[{"_1":2,"_124":-5,"_125":-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",[32,76,88,100,112],{"_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",6284734,"mediaKeyId","2576651-8b02b247b932203027d31f8f5fa91f6c","parentId",2576651,"title","Committee hears bill to let interdisciplinary teams consent for incapacitated patients when no decisionmaker exists","audioSeconds",3226,"startMs",230000,"endMs",3456000,"viewUrl","/Search/View?dp=1&key=2576651-8b02b247b932203027d31f8f5fa91f6c&start=230&end=3456","thumbnailUrl","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2576651-8b02b247b932203027d31f8f5fa91f6c/thumbnail_230000.jpg","articleUrl","/articles/6284734/North-Dakota/Committee-hears-bill-to-let-interdisciplinary-teams-consent-for-incapacitated-patients-when-no-decisionmaker-exists","mediaUrl","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6284734-a5d4588299b8ae073d5c23f83e7fd813/orig.mp4?Expires=1775200502&Signature=VQDRNlDxZyrBD0ft1SZN9hOWdLi4WwfHT853OAiX~AWFxuH7lT7U5~wOg56ysQDCkraRMyWYOFBFJvIPaTCg9mffPUj4AWFssqB6ZWnJ~9Yr3zHDJsuHgSnCzUPpRMZSizyB5yZCcf7BTshzTt4~wYgZ6c8HX5~usB32USOcTK0NRP~W0AcYeizyJmWGcgRXomysbyFXYXs22LzuhezK08DdLh1o3YwpPvYYv137F3yMElVOIBMMIKrIsabfGmKlegWM2-sZWd7aM~n0EeRUa7rG1FUSG~BT7mCAS4kr7X-LXL3nghUXBlGYpQvgtXLpmuLqAEYFGs~aBYDZApWVPA__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","author","North Dakota State Legislature","date","2025-03-12T00:00:00Z","article","The House Human Services Committee held a hearing on Senate Bill 2,297, a proposal to let a neutral interdisciplinary team provide informed consent for non‑emergency but urgent medical care when a patient lacks capacity and no authorized decisionmaker can be identified.

Sponsor Senator Kirsten Rohrs, District 27, told the committee the bill responds to a growing number of hospitalized patients who lack family or other decisionmakers and can become ‘‘stuck’’ in hospitals while clinicians wait to find someone to sign consent forms. Rohrs said hospitals sometimes absorb or write off large costs when patients remain hospitalized solely for lack of a decisionmaker.

The bill would add a last‑resort option: a team made up of at least three health care professionals, none of whom are on the treating clinicians’ care team, to make a decision in the patient’s best interest for care that is urgent but not immediately life‑threatening. Rohrs said the draft separates rules for minors and incapacitated adults to make priorities and authorities clearer.

Representatives of the state Department of Health and Human Services, hospitals and hospital ethics committees described how the bill would work in practice. Jonathan Ulm, chief legal officer for the Department of Health and Human Services, described a proposed amendment to include psychologists alongside attending physicians in parts of the bill because psychologists are authorized elsewhere in state law to make capacity determinations.

Melissa Howard, general counsel for the North Dakota Hospital Association, said hospitals support the bill and the department’s amendment. Howard said the interdisciplinary team provision was amended in the Senate to require three independent professionals (up from two) to provide additional neutrality and expertise.

Dr. Stephen Mitchell, retired neuroradiologist and emeritus ethics‑committee chair at Sanford Medical Center Fargo, described clinical scenarios hospitals encounter, including a patient with an infected bone requiring possible partial amputation whose condition is not yet emergent. He said some states allow a ‘‘two‑physician rule’’ but many ethicists prefer an interdisciplinary team that is not directly involved in a patient’s day‑to‑day care.

Testifiers and committee members discussed practical details: who would serve on teams, whether team members must be from the same facility, whether a primary care physician could provide background information, and how the team’s decision would yield to a higher‑priority surrogate if one is later located. Dr. Mitchell and other witnesses said hospitals would continue making good‑faith efforts to locate higher priority decisionmakers and that teams would be used only as a last resort.

No committee vote was taken during the hearing. Supporters asked the committee to hold the bill pending finalising technical amendments that were discussed on the record.

