North Dakota House passes business, public-safety and hunting bills; several health and social-policy measures fail or are sent back to committee

BISMARCK, N.D. — The North Dakota House of Representatives on Tuesday considered two dozen bills and resolutions, approving measures ranging from pet‑food registration reforms to changes in how counties are reimbursed when state correctional facilities cannot immediately accept inmates. Major health‑policy proposals — including a bill to create a dementia response coordinator and several changes to the state medical‑cannabis program — failed to advance.

The session mixed brief committee reports with longer policy debate. Lawmakers spent substantial time on a proposed dementia response program, changes to Workforce Safety and Insurance lifetime benefit caps, and adjustments to medical‑marijuana possession and fee rules. Other bills received limited floor debate and cleared the House on near‑party line or unanimous votes.

Why it matters: Several failed or revisited measures affect services for older North Dakotans, Medicaid and workforce‑injury benefit levels; other successful bills alter regulatory or tax treatment for small businesses, towing companies and hunters. The outcomes set the House position for later Senate consideration and for committee work before the next legislative deadlines.

Votes at a glance (selected bills)

- HCR 30‑27 (Giving Hearts Day): Adopted. The concurrent resolution declares Feb. 13, 2025, as Giving Hearts Day and commends the Dakota Medical Foundation, the Impact Foundation and the Alex Stern Family Foundation for their roles in the regional fundraising event. The House declared the resolution passed and ordered it messaged to the Senate.

- HB 14‑33 (dementia response program): Failed. The Human Services Committee recommended “do not pass” (committee vote reported as 7 ayes, 5 nays, 1 absent). The bill would have created a dementia response coordinator position and appropriated $250,000 for an FTE to implement and update the statewide dementia/Alzheimer’s plan. Final floor vote: 26 yes, 64 no; bill declared failed. Representative Dobrevitch, the bill carrier, said the coordinator would “create coordination in getting services to the people that need them where they need them and assure that our state plan is being worked through.” Committee members said they worried the funding would add administrative overhead rather than direct services in communities.

- HB 12‑36 (use of hunting license and permit application fees): Failed. The Energy and Natural Resources Committee recommended “do not pass.” Committee leaders said the bill would have restricted the Game and Fish Department’s ability to manage chronic wasting disease and monitor wildlife populations. Final floor vote: 27 yes, 63 no; bill declared failed.

- HB 15‑26 (pet‑food registration): Passed, 90‑0. The Agriculture Committee recommended a do‑pass (12‑0). Committee sponsors said the bill reduces registration costs for North Dakota pet‑food manufacturers and clarifies certain labeling and residency exemptions; the Department of Agriculture estimated the fiscal impact at less than $10,000.

- HB 15‑78 (excise‑tax exemption for abandoned vehicles): Passed, 89‑1. The Transportation Committee recommended do‑pass (12‑0). Sponsors said the bill prevents towing companies from paying motor vehicle excise taxes on abandoned vehicles they recover but may not be able to return to an owner or put back into service.

- HB 12‑26 (masking law amendments): Passed. The Judiciary Committee recommended amendments; the bill revises section 12.1‑31‑15 of the North Dakota Century Code (anti‑masking statute), clarifies some exemptions (for traditional masking celebrations) and adds language about law‑enforcement unmasking requests. The transcript records the bill as declared passed on final reading; the clerk’s roll call tally in the record is unclear in the transcript and is therefore noted as “declared passed” rather than restating an ambiguous tally. Representative Twite argued in favor of the changes, saying “anti masking laws are essential for preserving the first amendment right to assemble, petition, for redress of grievances, and otherwise express ourselves, while preventing intimidation and harassment,” and the committee amended language to narrow certain elements.

- HB 13‑44 (use of local jails for Department of Corrections inmates): Passed, 90‑0. The Judiciary Committee recommended a do‑pass as amended. The bill allows local jails to house state inmates under specified contracting terms and sets payment provisions for DOCR when admission is denied for lack of space.

