North Dakota Senate passes measures on wage access, child protection and corrections; restitution bill fails

Bismarck — The North Dakota Senate on Tuesday advanced a package of bills addressing consumer finance, public safety, corrections reentry and technology, voting to adopt multiple amendments and final passage on several measures and rejecting one high-profile restitution proposal.

The most contested vote came on an amendment to House Bill 13-93, a bill to regulate earned-wage-access providers; the amendment establishing a shared database and other guardrails passed 25-21 after floor questions about consumer costs and data security. The chamber also narrowly rejected House Bill 15-58, which would have required prosecutors to seek restitution calculations for children who lose a parent to criminal vehicular homicide; the bill was defeated after the Judiciary Committee recommended a “do not pass” and explained that prosecutors lack the civil-court tools to calculate long-term parental-loss damages.

Other notable actions included final passage of bills to: require alternate opt-out procedures for certain required vaccines (HB 14-54); expand penalties and definitions to cover computer-generated child sexual abuse materials (HB 13-86); require age verification on commercial websites that publish material harmful to minors using commercially reasonable methods (HB 15-61); institute changes to child-protection/school liaison structure (HB 10-95); and create studies and grants related to corrections reentry, advanced nuclear energy, and lender/appraiser evaluation practices. Several budget and administrative measures also passed, including funding for non–fixed-route rural transit and the state auditor’s office.

Senators who questioned the EWA amendment raised concerns about who would bear database costs and whether consumers would have to transmit identification or financial data to private vendors. Sponsor Senator Klein and supporters said the Department of Financial Institutions would oversee reporting and that most implementation costs are expected to be borne by the providers, not end users; employers were described as exempt from the consumer-side rules.

The Senate adopted the EWA amendment by voice verification and a final tally of 25 ayes to 21 nays. Other roll-call results included votes that passed HB 15-61 (age verification) 46-0, HB 13-86 (computer-generated CSAM prohibition) 46-0, HB 11-66 (closing certain criminal records) 46-0, and HB 15-11 (physician continuing-education provision tied to abortion-law interpretation) 41-5 with the emergency clause.

The Senate convened routine committee reports and scheduling announcements and adjourned to reconvene at 12:30 p.m. Wednesday, April 2.

Votes at a glance

- House Bill 13-93 (earned-wage access; amendment requiring a database, $1,000 individual loan cap, reporting to Dept. of Financial Institutions): Amendment passed 25 ayes, 21 nays; bill will return for further consideration. - House Bill 15-58 (restitution for child of a victim of criminal vehicular homicide): Final passage failed 3 ayes, 43 nays, 1 absent; Judiciary Committee had recommended do not pass citing prosecutorial capacity and civil-vs-criminal limits. - House Bill 14-54 (opt-out procedures for required vaccines): Passed 40 ayes, 6 nays, 1 absent. - House Bill 13-86 (prohibiting possession of certain computer-generated child sexual-abuse materials; enhanced penalties): Passed 46 ayes, 0 nays, 1 absent. - House Bill 15-61 (commercial age verification for sites publishing material harmful to minors): Passed 46 ayes, 0 nays, 1 absent; private civil enforcement authorized. - House Bill 15-49 (corrections reentry, grant program, task force, criminal-justice data study): Passed 43 ayes, 3 nays, 1 absent. - House Bill 10-95 (child-protective services and school district liaison work group): Passed 43 ayes, 3 nays, 1 absent. - House Bill 13-61 (mandatory minimums for human trafficking): Passed 45 ayes, 1 nay, 1 absent. - House Bill 11-97 (legislative study of correctional facilities): Passed 45 ayes, 1 nay, 1 absent. - House Bill 13-54 (appraiser evaluations and standards): Passed 45 ayes, 1 nay, 1 absent. - House Bill 11-66 (closing certain criminal records; petition to seal non-convictions): Passed 46 ayes, 0 nays, 1 absent. - House Bill 12-60 (nonresident deer licenses; use of most recent population counts): Passed 45 ayes, 1 nay, 1 absent. - House Bill 12-33 (emergency commission/budget procedures): Passed 45 ayes, 1 nay, 1 absent. - House Bill 10-73 (disaster response fund procedures to avoid short-term borrowing): Passed 45 ayes, 1 nay, 1 absent. - House Bill 15-11 (physician continuing education related to abortion law interpretation; $50,000 appropriation): Passed 41 ayes, 5 nays; emergency clause carried. - House Bill 11-06 (non fixed-route transit program grants; ~$2 million appropriation): Passed 46 ayes, 0 nays, 1 absent. - House Bill 10-25 (study of advanced nuclear siting/feasibility; $300,000 appropriation): Passed 44 ayes, 2 nays, 1 absent. - House Bill 10004 (state auditor appropriation and salary adjustments): Passed 46 ayes, 0 nays, 1 absent. - House Bill 15-92 (lignite research council amendments): Passed 45 ayes, 1 nay, 1 absent.

What this means

- Consumer finance: The chamber signaled a willingness to regulate earned-wage-access providers by requiring reporting and a shared database, citing consumer protections and complaint-tracking as goals. Debate on data privacy and potential consumer fees will continue on return of the bill. - Child protection and criminal justice: Lawmakers moved to expand tools to prevent access to sexually explicit material by minors, to close public access to some non-conviction records, and to strengthen responses to trafficking and child-protection coordination with schools. - Corrections and reentry: The legislature approved studies, a grant program and interagency coordination measures aimed at helping people released from custody obtain IDs, medical continuity and housing assessments.

Key clarifications from the floor

- Game and Fish budget amendment: the Appropriations Committee added $265,500 in temporary-salary funding to hire four seasonal employees (three months each) to address workforce shortfalls; $77,756 is federal and $187,744 comes from the Game and Fish operating fund. Senators clarified the agency uses special and federal funds only; no general-fund money is included. - EWA database: Sponsor Senator Klein said the Department of Financial Institutions would manage reporting and that providers, not consumers, would primarily bear implementation costs; opponents warned the database could raise fees or require consumers to share sensitive transactional data. - Restitution bill (HB 15-58): Judiciary Committee members explained prosecutors lack the civil-court tools to calculate future parental-loss damages and recommended families pursue civil remedies where long-term needs can be evaluated.

Next steps

Several amended bills will return to committees or the House for concurrence as required by procedure. The Senate reconvenes at 12:30 p.m. Wednesday, April 2 for continued consideration of second-reading items and committee work.