North Dakota Senate approves suite of bills on elections, budgets, education and health; one tax measure fails

The North Dakota Senate on March 19, 2025 advanced and passed a package of bills covering elections, agency budgets, health and education policy while rejecting a duplicate agriculture valuation measure.

The measures include House Bill 1204, which expands the Century Code provision on publication of false information in political advertising to explicitly cover social media, commercial media, text messages and phone calls, and was approved 45-1 with one senator absent. The chamber also approved Senate Bill 2064 (46-0) updating controlled-substance scheduling, passed funding and administrative bills for higher education and state agencies, and approved changes to emergency medical services licensing. House Bill 1508, a duplicate change to agricultural land valuation, failed on a 2-44 vote.

The developments matter because they alter state criminal and administrative rules for political communications, provide funding or spending authority for state agencies and institutions, and change oversight and licensing rules for EMS operations. Several measures carried emergency clauses or one-time spending authorizations and some amendments will move to appropriations for additional review.

House Bill 1204 (false information in political advertising): The Senate approved the bill as amended to add explicit references to social media, text messages and telephone calls to the existing Century Code provision. Senator Bromberger (carrier) described the amendment as adding “social media and or commercial media” to the statute and Senator Cleary moved an amendment to include text messages and phone calls explicitly. Senator Cleary said the amendment “ensures text messages and phone calls are included in this section of the North Dakota Century Code, holding them to the same standard as other political advertising.” The final roll call recorded 45 ayes, 1 nay and 1 absent; the bill passed.

House education and campus projects: House Bill 1331 authorizes a turf playing surface at the North Dakota State College of Science football field, funded with local dollars and donations only, and includes an emergency clause to have the turf ready for the 2025 fall sports season. Senator Axman said no general funds would be used and committee members reported adequate donations; final passage was 43 ayes, 3 nays, 1 absent.

Agency appropriations and operating adjustments: The Senate approved multiple agency funding bills on final passage, often with committee amendments the chamber accepted. Notable examples: - House Bill 1014 (Protection and Advocacy — PNA): Senator Cleary said PNA’s biennial budget after amendment is about $8.6 million with roughly $3.8 million from the general fund and 29.5 FTEs; final passage 43-3-1 (ayes-nays-absent). - House Bill 1007 (Department of Labor and Human Rights): The Appropriations Committee recommended the bill and the Senate passed it 43-3-1. - House Bill 1002 (Secretary of State): The bill carried one-time funding for central indexing and polling-place equipment and authorized spending anticipated federal HAVA funds; the Senate passed it 46-0-1.

Human services, EMS and treatment courts: The Senate passed measures affecting public safety and health services. House Bill 1394 updates ambulance-service licensing to allow transferable licenses and expanded location definitions to help services cover larger areas; the Human Services Committee urged a yes vote and the bill passed 46-0-1. House Bill 1347 codifies district court–supervised treatment courts and outlines agency responsibilities; final passage was 45-1-1.

Education leave and graduation substitution: House Bill 1200 allows, under emergent circumstances, an elective or dual-credit course to substitute for up to one required unit for high-school graduation; the Education Committee described a committee hearing about a student injured in a crash who was a half-credit short. The Senate passed the bill 46-0-1.

Defeated and procedural items: The Senate rejected House Bill 1508 (duplicate provision changing the order for determining assessed value of agricultural land) on a 2-44-1 vote; the Finance and Taxation Committee had recommended do not pass because the governor already signed identical language in a Senate bill. Senator Klein moved and the chamber approved re-referral of House Bill 1300 to the Judiciary Committee. Multiple bills on the agenda passed committee amendments and were re-referred to Appropriations for budget review where noted.

Votes at a glance: House Bill 1204 — amend Century Code on false political information to explicitly include social media, texts and calls; passed 45 ayes, 1 nay, 1 absent (emergency clause not specified in discussion). House Bill 1331 — appropriation for turf at North Dakota State College of Science; passed 43 ayes, 3 nays, 1 absent (emergency clause carries; local funds/donations only). House Bill 1014 — Protection and Advocacy appropriation (approx. $8.6M biennial; 29.5 FTE); passed 43-3-1. House Bill 1007 — Dept. of Labor & Human Rights appropriation; passed 43-3-1. House Bill 1002 — Secretary of State appropriation (includes $700,000 one-time and equipment funding, HAVA authority); passed 46-0-1. House Bill 1347 — district court supervised treatment programs; passed 45-1-1. House Bill 1200 — graduation unit substitution for emergent circumstances; passed 46-0-1. House Bill 1394 — EMS licensing updates (transferable licenses, location rules); passed 46-0-1. Senate Bill 2064 — scheduling of controlled substances; passed 46-0-1 (emergency). Senate Bill 2098 — state alert notice system (consolidates silver/blue alerts); passed 46-0-1. House Bill 1508 — change to assessed value of agricultural land (duplicate of signed Senate bill); failed 2-44-1. Procedural: House Bill 1300 re-referred to Judiciary (motion approved); numerous committee amendments to bills (HB1485, HB1205, HB1024, HB1278, HB1001, HB1206, HB1511) were adopted and in some cases sent to Appropriations for further action.

What to expect next: Several bills carrying appropriations or one-time spending will proceed through Appropriations for final budget review or return to the House as required by law. The Senate adjourned until 1:15 p.m. on Thursday, March 20, 2025.

Quotes in context come from the Senate floor and are attributed to senators during the March 19 session.