{"id":11581,"date":"2013-01-28T10:05:28","date_gmt":"2013-01-28T16:05:28","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/csinewsnow.com\/?p=11581"},"modified":"2013-01-28T10:05:28","modified_gmt":"2013-01-28T16:05:28","slug":"st-legislature-wk-of-jan-28-2013","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/csinewsnow.com\/?p=11581","title":{"rendered":"St. Legislature Wk. Of Jan 28, 2013"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>BISMARCK Jan 28, 2013\u00a0\u2014 North Dakota\u2019s 63rd legislative session is well under way and lawmakers are set to consider bills that range from booze sales on Sundays and taxes on cigarettes to setbacks and flaring regulations for oil wells.<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s a glimpse of what\u2019s to come:<\/p>\n

Smoking taxes<\/p>\n

Rep. Eliot Glassheim quit smoking cigarettes when the cost a pack rose by a dime decades ago. Now the Grand Forks Democrat is sponsoring a bill that would increase state tax on a pack of smokes from 44 cents to $1.<\/p>\n

State and federal data show North Dakota ranks 46th among states in the amount of tax smokers pay. New York charges the most state excise tax in the nation at $4.35.<\/p>\n

The increased cigarette tax would add $15 million to $20 million annually to the state\u2019s general fund, Glassheim said \u2014 but he said that\u2019s not why he\u2019s pushing HB1387.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe point of it is not to raise money,\u201d Glassheim said. \u201cThe point is to help people stop smoking.\u201d<\/p>\n

No smoking<\/p>\n

Sen. Tim Mathern has introduced some get-tough legislation on the oil industry\u2019s practice of burning and wasting natural gas as an unwanted byproduct of oil production.<\/p>\n

The Fargo Democrat\u2019s bill would require companies to stop pumping oil after one year unless gas-gathering systems are in place. No hearing has been slated but there should be plenty talk in the halls of the Capitol this week.<\/p>\n

About one-third of the state\u2019s gas production is being burned off or \u201cflared.\u201d Companies are allowed to waste the gas because development of the pipelines and processing facilities needed to handle it has not kept pace with production.<\/p>\n

Oil companies in North Dakota can flare natural gas for a year without paying taxes or royalties on it. After that, companies can request an extension because of the \u201ceconomic hardship\u201d of connecting the well to a natural gas pipeline.<\/p>\n

The U.S. Energy Department\u2019s Energy Information Administration says less than 1 percent of natural gas is flared from oil fields nationwide, and less than 3 percent worldwide.<\/p>\n

Point of fact: North Dakota\u2019s burning Oil Patch can be seen clearly in satellite photos from space.<\/p>\n

More setbacks for drillers<\/p>\n

Oil drillers will have to move their wells farther away from homes under legislation to be considered this week by the House Energy and Natural Resources Committee.<\/p>\n

Oil companies can drill a well within 500 feet of an occupied dwelling at present. The proposed bill would lengthen the distance to 1,320 feet, or a quarter-mile.<\/p>\n

Regulators would still have the power to permit a well closer to someone\u2019s home, if the homeowner approves.<\/p>\n

Moneymaking yard ornaments have a way of being tolerated.<\/p>\n

0 booze thirty<\/p>\n

Some North Dakota lawmakers believe noon is too late to begin buying booze on Sunday.<\/p>\n

The measure, HB1367, would allow alcohol sales on Sundays to begin at 10 a.m. instead of noon.<\/p>\n

The measure is sponsored by Reps. Randy Boehning, R-Fargo, Andrew Maragos, R-Minot, Roscoe Streyle, R-Minot, and Sen. Carolyn Nelson, D-Fargo.<\/p>\n

Sunday business restrictions are part of the state\u2019s so-called blue laws. North Dakota law once required most businesses to stay closed on Sundays. It was changed in 1985 to allow grocery stores to open.<\/p>\n

The Legislature in 1991 allowed most businesses to open on Sundays but they couldn\u2019t open their doors before noon.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

BISMARCK Jan 28, 2013\u00a0\u2014 North Dakota\u2019s 63rd legislative session is well under way and lawmakers are set to consider bills that range from booze sales on Sundays and taxes on cigarettes to setbacks and flaring regulations for oil wells. Here\u2019s a glimpse of what\u2019s to come: Smoking taxes Rep. Eliot […]<\/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-11581","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-state"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/csinewsnow.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11581","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=11581"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"http:\/\/csinewsnow.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11581\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":11584,"href":"http:\/\/csinewsnow.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11581\/revisions\/11584"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/csinewsnow.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=11581"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/csinewsnow.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=11581"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/csinewsnow.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=11581"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}