Josh Boschee

Beyond my twelve years in the ND House, five of which as the House Minority Leader, it's my experience as a real estate agent and broker that has prepared me well to serve in the legislature. As a real estate agent, we are constantly negotiating on behalf of our clients, which requires use to understand all parties priorities and find opportunities for common ground to get to an agreement. This has helped me be a better legislator and a better communicator.

I will continue to work in a bipartisan way on the issues important to my constituents and most North Dakotans. Two of those priorities are addressing the childcare crisis through long-term stabilization of the childcare workforce and identifying ways to provide more affordable housing, for renters and home buyers. My third priority is to ensure that North Dakotans have the freedom to live with the least amount of government interference in their ability to make the best decisions for themselves and their families.

Childcare and affordable housing are the two largest challenges facing North Dakota. These impact the quality of life North Dakotans are experiencing and our ability to retain and recruit the workforce we need for our communities to thrive. These are issues that I have advocated for since I was first elected, so will continue to lead on them. Unfortunately, they have reached a crisis level which has brought many more stakeholders and legislators to the table to work towards solutions. I look forward to expanding our coalition of supporter to invest more state resources in addressing both in a way that benefits North Dakotans and our business community.

Yes. We are fortunate to have the Legacy Fund as a long-term funding option to create sustainability for childcare funding and affordable housing resources. To date, we've primarily used the Legacy Fund to backend the General Fund budget and some road and water infrastructure. I am of the mindset that we need to do a better job of supporting the workforce infrastructure, which would include childcare sustainability and affordable housing. We have done a great job of addressing education and workforce training, which I will continue to support as a state Senator.

Yes, if the incentives are targeted and outcomes based. We've seen the success of programs like the Renaissance Zone and the manufacturing tax credits as incentives that are targeting specific goals to support communities and employers.

See my previous responses.

Yes. These are opportunities for us to focus our one-time dollars into projects that have a maximum impact in supporting our local communities. I have a strong track record of supporting programs like this.

I do support using Legacy Fund dollars into strategic initiatives. See my previous responses on opportunities we have to dramatically impact childcare sustainability and housing affordability with dedicated Legacy Fund funding.

I opposed the elimination of property taxes. I am a firm believer that local decisions should be made by locally elected policy makers and the communities directly impacted.