Surveyors back bill to update state plane coordinate zones to new NATRF2022 datum; committee adopts technical fixes and advances bill

Sen. Randy Burkhardt introduced Senate Bill 22-60 to codify updated state plane coordinate systems tied to the North American Terrestrial Reference Frame of 2022 (NATRF2022). The bill would add NATRF2022‑based state plane coordinate zones to state statute alongside the existing NAD 1927 and NAD 1983 definitions.

Technical witnesses from the North Dakota Society of Professional Land Surveyors supported the measure and explained why the updated reference frame and zone definitions matter for surveying, mapping and engineering. Aaron Hummert, the society’s legislative chair and a licensed surveyor, told the committee the updated frame reflects improvements from satellite positioning and computational techniques and called NATRF2022 “the latest and greatest model” for current surveying needs. Witnesses described a design with a statewide coordinate zone for large mapping projects and sixteen “low distortion” zones for localized engineering work; the aim was to keep grid distortion low enough for typical construction and mapping tolerances.

Committee members and witnesses discussed technical drafting details and units (the statute must define meters and the conversion to international feet). The committee accepted sponsor-proposed technical amendments to clarify units and other definitions, then voted to give the bill a do-pass recommendation as amended. The committee recorded unanimous ayes on the amended bill.

Ending: The committee advanced SB2260 as amended; legislative counsel and surveyor representatives will finalize technical edits recommended in the hearing.