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House rejects bill to expand reimbursement of expert fees in eminent domain cases
Summary
The House voted down Senate Bill 23-21, which would have allowed recovery of expert witness costs in eminent domain proceedings; the bill failed 39–51 after committee concerns about federal law filling statutory gaps were cited.
The North Dakota House voted 39–51 to reject Senate Bill 23-21, a measure that would have amended statutes to explicitly allow reimbursement of costs incurred for retaining expert witnesses in eminent domain proceedings.
Representative Mark Porter, the House Energy and Natural Resources Committee chairman, presented the committee's recommendation to "do not pass." The committee report recounted a recent Eighth Circuit opinion and counsel's advice that federal constitutional protections (the Fifth Amendment's just compensation requirement) and federal statutes may determine remedies in many condemnation cases, limiting what state statute can prescribe. Representative Heiner, who spoke on the floor about the bill, described the proposed change as intended to help property owners who must retain experts when defending against condemnation.
Representative S. Olson asked whether the new appellate decision had been discussed with sponsors in the other chamber; Representative Heiner said the decision was filed March 24, 2025, and that the House had taken it under consideration but had not coordinated with the Senate sponsor on that timing. After debate, the clerk recorded a final vote of 39 yeas and 51 nays and announced the bill failed.
Committee testimony and floor discussion referenced legal questions about whether federal law or the Fifth Amendment fills gaps in remedies for eminent domain cases and cited a recent Eighth Circuit opinion; the House did not adopt the bill.
