Jan 24, 2007 - 08:34:25 CST
BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) — In an evening display of the Legislature's workings, North Dakota lawmakers approved restrictions on funeral protests and endorsed the chokecherry as the state fruit during a special public session at the Capitol.Citizens Night, as the event is called, featured committee hearings and floor sessions in both the House and Senate, where lawmakers spent about 45 minutes in each chamber voting on a selected roster of bills.
The funeral restriction bill will be the first bill of the 2007 Legislature that is sent to Gov. John Hoeven, who has said he will sign it quickly. The legislation carries an ``emergency clause,'' which means it will take effect shortly after Hoeven signs it.
Senators voted 44-0 to give final legislative approval to the bill, which would bar protesters at funerals from getting within 300 feet of the church or cemetery. A demonstrator who gets closer could be arrested for disorderly conduct.
``It is not intended to silence any speech, even speech directly intended to be hurtful,'' said Sen. Stan Lyson, R-Williston. ``It is simply intended to ensure that the family will have at least the 300-foot zone of peace to properly lay a loved one to rest.''
The House approved the bill on Jan. 12.
The bill was prompted by June demonstrations held by a Kansas religious sect called the Westboro Baptist Church at funerals for two North Dakota National Guard soldiers who were killed in Iraq and Afghanistan.
North Dakota's House defeated a measure to require schools to start after Labor Day, a proposal supported by the state's tourism industry, which said it would allow more time for August family vacations and boost the state's economy.
Representatives thrashed the bill, 77-15. Rep. Phillip Mueller, D-Valley City, said they were influenced by arguments from school administrators and board members, who said the decision on when school begins should be left to locally elected school boards.
Schools in the state usually start the new year in mid- to late August, and finish in late May. A post-Labor Day beginning would have pushed the start date into early September, and could have delayed the end of school until early June, after the Memorial Day holiday.
Senators held their longest debate on whether to name the chokecherry as the state fruit, before endorsing the bill, 42-2. The legislation now goes to the state House for its review.
The bill was the product of a sixth-grade class at Williston's Rickard Elementary School, whose students began working on the project last February.
Sens. John Andrist, R-Crosby, and Art Behm, D-Niagara, argued good-naturedly in favor of the juneberry as an alternative.
``I have picked a lot of juneberries in my day, and I've picked a lot of chokecherries, and if I had my choice, juneberries far outseed chokecherries,'' Behm said. ``Chokecherries, to me, are a poison.''
Tuesday marked the third straight session of the Legislature that the Citizens Night event has been held, and more than 250 people roamed the Capitol's halls and packed into hearing rooms.
NoDak Dan wrote on Jan 26, 2007 8:39 AM:
GL wrote on Jan 24, 2007 1:55 PM:
Dan wrote on Jan 24, 2007 9:03 AM:
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