North Dakota Senate passes package of bills on tenant fees, virtual currency, mitigation easements and emergency-vehicle penalties

Bismarck — The North Dakota Senate on a floor day moved a broad set of bills to final passage, approving measures that affect tenant payment fees, virtual currency and unclaimed property, environmental mitigation authority tied to wind development, and penalties for incidents that injure emergency responders.

The most immediate actions included House Bill 11 49, which modernizes the state—s unclaimed property law to cover virtual currency and carries an emergency clause, and House Bill 1,400, which expands authorities related to conservation easements and leaseholds to implement environmental impact mitigation created in last session and also carries an emergency clause. Both bills passed on final reading.

Why it matters: the package updates statutes and administrative authority in areas that intersect with housing costs, digital assets and wind-energy mitigation obligations — areas that state officials said required legislative clarity this session.

House Bill 11 49: virtual currency as unclaimed property Senator Behn, presenting for the Industry and Business Committee, said the bill amends the revised Uniform Unclaimed Property Act to recognize virtual currency as a form of unclaimed property, establishes a three-year dormancy period, and requires holders to liquidate virtual currency before remittance to the state to reduce volatility. The Senate passed the bill 44-0 with three absent; the committee also carried an emergency clause.

House Bill 1,400: environmental impact mitigation and easements Senator Van Osteen, speaking for the Energy and Natural Resources Committee, described the bill as…