Ending: Committee staff and several proponents said they would provide the committee with the technical amendments discussed during testimony; the committee recessed the hearing without taking formal action during the session recorded in the transcript.","mediaType","Video","parentTitle","House Human Services Wednesday, Mar 12, 2025 9:10 AM - 11:15 AM","oneSentenceSummary","The House Human Services Committee held a hearing on Senate Bill 2,297, a proposal to let a neutral interdisciplinary team provide informed consent for non‑emergency but urgent medical care when a patient lacks capacity and no authorized decisionmaker can be identified.","taxTitle","Human Services, House of Representatives, Legislative, North Dakota","taxId",28893,"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},6284725,"Committee backs shifting funding for forensic exams to the general fund",618,4681000,5299000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=2576651-8b02b247b932203027d31f8f5fa91f6c&start=4681&end=5299","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2576651-8b02b247b932203027d31f8f5fa91f6c/thumbnail_4681000.jpg","/articles/6284725/North-Dakota/Committee-backs-shifting-funding-for-forensic-exams-to-the-general-fund","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6284725-d652c4eb21877e0c2110e61dc0d31598/orig.mp4?Expires=1775200502&Signature=Ga~oXf7VX6ibtB9RokAhtNMKMj6dMMqdlLiTPmSSYmDpZyTG2j0PteTaMh6HYIsMFpkidyuYHM1cv5xUCypt2urdim0hhH1ND3xsCAhXc~aLOappU7wVCu~aQ5StTWckrypPrslGg-j6Ks8Sr70vAkkVqXkO1yvdbEUO2tsW9SO1KfgoqxfphctXv4ccZPkNCES63tmMna9Vb3SzNeWI9ve6Od1aTe3FdwksxXPo4hAbd-mASrhmK~9P2QAle4POJmyKTsyKuLyWCTOap4bnQIoUcMBP2lyPuwQGk6M7SVzzcKUCevURTF-CVjGJfXayQT-uxR20QvS2nCqYe1kjXA__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","The House Human Services Committee voted to recommend Senate Bill 2,292, which would designate the general fund as the funding source for reimbursements to health care providers that perform acute forensic medical examinations for sexual assault victims.

Rachel Kriegi, administrative division director at the North Dakota Insurance Department, told the committee the Insurance Regulatory Trust Fund has been the reimbursement source since a 2007 appropriation but recent legislation moved other obligations into that fund and created cash‑flow strains. Kriegi said shifting the reimbursement appropriation to the general fund would provide a dedicated and more stable source for the service.

Craig Kosowski of the Children’s Advocacy Centers of North Dakota and testimony from Central Dakota Forensic Nurse Examiners, submitted for the record, described federal grant constraints and the fact that forensic interviews and some medical examinations are not covered by private insurance; Kosowski said charging families would be inappropriate and the change would preserve a public reimbursement mechanism.

Representative Anderson moved a do‑pass recommendation and referral to appropriations; Representative Dobrevich seconded. The committee roll call recorded the motion as adopted.

Ending: Supporters urged stable funding so that families are not billed for forensic evidence collection; the committee advanced the bill to appropriations.","The House Human Services Committee recommended Senate Bill 2,292, which would move reimbursement funding for forensic medical examinations from the Insurance Regulatory Trust Fund to the general fund to secure a dedicated appropriation.",{"_33":89,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":90,"_41":91,"_43":92,"_45":93,"_47":94,"_49":95,"_51":96,"_53":97,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":98,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":99,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},6284730,"Committee advances bill to enshrine confidentiality for children’s advocacy center communications",651,3428000,4079000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=2576651-8b02b247b932203027d31f8f5fa91f6c&start=3428&end=4079","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2576651-8b02b247b932203027d31f8f5fa91f6c/thumbnail_3428000.jpg","/articles/6284730/North-Dakota/Committee-advances-bill-to-enshrine-confidentiality-for-childrens-advocacy-center-communications","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6284730-c1e930ca46c8ce356583a97351a0d2f9/orig.mp4?Expires=1775200502&Signature=Yr3ecfdZA7WS9FXUodXFyA6fa7JAdJ5ulC0~MMNeBG6kMpef2OvmjWISQchK8ksuVa8cL6-VOAKLMmngDxI9MrYc4Jt2EKJlrfNiVNJ~fm~-qBZ5ndmRkVjCqRx3vmCC3sYF2q~SW6je5GHLlIIdKiHA2oMFSzxByLXrKICeeiT2XsOyA9BVrnp6GHmh4uN4TSLeCWISmeWQPGdCgfgYaPWLTTaYfmQMiHBZGFTviKHWIF19KdwSUv92yRC1VX-76Wf5ikgu9Ycs3gspDvXMEBiV6ttI~ZdMD0KvYE5L26~nNAP-FddGfrKlZZ0hrX7Ts7dutyJIBTAHRm7K04XgPQ__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","The House Human Services Committee heard and then advanced Senate Bill 2,173, which would expand confidentiality protections for communications and records held by accredited children’s advocacy centers.