- HB 15‑28 (arson and related penalties): Passed, 89‑0. The Judiciary Committee reported the bill as correcting and clarifying arson statutes to cover acts such as burning jointly owned property or burning to deprive another person of use, and to add protections for law enforcement and emergency responders harmed while responding to a fire.

- HB 12‑91 (employment of unauthorized workers): Passed, 71‑19. The Industry, Business and Labor Committee recommended amendments and a due‑pass. The bill creates a state penalty framework for employers who willfully hire unauthorized workers, aligns certain fines with federal law, and gives the attorney general’s office authority to receive and investigate complaints.

- HB 14‑23 (increases to Workforce Safety and Insurance adaptation benefits): Initially failed on final passage, 29 yes, 61 no. The bill would have increased lifetime caps for home modifications and vehicle adaptations (committee recommended amounts: increase real‑estate adaptations from $75,000 to $150,000 and vehicles from $150,000 to $200,000, with future CPI indexing). Representative D. Ruby moved to reconsider the failed vote; the motion carried and the House re‑referred HB 14‑23 back to the Industry, Business and Labor Committee for further consideration of the CPI indexing question.

- HB 15‑07 (state charter option for cooperative financial institutions/mutual banks): Passed, 87‑3. The Industry, Business and Labor Committee recommended a due‑pass with amendments; sponsors said the law creates a state charter option for mutual/cooperative banks similar to options available to community banks.

- HB 15‑12 (Board of Dentistry complaint disclosures): Passed, 65‑25. The Industry, Business and Labor Committee recommended amendments. The bill changes procedures for complaint handling by the state Board of Dentistry and requires complainants to be notified of the board’s outcome; critics warned this could expose sensitive provider responses and urged redrafting to protect patient data.

- HB 13‑74 (exemption for township supervisors’ on‑site inspections): Passed, 90‑0. The Political Subdivisions Committee recommended a do‑pass; the bill exempts township supervisors’ on‑site inspections from certain public‑meeting notice requirements.

- HB 15‑65 (grant program for non‑beneficiary students at tribally controlled schools): Failed. The Education Committee recommended do‑not‑pass after committee discussion about the proper approval path for cross‑government agreements; final floor action shows the bill declared failed.

- HB 13‑21 (medical‑marijuana possession limits, registration renewals, and fee changes): Failed, 37‑53. The Human Services Committee recommended a do‑pass with referral to Appropriations. The bill would have changed possession limits for combustible and dried leaf forms, set a 30‑day purchase cap, and extended patient card renewal to every other year; opponents raised safety and public‑health concerns on the floor.

- HB 12‑60 (nonresident deer bow licenses): Passed, 87‑3. The Energy and Natural Resources Committee recommended a do‑pass (13‑0). Sponsors said the bill updates the statute to base license counts on the current year’s mule‑deer population estimate rather than the prior year’s count.

Procedural and calendaring actions

- Early in the session the House re‑referred House Bill 13‑70 to the Transportation Committee and House Bill 15‑38 to the Agriculture Committee on motions by Representative Bosch; both motions carried.

Discussion vs. decision

The transcript shows extended debate and committee explanation on several bills prior to floor votes (notably HB 14‑33, HB 14‑23, HB 13‑21 and HB 15‑12). Other measures drew limited floor remarks and moved quickly with committee sponsors asking for a green vote. Where the transcript recorded questions, committee chairs or bill carriers responded with committee findings and fiscal notes.

What’s next

Passed bills will be messaged to the Senate. Referred or re‑referred bills (for example HB 14‑23 being sent back to Industry, Business and Labor) will return to committee for amendment or further study before future floor action. Several failed bills could be reconsidered in later sessions or reintroduced in amended form.

Sources: Floor proceedings of the North Dakota House of Representatives, Feb. 11, 2025 (committee reports, bill sponsors’ remarks and recorded roll calls).