[{"_1":2,"_88":-5,"_89":-5},"loaderData",{"_3":4,"_26":27},"root",{"_5":6,"_17":10,"_18":19,"_20":21,"_22":10,"_23":-5,"_24":-5,"_25":10},"user",{"_7":8,"_9":10,"_11":10,"_12":-5,"_13":-5,"_14":15,"_16":-5},"roles",[],"isAuthenticated",false,"isPremium","planName","subscriptionStatus","featureFlags",{},"insightsBudget","isDevelopmentHost","userPreferences",{},"recaptchaSiteKey","6LcvOJcUAAAAAHsB-gPGfGktcRlKpH7OTIU_dMTD","isImpersonating","impersonation","affiliateStatus","isFreedomPortal","routes/v2/article/layout",{"_28":29,"_30":31},"notFound",true,"relatedArticles",[32,76],{"_33":34,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":40,"_41":42,"_43":44,"_45":46,"_47":48,"_49":50,"_51":52,"_53":54,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":60,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":66,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},"mediaId",6346693,"mediaKeyId","2246599-5171df915d43126777f6bce6d2f6f4c8","parentId",2246599,"title","Committee hears bill to move bioscience grant program to Industrial Commission and create life-science council; $12 million appropriation included","audioSeconds",3855,"startMs",2929000,"endMs",6784000,"viewUrl","/Search/View?dp=1&key=2246599-5171df915d43126777f6bce6d2f6f4c8&start=2929&end=6784","thumbnailUrl","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2246599-5171df915d43126777f6bce6d2f6f4c8/thumbnail_2929000.jpg","articleUrl","/articles/6346693/North-Dakota/Committee-hears-bill-to-move-bioscience-grant-program-to-Industrial-Commission-and-create-life-science-council-12-million-appropriation-included","mediaUrl","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6346693-fb5b71457e49aacaa2e2c90864486d27/orig.mp4?Expires=1775626388&Signature=oj2UZzt9xYjTzARBBgMcoL-b2OWddKxMxbbZuP~321FtxvxooveV2Ja3Zg8xQloN1JKiwh~xZIrkliFfI8D4YkSzVZii7BVuIVRYQvYzDzqWrU3w~2LSkl95CKrH9z3O~4NhliCgFnUImwr-hVKLFvhPA6AubwxoZfvViR8kL7TRrpmykNh6lpgLh8rtnUAX5shqaqBxyUfyR6yvbbta0sLd0jWbjyTDwOPatvLELOjAZgi-yBAqr6kCah6Qc~kAwSmV5iY4G2xwI4JWbJ0yfjsLgwJiGp-InfWvme3x~vnBwEd29BJ3Esm7DZ39w~mR3jWJtSimsF~NO5DBYbvHvw__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","author","Senate Appropriations - Human Resources Division, ND","date","2025-02-05T00:00:00Z","article","The Appropriations - Human Resources Division opened a public hearing on Senate Bill 2328, a proposal to repeal the current bioscience innovation grant program in the Department of Agriculture, establish a Life Science Research Council under the Industrial Commission and appropriate $12 million for bioscience grants.

Senator Terry Wansick, sponsor, described the change as an administrative shift intended to broaden technical review and oversight for the state’s bioscience grants. \"This will open it up where they can secure more technical advice and making determinations of which grants to support,\" Wansick said, adding the proposal moves administration from the agriculture commissioner to the Industrial Commission and creates a council with appointments from the governor, the attorney general and the agriculture commissioner.

Randy Schneider, president of the North Dakota Bioscience Association and a member of the BioInnovation Grant committee, testified in support and said the program has attracted companies that invested in the state. Schneider cited Corvent/Corvin Medical and Lincoln Therapeutics as companies that have located operations in North Dakota and said the grants were one factor among several that attracted investment. \"It is a program that I think has a huge opportunity,\" Schneider said.

Committee members pressed sponsors and agency staff for measurable results and stronger reporting. Senator Davison asked for outcomes rather than activity summaries; he said the written brochure presented several funded projects but lacked measurable outcome reporting linking grants to relocations or firm-level investment. Tom Bodino, deputy agriculture commissioner, acknowledged the brochure lists open grant rounds and that more detailed performance documentation exists and is maintained by the bioscience association and the department as part of grant closeout and reimbursement review.

Committee members noted the bill’s text would make application materials confidential when they meet the statutory definition of a trade secret (referencing \"section 44\" in the bill). Members also asked about whether the $12 million appropriation in section 4 is part of the governor’s recommendation or one-time funding. Staff said part of the funding had previously been included as one-time funding in the governor's budget and that the bill’s appropriation would be the vehicle for bioscience funding going forward, but that legislative budgeting decisions (general fund vs. State Investment Fund) remained to be resolved.

Industrial Commission representatives said the commission has experience administering similar grant and loan programs and that the office could apply its existing process (contracts with deliverables, reimbursement, and performance reporting) to bioscience grants. The commission’s representatives noted additional workload and potential staffing/resource considerations if the program’s administration shifts to the commission.

Committee members asked the sponsors and agencies to provide a fuller accounting of past grant recipients’ results — for example, jobs created, private investment leveraged, and whether recipients met required matching commitments and deliverables. The committee did not take final action on SB 2328 during this hearing and deferred further work, saying members wanted additional documentation from the agriculture department, the bioscience association and the Industrial Commission before advancing the bill.

