News Releases for February 2003
February 21, 2003
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Statement Of Gov. John Hoeven At Legislative Crossover
BISMARCK, N.D. - Governor John Hoeven today issued the following statement at the legislative crossover, the midpoint of the session:
“The Legislature has now reached the midpoint in the session. During the first half of the legislative session, they have focused on finding savings and cost efficiencies, pending the new revenue projections due in March. We took much the same approach in building a fiscally sound budget.
“Our budget provides strong support for education, and makes sure that funding gets into the classroom to increase teacher compensation. To date, the Legislature has taken an important step by raising the state minimum for teachers from $20,000 to $22,500, but more needs to be done to fund education and improve teacher pay. We have also made funding for seniors a priority through strong support for long term care, prescription drugs, and home and community based care. We will continue to support these vital services for our seniors.
“To stimulate economic development, the Legislature is supporting our Smart Growth initiatives such as Centers of Excellence, Internships, ConnectND, ethanol production and others. These important projects will build our economy and create opportunities for our citizens. By combining education and economic development, we can generate better-paying jobs and more opportunities for our people.
“At the beginning of the session, we made some hard and thoughtful spending decisions. In fact, North Dakota is one of only three states in the nation without a budget deficit. We will continue to work for a solid plan that funds the priorities of education, good job creation and healthcare for the people of North Dakota.”
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