Sponsor Senator Julie Lee said the bill adds the term \"accredited\" to clarify the role of centers that meet National Children’s Alliance standards and would make forensic interviews, forensic medical exams and advocacy discussions confidential among the multidisciplinary team responding to child abuse allegations.

Greg Kasowski, executive director of the Children’s Advocacy Centers of North Dakota, told the committee the change fills a gap: the Century Code already protects records and digital media but was not explicit about verbal communications and case‑related discussions. Kasowski said the amendment clarifies that recorded interviews and the related conversations among law enforcement, human services and medical staff are protected to reduce re‑traumatization of child victims.

Committee members asked how the confidentiality works in practice and which parties can access material. Kasowski said the existing code already lists limited exceptions — for example, court orders and disclosures to law enforcement or prosecutors — and that the bill clarifies but does not broaden who may see those materials.

The committee voted to give the bill a do‑pass recommendation and to refer it to the next step in the process.

Ending: Supporters said the bill codifies long‑standing practice at accredited centers and that the change is intended to reduce additional trauma to children by limiting repeated disclosures during investigations.","Senate Bill 2,173 would add explicit confidentiality for discussions and advocacy‑related communications at accredited children’s advocacy centers; supporters said the change codifies current practice and clarifies protections for forensic interviews, medical exams and victim advocacy.",{"_33":101,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":102,"_41":103,"_43":104,"_45":105,"_47":106,"_49":107,"_51":108,"_53":109,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":110,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":111,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},6284717,"Bill to count staff training toward next licensing year placed on consent calendar",375,7047000,7422000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=2576651-8b02b247b932203027d31f8f5fa91f6c&start=7047&end=7422","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2576651-8b02b247b932203027d31f8f5fa91f6c/thumbnail_7047000.jpg","/articles/6284717/North-Dakota/Bill-to-count-staff-training-toward-next-licensing-year-placed-on-consent-calendar","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6284717-5f4b5fa002d5358fd0383c1e63160d48/orig.mp4?Expires=1775200502&Signature=h~eqbG1RO0BJihAb1gfCX-YOA34gNT5v6XUzVbM3AXDcElk12kzdpGS-IeZ6emnVWaJI53DKrEOCcpZyudDsDrvtXtdutL0FDuEst7b1ztKIwKJHGq73omHHranl9x8PvsB17s2tNDH4xVkNdcKBR6fNoCA-0mKv9ItwZKbS8GpudLSeHNj7IdsZafHNZhZ0eUh9pD4bCociAn7OuRJkdUDx9wQDHAJmYbtCf8SNY02i0d6dZ8cjYNWlYH7bw4OPo7hc41sR8pVtwhEs-wgE2TeYXEZBM2eVA6BjDFiIe5x~qiRqfUB4x6X9Fttx3ohk0Bg6ucnnoyFvqU3BSt7Bcg__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","The committee considered Senate Bill 2,107, which would require training completed by staff members after a child‑care provider submits its license renewal application to count toward the following year’s required training hours.

Sponsor Senator Todd Beard said a 2025 amendment clarified that training a provider completes after submitting its application should count toward the next licensing year, but the Department of Health and Human Services had interpreted the change to apply only to the applicant, not to staff. Beard said the department’s interpretation effectively created a recurring 90‑day period during which staff could complete training but not count it toward renewal, a result the bill seeks to fix.

Beard said his review of agency practice and legislative counsel revealed no rule supporting the department’s interpretation; the bill would explicitly include staff members in the provision so training completed after application filing will be credited for the subsequent licensing year.

The committee moved the bill with a do‑pass recommendation and placed it on the consent calendar.