","mediaType","Video","parentTitle","Senate Appropriations - Human Resources Division- 2:23 p.m._Feb 5, 2025\t","oneSentenceSummary","Senate Bill 2328 would repeal the existing bioscience innovation grant program under Agriculture, create a Life Science Research Council under the Industrial Commission, and include a $12 million appropriation. Committee members pressed sponsors for outcomes data and reporting; no committee vote was taken.","taxTitle","Appropriations - Human Resources Division, Senate, Legislative, North Dakota","taxId",28901,"location","North Dakota","headline","","shortSummary",{"_33":77,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":78,"_41":79,"_43":80,"_45":81,"_47":82,"_49":83,"_51":84,"_53":85,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":86,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":87,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},6346697,"Committee approves amendment and sends bill to floor to expand forensic exam reimbursements to domestic violence victims",1666,732000,2398000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=2246599-5171df915d43126777f6bce6d2f6f4c8&start=732&end=2398","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2246599-5171df915d43126777f6bce6d2f6f4c8/thumbnail_732000.jpg","/articles/6346697/North-Dakota/Committee-approves-amendment-and-sends-bill-to-floor-to-expand-forensic-exam-reimbursements-to-domestic-violence-victims","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6346697-6752130a8ee08efe09302877b6e35c37/orig.mp4?Expires=1775626388&Signature=Esx2vMnu1SnYemx9B~OmuuIHF3U-Xo3tGrNdBRm2tT7rX9n235ZctWc29vLUHVESHTzrS4gP6eVnwKPS7tXDcM2cBU2S7~WfuEGHg00orV4nGfgfrHMoJhE8NnGK5MVv0gmqv2y7jQTtYP1FFcprSsPyEeGKJDhekK4~5R1nGumrB6jK8A~ilMdoIKmLjVmfp7JQ0Tqsdr3VkG-zNAd7rL0eSJph4yhkWSsGJZE2Q9r~4ncnHQHsoav03cYkyZ9-YctoU1vLgpyvxieo1O9KitrHOyYLlpMD2w6-9hZn17RDijWh-cOtwX8AqjJv-wDraoIiMs9RZHPaFFvNIBvg7Q__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","The Appropriations - Human Resources Division on Thursday adopted an amendment and gave a due-pass recommendation for Senate Bill 2209, which would expand state reimbursements for acute forensic medical examinations to include domestic violence and increase the time window for evidence collection from 96 hours to 120 hours.

Senator Chad Cleary, sponsor of the bill, told the committee the legislation codifies a pilot program for acute forensic medical examinations and adds domestic violence as an eligible reason for examinations so evidence can be gathered when an alleged crime is reported. Cleary said the bill includes a $200,000 appropriation to reimburse providers for exam services and that the committee should adopt a corrected amendment to make clear the money supplements existing Attorney General appropriations for forensic exams.

The measure would not change the appropriation amount, Cleary said, but would change language in the engrossed version to clarify reimbursements — not a grant program — and to make clear the funds are added on top of existing monies. Levi, a committee staff member, explained the policy committee voted for a version of the amendment but the report mistakenly attached a different text; the 2001 amendment the committee adopted at this hearing restores the intended language.

Christie Wolf, communications coordinator for Central Dakota Forensic Nurse Examiners, testified that national best practices from the U.S. Department of Justice and updated state guidance support extending the evidence-collection window to 120 hours. \"120 hours is kind of the standard,\" Wolf said, noting some evidence types (for example, bruising visible in follow-up photography) may appear or be more apparent several days after an assault. Tisha Shire, executive director of Central Dakota Forensic Nurse Examiners, told the committee the pilot launched in February 2024 and that her program served 62 individuals across 10 counties during the pilot period the group reviewed; she provided an age breakdown from their data and said some exams were performed in intensive care when injuries were severe.

Committee members asked for basic utilization data and cost estimates. Wolf said providers expect reimbursement rates of either $100 or $450 per exam under the program and estimated the $200,000 appropriation represents a conservative projection based on pilot volumes and an expectation of higher utilization when domestic violence and child-abuse exams are reimbursable. She said the provider organizations will continue to perform exams even if the appropriation is exhausted, but they may absorb costs or delay reimbursement until a future appropriation is available.

The committee first voted by voice to adopt Amendment 02001 (moved by Senator Cleary, seconded by Senator Mather). After adoption, Cleary moved the bill \"for a due pass as amended.\" The clerk then called the roll on the motion; senators who responded in the roll call recorded as voting yes included Senator Clary, Senator Davison, Senator Deaver, Senator Magrum and Senator Mattern. The chair announced the motion carried and the bill will be sent forward for consideration by the full committee.

The bill’s language clarifies reimbursements are available for forensic medical examinations when performed for criminal conduct, alleged sexual assault, domestic violence, child abuse and child neglect. The amendment adopted corrects the appropriation wording so the $200,000 is treated as operating funds added to current Attorney General reimbursements rather than a standalone grant program.

The hearing record includes support testimony from Central Dakota Forensic Nurse Examiners and confirmation from committee staff that prior policy committee votes intended the text the committee adopted. No formal opposition testimony was recorded during the hearing.

The committee did not specify an effective date in the discussion; the bill moves next to the full committee and then to the floor subject to the legislature’s normal scheduling.

","The Appropriations — Human Resources Division adopted an amendment and gave a due-pass recommendation for Senate Bill 2209, which would expand reimbursement and the window for forensic medical exams to include domestic violence and extend the collection period from 96 to 120 hours; the bill includes a $200,000 appropriation for reimbursements.","actionData","errors"]

Article not found

Committee hears bill to move bioscience grant program to Industrial Commission and create life-science council; $12 million appropriation included

Committee approves amendment and sends bill to floor to expand forensic exam reimbursements to domestic violence victims