House Minority Leader Zac Ista, D-Grand Forks, speaks on the House floor during a special session of the Legislature on Sept. 2, 2026. (Photo by Michael Achterling/North Dakota Monitor)
BISMARCK, N.D. (North Dakota Monitor) – North Dakota Democratic lawmakers tried to introduce bills on childcare funding and a moratorium on data center permitting during the special session Wednesday, but the attempts were voted down or blocked by each Republican-led chamber.
House Minority Leader Zac Ista, D-Grand Forks, urged lawmakers to consider debating a proposal to add $9 million for childcare assistance to get low-income families off of a growing waitlist.
Senate Minority Leader Kathy Hogan, D-Fargo, had pushed for the bill ahead of the session, but a panel of legislative leaders did not advance it. About 1,900 North Dakota families are on a waitlist to receive state childcare assistance.
Ista told House lawmakers that childcare needs affect every legislative district, family and the state’s workforce. Childcare providers are also being strained financially, he said.
“This is an urgent issue that cannot wait until January 2027,” Ista said.
House Majority Leader Mike Lefor, R-Dickinson, said the bill was debated during Legislative Management prior to the special session, including discussion about a recent significant increase in state spending on childcare. In addition, an interim legislative committee that meets Sept. 9 is studying the programs.
“The interim committee is looking at what is the effectiveness of different programs within childcare, and I’d ask you to continue to allow the interim committee to continue to do their work,” Lefor said.
House Majority Leader Mike Lefor, R-Dickinson, speaks on the House floor during a special session of the Legislature on Sept. 2, 2026. (Photo by Michael Achterling/North Dakota Monitor)
House lawmakers rejected a motion to introduce the childcare funding bill on a 72-21 vote.
Hogan tried to introduce the childcare bill in the Senate, but Majority Leader Sen. David Hogue, R-Minot, objected. A voice vote to override the objection failed.
Rep. Gretchen Dobervich, D-Fargo, attempted to introduce a data center permitting moratorium bill, but that motion failed on a 68-25 vote. The proposal led by Sen. Tim Mathern, D-Fargo, called for a temporary pause to data center permitting through June 2027.
“Data centers are not a black and white issue,” Dobervich said. “There are benefits and legitimate concerns that are being raised across North Dakota.”
In the Senate, Sen. Ryan Braunberger, D-Fargo, attempted to introduce a similar data center moratorium, but Hogue objected to the motion to introduce the bill. There was no motion to overturn Hogue’s objection.
During a press conference Friday morning, Sen. Jamie Selzler, D-Fargo, said the lawmakers were attempting to introduce the bills for discussion.
“We just wanted to talk about it,” Selzler said. “Republicans are not listening, because if they were listening, they’d be willing to talk about these things.”
Lawmakers have five bills to consider during the special session, which is expected to take three days.
After the votes in the House, Rep. Matthew Ruby, R-Minot, co-chair of the Policy Committee during the special session, said Democratic lawmakers exercised their rights within House rules.
“At this point, we just don’t have the time to dig into it,” Ruby said. “And simply throwing money at it (childcare) might not be the best way to go about it.”
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