{"id":113895,"date":"2017-01-03T14:38:40","date_gmt":"2017-01-03T20:38:40","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/csinewsnow.com\/?p=113895"},"modified":"2017-01-03T14:38:40","modified_gmt":"2017-01-03T20:38:40","slug":"highlights-burgum-state-of-state-address","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/csinewsnow.com\/?p=113895","title":{"rendered":"Highlights, Burgum State of State Address"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Doug

Doug Burgum<\/p><\/div>\n

Bismarck\u00a0 (CSi) \u00a0 In his first State of the State address, Governor Doug Burgum on Tuesday said the state\u2019s revenue challenge presents an opportunity to reinvent state government and embrace technology to hold down costs and build an economy and workforce for the 21st<\/sup> century.<\/p>\n

\u201cThese powerful technological forces are fueling an underlying change in our economy and will challenge all of our existing approaches, systems and institutions,\u201d Burgum said. \u201cHarnessing these forces can lead to lower costs and better outcomes in health care, education and infrastructure. And these areas are some of the biggest cost drivers of our state budget.\u201d<\/p>\n

The budget proposal presented to lawmakers by Gov. Jack Dalrymple before he left office last month would reduce general fund spending by about $1.2 billion in the 2017-19 biennium, which Burgum called \u201ca great start.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBut given the revenue uncertainty, we must dig deeper,\u201d Burgum said. \u201cRight now is the time to right-size government.\u201d<\/p>\n

Burgum said he and the Legislature share many of the same goals, most notably the desire to balance the budget and fund priorities without raising taxes.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I took office 19 days ago, I challenged our cabinet members to spend less time defending institutions and more time reinventing them. They\u2019re responding with enthusiasm for this quest,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

The governor called for zero-based budgeting starting in the next full budget cycle in order to focus spending on areas with the highest returns. He said the state needs to examine its revenue forecasting system to more accurately reflect the impacts of volatile price swings in the agriculture and energy sectors, and also needs to establish an approach to revenue risk management, including consideration of the use of conservative hedging policies when market conditions warrant.<\/p>\n

The current era of abundant food, energy and information requires a rethinking of existing institutions, Burgum said. His administration will take a hard look at state agencies and find efficiencies and savings through cross-cutting initiatives.<\/p>\n

Burgum also advocated for a shift away from the state\u2019s property tax buydown program and for long-term property tax reform by reducing the cost of local government.<\/p>\n

His Main Street Initiative will focus on utilizing existing infrastructure to its fullest potential to reduce costs and create vibrant, healthy cities, he said. As part of that effort, Burgum said he and Lt. Gov. Brent Sanford will partner with mayors and other city leaders from across the state to ensure they have the tools, programs and empowerment they need for smart, healthy growth.<\/p>\n

Dakota Access Pipeline<\/strong><\/p>\n

Burgum spoke of impending damage to the environment and potential danger to protesters and first responders if Dakota Access Pipeline opponents don\u2019t vacate the main camp in southern Morton County before a likely flood hits in March.<\/p>\n

The unauthorized camp sits in a floodplain on U.S. Army Corps of Engineers land at the confluence of the Missouri and Cannonball rivers. Burgum said vacating the camp and cleaning up the abandoned cars, illegal structures and human waste from months of occupation will be a costly and time-consuming effort that will require coordination from tribal, county, state and federal agencies.<\/p>\n

\u201cChairman Dave Archambault from the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe has repeatedly asked for the remaining protesters to leave.\u00a0We unequivocally support him in this request,\u201d Burgum said.<\/p>\n

Burgum pledged a fresh start in relations with all tribal nations in North Dakota, noting his administration will begin meeting with leaders of each tribe this week, including at a luncheon Wednesday as part of the inauguration celebration events.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur goal is to understand each tribe\u2019s individual issues and circumstances so that we may move forward together toward greater mutual respect, harmony and prosperity,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

At the same time, the governor assured residents affected by the dispute that maintaining the rule of law in North Dakota is still the priority.<\/p>\n

\u201cPeaceful protest is a protected right of all Americans,\u201d Burgum said. \u201cHowever, protesters must respect private property rights, court orders and law enforcement personnel. Acts of vandalism, harassment and trespass are not a part of North Dakota\u2019s character and will not be tolerated.\u201d<\/p>\n

Education<\/strong><\/p>\n

With nearly all of the world\u2019s information now available for free online, Burgum said educators, parents, businesses, community organizations and legislators must all play a role in transforming the education system.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s not enough for students to do well on traditional measures, Burgum said. The challenge is how to equip them with the skills and mindsets they need to be creative problem solvers, effective communicators and informed, responsible citizens who are strong collaborators.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe can\u2019t prepare our kids for the 21st<\/sup> century using a 19th<\/sup>-century model,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Addiction treatment<\/strong><\/p>\n

As drug addiction and overdoses take their toll on North Dakota families, Burgum said the state must start treating addiction differently. Sixty-one people died in North Dakota in 2015 from overdoses, and more than $260 million was spent in the past decade on new jails at the city, county and state levels, he noted.<\/p>\n

\u201cMany of those in our system are there because of crimes rooted in addiction. Jail time without rehab is not a cure for addiction,\u201d Burgum said. \u201cWe need to start treating addiction like the chronic disease that it is.\u00a0By moving resources upstream, we will save lives and save money.\u201d<\/p>\n

To continue that conversation, the governor and First Lady Kathryn Burgum are hosting a free service breakfast from 7:30 to 9 a.m. Wednesday at the Radisson in Bismarck to focus on a collaborative approach to addiction.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Bismarck\u00a0 (CSi) \u00a0 In his first State of the State address, Governor Doug Burgum on Tuesday said the state\u2019s revenue challenge presents an opportunity to reinvent state government and embrace technology to hold down costs and build an economy and workforce for the 21st century. \u201cThese powerful technological forces are […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[35],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-113895","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-state"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/csinewsnow.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/113895","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/csinewsnow.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/csinewsnow.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/csinewsnow.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/csinewsnow.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=113895"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/csinewsnow.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/113895\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":113896,"href":"http:\/\/csinewsnow.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/113895\/revisions\/113896"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/csinewsnow.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=113895"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/csinewsnow.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=113895"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/csinewsnow.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=113895"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}