with the state’s agriculture and energy industries as well as litigation by environmental groups to push for additional regulations. “We want to take a proactive approach. We can work together for agriculture and for the oil industry,” prime bill sponsor Rep. Michael Brandenburg, R-Edgeley, said. If approved, the bill would create a state committee — which would review federal environmental legislation and regulations that may impact the state’s agriculture and energy sectors — consisting of the agriculture commissioner, the governor, legislators and representatives of the agriculture and energy industries. The amended Senate version of the bill passed Wednesday. The House can either concur with the amended bill or go to conference committee to address differences between each chamber...more