Plain Talk With Rob Port

It's an annual tradition to have Gov. Kelly Armstrong on Plain Talk for a baseball-only episode contemporaneous to MLB's opening day. Unfortunately, we didn't keep our promise this time, since we're in the closing weeks of the legislative session in Bismarck, and there's a lot going on. When you have the governor on in that context, you have to ask some political questions. We asked Armstrong about amendments made to the property tax plan he's backing by the Senate Appropriations Committee at the behest of Senate Majority Leader David Houge. "I spent six years in D.C. where a lot of times Republicans would walk in and step on a rake before we go vote," the former congressman said. "I think this is an unforced error," he added, "and I think this is what happens when you have a small group of people decide they're going to put amendments onto a bill without vetting it publicly." Armstrong says he objects to lowering the tax credit homeowners would receive from $1,450 to $1,250, as well as the 75% cap on how muc