2027 Legislative Priorities

At a glance

What: The City Council is setting its legislative priorities for the 2027 state legislative session.
Where it stands: Four draft priorities were reviewed at the November 4 working session: reentry support after incarceration, additional state funding for the Dakota Mainstem regional water system, the Dakota Mainstem Missouri River water reservation, and Class B retirement classification for 911 telecommunicators. Two further ideas were raised for consideration.
Next: A resolution establishing the priorities is expected in early December.

Reentry priority: parole modernization, housing support for people released from prison (framed as a statewide, regional model), a multi-agency parole task force, and 24/7 triage assessment access. Discussion noted the opioid settlement funds for the triage center are handled administratively, so that bullet may need refining.
Water priorities: a funding request of $750,000 for Dakota Mainstem engineering and assessment, and support for its application to reserve 55,230 acre-feet of Missouri River water annually. Public Works described roughly 40 years of supply runway under extreme drought conditions.
911 telecommunicators: see 911 Telecommunicator Retirement Classification; 25 of 27 answering points have given written approval to the state retirement system process.
Ideas raised: a longer window between a city election and any runoff, and a "pay your own way" theme on data center policy (see Data Center Regulatory Oversight).

Working session reviewed the draft priorities and heard questions; resolution to follow in early December.