The Bismarck City Commission is opposing House Bill 1029, which it fears will erode home rule authority by limiting transfers of county and city sales tax revenue to school districts.

With the 60th North Dakota Legislature in its second week, Bismarck City Administrator Bill Wocken is tracking several bills that may impact the city. He provided a report to the city commission at its meeting on Tuesday.

Home rule cities, such as Bismarck, are already limited on such transfers regarding school district operations. But City Commissioner Connie Sprynczynatyk said that the city has successfully made such transfers in the past for school district capital projects.

Commissioner Sandi Tabor moved to oppose the bill introduced by Legislative Council, unless an amendment is provided to allow greater flexibility. She said that it would eliminate voter-approved uses of sales tax money involving the school district. The motion was approved on a 3 to 2 vote.

"There are some great examples of voter-approved sales tax initiatives in our community," Mayor John Warford said in support of opposing the legislation.

"It erodes the home rule charter that the citizens voted for," Sprynczynatyk said.

Two bills related to the state penitentiary - HB1026 and HB1159 - are being tracked by Wocken. He said there may be a third, but at present he doesn't have enough information on any of the bills to make a recommendation.

"My only concern," Tabor said, "is that we all know how things move quickly. The penitentiary is a major portion of our community. I hope that whatever more information there is, we can get it and have a meaningful discussion that this commission can convey to the Legislature."

Another bill Wocken didn't want to comment on until he heard more about it, was HB1033, relating to public improvements. He said he believes the bill offers a number of new things and can be complicated and confusing.

Sprynczynatyk said she thinks the city commission should be prepared to provide support of HB1040, which addresses disorderly conduct at a funeral. This bill was born out of protests held at military funerals across North Dakota this past year. The bill provides a 300-foot demarcation zone for funerals prohibiting specific conduct at funerals and imposing disorderly conduct penalty.

With a huge surplus to work with, legislators have been pushing property tax relief. HB1051 provides state-paid property tax relief. The bill introduced by Sens. Dwight Cook, R-Mandan, and Rich Wardner, R-Dickinson, along with Reps. Wesley Belter, R-Leonard, and Gill Herbel, R-Grafton, proposes to return 10 percent of property taxes levied against residences and 5 percent of property taxes levied against commercial or agricultural property.

"There are going to be a lot of bills about tax relief," Tabor said. "I suggest we work with the League of Cities to work it all out."

Wocken expressed some concern with Senate Bill 2137, which relates to the North Dakota Department of Emergency Services and the state's disaster act of 1985.

The bill, according to Wocken, will link city emergency management operations to county emergency management.

"It requires city emergency management and county emergency organizational plans to be consistent and complimentary," Wocken said. "The city wouldn't have to answer to the county and can have co-emergency management plans as Bismarck and Burleigh do."

Currently, Bismarck and Burleigh have separate emergency management departments headed by different people.

(Reach reporter Gordon Weixel at 250-8255 or gordon.weixel@;bismarcktribune.com.)