ND House nixes state funding for Prairie Public
Public broadcasting makes the list of prime funding cuts for many conservatives on both the national and state level year after year, but always manages to survive by mobilizing supporters to pressure elected officials to stand down.
Industry publications note PBS and NPR may face their toughest test yet from the Department of Government Efficiency headed by Elon Musk, in addition to a bill that would zero out federal tax dollars for public broadcasting.
Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, introduced legislation last week to remove a critical source of funding for the National Public Radio and Public Broadcasting Service: taxpayer dollars.
The bill will likely intensify the battle between Washington conservatives and taxpayer-supported media outlets, which some see as favoring liberal policy positions. Federal Communications Commission Chairman Brendan Carr has already said he disagrees with funding NPR and PBS given the abundance of media options today.
Meantime, the North Dakota House of Representatives has already moved to strip Prairie Public of state taxpayer funding. The result was considerably closer than an earlier vote on the measure, the Bismarck Tribune noted, but more than sufficient to prevail, as a majority ignored two committees’ recommendation to kill the bill.
House Bill 1255 would remove all state funding to support public broadcasting. Both the House Political Subdivisions Committee and the House Appropriations Committee recommended the bill not pass, but the full House passed it with a final tally of 48-41, with five lawmakers absent or not voting. All bills in the House require at least 48 votes to pass.
Proponents of the bill said it is an opportunity to look into Prairie Public Broadcasting for perceived editorial bias on issues such as abortion and to analyze their reserve funds to see if state funding is still necessary with the rise of charitable gambling and the revenue it brings to Prairie Public.
At a committee hearing in early February, the public broadcaster’s supporters made the case for why $1.2 million in state taxpayer funding should continue to flow to the statewide network.
Opponents of the bill said that Prairie Public is the backbone of the state’s emergency alert system, provides vital programming to North Dakotans, and that the cessation of government funding could lead to donors pulling their contributions from the organization, hurting Prairie Public’s financial stability.
“For more than 60 years Prairie Public has been a lifeline for North Dakotans,” Rep. Jonathan Warrey, R-Casselton, said. “It serves as a vital education and cultural resource providing free access to rural and urban communities alike.”
The legislation has moved on to the North Dakota Senate, where the State and Local Government Committee will consider the measure on March 7. Question is whether that’s enough time for Prairie Public supporters to stop the momentum for defunding public broadcasting again.