The Fight For Pension Reform Begins

Committee hearings for HB 1039 & 1040 are just the begining.

Jan 14, 2023

∙ Paid

On Friday, January 13th, 2023 the most serious fight to reform the state’s bleeding pension fund began with a three-hour long hearing on the two bills.

North Dakota's Watchdog Update

Video: Pension Reform Bills (Full Video)

Watch now (3 hr) | Above is the full 3 hour and 15 minute House Government and Veteran Affairs Committee Hearing on the proposed bills to close the current Defined Benefits Pension and transition new hires to a new Defined Contribution (401k -style) retirement plan…

8 months ago · Dustin Gawrylow

This is a long-standing issue that I, the North Dakota Watchdog Network ( and the North Dakota Taxpayers Association before that), have pushed to reform.

I was asked to write an Op-Ed for the Grand Forks Herald on this issue in 2012.

Governor Burgum has made pension reform a flagship issue for the 2023 session:

North Dakota's Watchdog Update

Governor Burgum Proposes Sweeping Public Pension Reform

As part of his 2023-25 executive budget proposal, Governor Burgum is showing that he is actually willing to use his political capital to promote long-needed policy changes that previous governors just have not been willing to touch. I previously wrote about how Governor Burgum is returning to his roots and proposing a “flat income tax with a path to zero percent…

10 months ago · 1 like · Dustin Gawrylow

The two bills are very similar, differing only in how much money is injected into the fund to bail it out immediately.

Legislative Council staff prepared a 4-page memo explaining what the 41-page bills do.

According to the actuarial report, as of last July, the current fund was at a 67% funding ratio. (Since the stock market has been declining since last summer, this ratio has certainly gotten worse.)

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