581: 'I'm taking the heat for it'

Rep. Scott Louser, a Republican from Minot, is one of a handful of North Dakota lawmakers who, after casting a vote in favor of a resolution asking the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn precedent striking down state bans on same-sex marriage, came to regret the decision.

"I'm taking the heat for it," Louser said of his change of heart on this episode of Plain Talk.

"I don't have a fantastic answer that's going to satisfy everybody," he said when co-host Chad Oban and I asked him about how he came to change his mind. "The best that I could do was tell the world I regretted what I did."

"I don't go tell the public, you know, I wish I would have voted different on a bill every time," he continued. "This one warranted that. I made a mistake and I've apologized for it, but probably that's not going to satisfy everybody. I understand that."

Louser also discussed the property tax debate. His bill was one of three packages for property tax reform and relief that the House sent the Senate before the crossover break.

Why did the House send three bills instead of coalescing around one? He said there was a directive from leadership to "send all three out to the floor of the House and let the whole house decide as opposed to one committee."

"The strategy was give the Senate the best ideas that we've had and see what they think," he continued.

Also on this episode, Sen. Sean Cleary spoke about his objection on the floor of the Senate to comments characterizing North Dakota's educators and librarians as groomers and pedophiles, and his opposition to the bill they were made in support of.

"We're basically bringing law enforcement into a conversation about books in the library," he said of Senate Bill 2307, adding he "just couldn't support a bill like that."

Cleary also spoke about a constitutional amendment he proposed which would ban the use of revenues from charitable gaming for political purposes. Legislation defeated in the House before crossover would have directed local governments to deem political organizations like campaigns and parties as "public-spirited" and eligible for the proceeds.

Cleary said that bill made him realize "that we have some pretty serious concerns when it comes to gaming in this state." Senate Concurrent Resolution 4027 is "low hanging fruit"when it comes to addressing some of the challenges the explosion in gambling in North Dakota has wrought.

This episode is presented by Dakota Resource Council. For nearly 50 years, DRC has worked across North Dakota to protect our land, water and future. Become a member, volunteer and take action, or donate today at www.DRCinfo.org.

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