North Dakota House rejects package of bills on property tax, health coverage, fertility and abortion

At a floor session of the North Dakota House of Representatives, lawmakers voted down a slate of bills covering property-tax relief, legislative staffing, housing finance, health-plan coverage for anti‑obesity medications and GLP‑1 drugs, and several measures addressing fertility, contraception and abortion.

The measures carried large fiscal notes or provoked policy concerns across committees, and several were recommended "do not pass" by committee chairs before floor debate. In the aggregate, the House declined to advance a set of proposals that the sponsors and some members described as providing relief or protecting access, while opponents and committee analysts warned of high costs, legal risks or unintended consequences.

House action and outcomes

House Bill 13‑35 (homestead tax credit): The bill would have lowered the age threshold for the homestead tax credit from 65 to 62 and raised income limits in the first tier from $40,000 to $70,000. Representative Porter said, "13 35 is a bill that, is looking to make some changes to the homestead tax credit, rules." The Office of the Tax Commissioner prepared a fiscal note estimating, "in the 2527 biennium under the general fund, additional expenditures of $85,280,000 and additional appropriations of $72,400,000." The Finance and Taxation Committee recommended "do not pass." Final vote: 35 yea, 58 nay; the bill failed.

House Bill 15‑32 (temporary legislative assistants; capital office study): The bill would have appropriated $3,300,000 for temporary legislative assistants and required a study of capital office space. Committee testimony described an estimated cost of about $5,000 per temporary assistant per month. The Finance and Taxation Committee recommended "do not pass." Final vote: 29 yea, 64 nay; the bill failed.

House Bill 15‑86 (eliminating foreclosure of tax liens for primary residences; $5,000 primary-residence credit): The bill would have created a $5,000 tax credit for primary residences and removed the authority of political subdivisions to foreclose for unpaid property taxes. The committee reported a fiscal note exceeding $1 billion and noted no funding mechanism was attached. The Finance and Taxation Committee recommended "do not pass." Final vote: 22 yea, 71 nay; the bill failed.

House Bill 13‑62 (housing development loan fund): The bill would have established a $10,000,000 housing development loan fund administered by the Bank of North Dakota (with $5,000,000 earmarked for 19 oil-producing counties and $5,000,000 for the rest of the state). The Industry, Business and Labor Committee recommended "do not pass" but noted some ideas could be considered in other bills. Final vote: 8 yea, 85 nay; the bill failed.

House Bill 14‑52 (anti‑obesity medication coverage for PERS health plan): Committee analysis estimated a potential financial impact of about $72,000,000 (approximately 8.3% of total premiums) and projected premium increases if GLP‑1 medications were added; Human Services recommended "do not pass." Final vote: 11 yea, 82 nay; the bill failed.

House Bill 14‑51 (Medicaid prescription drug benefits for anti‑obesity medication): Testimony said the proposal could extend coverage to roughly 24,000 Medicaid expansion members and that the Department estimated an increase of about $4,400,000 per year. The Human Services Committee recommended "do not pass." Final vote: 12 yea, 81 nay; the bill failed.

House Bill 14‑77 (rights for assisted reproduction, including IVF protections): Sponsors described the bill as protecting access to assisted reproduction. The Human Services Committee recommended "do not pass," citing concerns about broad language, potential conflicts with political subdivisions' benefit plans and unanswered questions about embryos and provider conscience protections. Final vote: 34 yea, 59 nay; the bill failed.

House Bill 14‑78 (contraceptive health care rights): Sponsors argued the measure would protect access to contraception from government interference; the Human Services Committee recommended "do not pass," saying the protections were unnecessary because access had not been shown to be denied. Final vote: 27 yea, 66 nay; the bill failed.

House Bill 14‑88 (framework for abortion, creation of an abortion approval committee): The Human Services Committee recommended "do not pass," and committee report described the bill as legalizing abortion for a broad range of gestational periods and raising medical‑ethics concerns. The House vote declared the bill failed (tally as recorded in the floor transcript was not unambiguously specified in the record excerpt).

House Bill 15‑50 (nursing and basic care facility loan guarantee program): The Human Services Committee recommended "do not pass," noting similar provisions in another bill (16‑19) had advanced. Final vote: recorded as 3 yea, 89 nay; the bill failed.

House Bill 13‑73 (definition of "human being" tied to fertilization in criminal and civil law): The Human Services Committee recommended "do not pass." Committee debate included concerns about enforceability, interstate actions and whether the provision would criminalize women; supporters argued the statute would close a perceived loophole. Final vote: 16 yea, 77 nay; the bill failed.

Other floor actions

- Representative Bosch moved to lay over House Bill 1106 one legislative day; the motion carried. Representative Bosch later moved to re‑refer House Bill 1497 to the Education Committee; that motion carried. - On the sixth order of business the House deemed proposed amendments approved without objection, and many bills on the sixth order were placed on the eleventh order for the following day's calendar; a subset of bills were re‑referred to Appropriations as announced on the floor.

Why it matters

Several bills carried large fiscal notes or raised questions about state authority, long‑term program costs, or conflicts with existing law and benefits plans. Multiple committee chairs cited fiscal uncertainty, legal ambiguity or scope concerns when recommending "do not pass," and floor debate reflected a sharp policy divide on reproductive‑health measures in particular. The outcomes will affect ongoing negotiations over property tax relief, health‑benefit design and reproductive‑care policy as the session continues.

What’s next

Most of the measures that failed on the floor could be reintroduced, amended, or factored into other bills or appropriation proposals as committee work continues. Committees scheduled reconvening and subcommittee meetings later in the day, according to floor announcements.