Ending: The sponsor said the bill simply restores the legislative intent to allow training completed after an application is filed to count for the next licensing cycle; the committee approved placement on the consent calendar.","Senate Bill 2,107 would ensure that training completed by staff members after a child‑care provider submits its annual license application counts toward the next year’s licensing requirement. Sponsor said the department had been applying a non‑existent rule excluding staff training and the measure clarifies legislative intent.",{"_33":113,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":114,"_41":115,"_43":116,"_45":117,"_47":118,"_49":119,"_51":120,"_53":121,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":122,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":123,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},6284722,"Committee hears bill to codify rights for sexual‑assault survivors, including right to an advocate and to counsel",1300,5749000,7049000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=2576651-8b02b247b932203027d31f8f5fa91f6c&start=5749&end=7049","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2576651-8b02b247b932203027d31f8f5fa91f6c/thumbnail_5749000.jpg","/articles/6284722/North-Dakota/Committee-hears-bill-to-codify-rights-for-sexualassault-survivors-including-right-to-an-advocate-and-to-counsel","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6284722-f21d577b962b0edf9f5ebca9fbdb3376/orig.mp4?Expires=1775200502&Signature=VTp7xoxrWAC6ON5mHjbiH-O4MivfBhWYBDNxjgCTkze9-1Rkm8GT7DuUB16Y4ga59J6UW~MOdDz1RQuyJ9mjiqQa0DMhPajfBCE0kBi6LSMIMLy5IQ-SctvY9UxVLYmmvChiySYTxJcRmBmmzWJvpmyl3cKMTPm1rJrs5CJ03Z3ScMsgYHMPBCuIhaw232AKgtfGZT6Vl69Dw4Ehohs48dYWKI5D3P4sUpc3djN1OJqBVaZNbc8dsbJ2pT0eTojrBujqn5DLLxgnRcCV4cknGb64To2Z3oPdn1uZ6jw056aA~aXotoRYCSUZS5u-D4KUOzMxukEreCR2udRiGGXflw__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","The House Human Services Committee heard Senate Bill 2,387, a measure that would enumerate rights for sexual‑assault survivors and require law enforcement to provide an attorney‑general prepared document explaining those rights.

Sponsor Senator Desiree Van Alstyne presented testimony from survivor advocate Hannah Johnson and described the bill as the product of 18 months of work with survivor‑service coalitions, forensic nurse examiners and children’s advocacy centers. Van Alstyne read Johnson’s testimony into the record; Johnson described feeling unsure where to turn after her assault and said the proposed rights are intended to make supports and options clear to survivors.

The bill would, among other items, (1) give survivors the right to consult a victim advocate during examinations when an advocate is available, (2) permit survivors to have privately retained counsel present when speaking with law enforcement unless counsel is not available in a timely fashion or law enforcement is doing a forensic interview with a child, (3) provide survivors access to the law‑enforcement report (unless it would hinder an investigation), and (4) require the attorney general to prepare a document explaining those rights.

Multiple advocates testified in support. Caitlin Ravinius, an intern with the North Dakota Domestic and Sexual Violence Coalition, said advocates reduce trauma during exams and interviews and that codifying the right to an advocate helps survivors access support. Susan Summerfeld described her family’s multi‑jurisdictional case and said privately retained counsel for victims can be a critical support, urging committee approval. Greg Kasowski of the Children’s Advocacy Centers noted a limited exception for child forensic interviews where adding private counsel to the interview room can compromise interview technique.

Some technical amendments were discussed, including adding human‑trafficking advocates to the list of supported advocates and a proposal to provide law‑enforcement reports to survivors free of charge. No committee vote was recorded in the transcript for this bill during the session captured.

Ending: Supporters said the bill would improve trauma‑informed response by making common best practices explicit in state law and help survivors know and exercise their options after an assault.","Senate Bill 2,387 would create a short, specific list of rights for sexual‑assault survivors — including the right to consult a victim advocate during medical exams, to privately retained counsel during law‑enforcement interviews (with a child‑interview exception), and to receive a rights document prepared by the attorney general.","actionData","errors"]

Article not found

Committee hears bill to let interdisciplinary teams consent for incapacitated patients when no decisionmaker exists

Committee backs shifting funding for forensic exams to the general fund

Committee advances bill to enshrine confidentiality for children’s advocacy center communications

Bill to count staff training toward next licensing year placed on consent calendar

Committee hears bill to codify rights for sexual‑assault survivors, including right to an advocate and to counsel