Republican insurance commissioner candidate Adam Hamm said Monday he wants teen drivers to wait longer and go through more steps to get a full-fledged driver's license.

Under Hamm's plan, a teen would have to pass two steps before earning an unrestricted license. He said he will work with legislators next session to approve it.

Jasper Schneider, the Democratic-NPL candidate for insurance commissioner, questioned the timing of Hamm's proposal, which comes a week after Rep. Ed Gruchalla, D-Fargo, announced his plan to raise the minimum driving age from 14 to 16.

Hamm said his plan would help lower insurance premiums and make roads safer by requiring young drivers to go through a "graduated driver's license" plan.

"The bottom line is that we can do something right here in North Dakota to protect our youngest asset and help them become better drivers," Hamm said.

Teens could first apply for a learner's permit at 14-and-a-half and would have to be accompanied by an adult while driving. They also would be barred from driving while using a cell phone and between 11 p.m. and 5 a.m.

After six months, at the age of 15, the teen driver would graduate to another license that wouldn't require an adult driver, but would apply the other restrictions as well as 20 hours of supervised driving by an adult. This stage would last a year.

After that, the teen driver would be eligible for an unrestricted driver's license, which would require more supervised driving.

Hamm said fatal car crashes among North Dakota teens accounted for 23 percent of all deadly crashes in the state in 2007, Hamm said.

Schneider said he agrees with the principles of the plan, but wants to keep the campaign for insurance commissioner focused on expanding health care to more children.

"We've got 14-, 15-, 16-year- olds who can't go to the doctor," Schneider said. "First, I think we have to make sure these kids are healthy and reach the age of 15."

Schneider and Hamm will debate live at 9 p.m. today on KFYR TV.

Vance on vets

Democratic-NPL candidate for state treasurer Mitch Vance said Monday that his Republican opponent Kelly Schmidt hasn't been up front with the status of a veterans' trust fund that is partially invested in the stock market.

Schmidt said Vance is playing politics in light of bad economic news and that he isn't giving the full story, either.

Vance has accused Schmidt of using "Enron-style" accounting that isn't giving the veterans' group responsible for overseeing a state veterans' trust fund the full picture, noting the program has lost more than $1 million since Schmidt moved a portion of the fund from the state investment board to an Edward Jones account in 2005.

He said the fund also has lost an additional $450,000 in recent weeks as the stock market continued to slump.

Schmidt said Vance isn't taking into account an increase in the level of benefits provided to veterans, which includes money to buy things such as hearing aids.

"We share with the veterans and we talk with the veterans on a regular basis," Schmidt said. "The information that we share with them is very transparent."

Rudy Jenson, chairman of the Advisory Committee on Veterans' Affairs that oversees the benefits program, said no harm has been done even in light of a slumping economy.

"I've been on (the veterans committee) for seven years and the best figures have been from Kelly Schmidt," said Jenson, who has endorsed Schmidt.

Lonnie Wangen, commissioner of the department of veterans' affairs, said the fund still has plenty of money despite its Wall Street losses, including about $500,000 in a rainy day fund.

"We're not at all worried," Wangen said, who noted the veterans' benefits program was suspended in 2001 because it didn't have enough money.

Cato grades Hoeven

The Cato Institute, a Washington-based conservative think tank, gave Gov. John Hoeven a "C" in a report it released Monday that ranks governors on tax policy and state spending.

The report said Hoeven has approved many tax breaks for renewable energy, marriage penalty and property taxes.

"However, the governor has supported tax increases on cigarette and gasoline consumers, and he has not pushed for broad-based tax reductions despite large revenue inflows to state coffers in recent years," the report said.

Hoeven responded saying some states receiving better grades are doing worse off economically.

"Governor Hoeven has not only held the line on taxes, he worked to pass the largest tax relief plan in the history of the state, and now he's committed to doing even more," said Don Canton, a Hoeven spokesman.

States receiving A's include Florida, South Carolina and West Virginia. States receiving F's include Maryland, Oregon and New Jersey.

Union backs Kalk

Republican Public Service Commission candidate Brian Kalk received the endorsement from the United Steelworkers Local 566 on Saturday.

The steelworkers also endorsed Kalk's Democratic-NPL opponent Cheryl Bergian, who found out about her endorsement before Kalk. The AFL-CIO also endorsed both Kalk and Bergian last month.

(Reach reporter Brian Duggan at 223-8482 or brian.duggan@;bismarcktribune.com.)