Appropriations Committee advances multiple bills; a hotline measure postponed to Monday

The North Dakota Senate Appropriations Committee advanced several bills during its full committee session and deferred one matter for additional briefing.

What passed: The committee gave do-pass recommendations to multiple bills covering education grants, juvenile competency assessments, victim medical reimbursements, distressed ambulance planning, Medicaid benefit clarifications and funding for the Children's Cabinet. Most votes were unanimous or near-unanimous in committee. Key actions and vote results follow.

Votes at a glance

- Senate Bill 2234 (Choice Ready grants): Committee moved a due-pass recommendation by voice and recorded vote; motion passed 16–0. The bill continues Choice Ready grants intended to help K–12 students meet workforce or postsecondary readiness standards; proponents said the program has expanded measured outcomes since inception.

- Senate Bill 2037 (Juvenile court competency assessments): Committee attached an amendment to authorize contracting for juvenile mental-health competency assessments and approved a due-pass recommendation as amended; motion passed 16–0. The committee noted an original fiscal note near $350,000; approximately $300,000 of that amount was appropriated in the amendment to fund contracted mental-health assessments rather than state FTEs.

- Senate Bill 2292 (Reimbursement for forensic exams and child interviews): Committee approved an amendment that clarifies reimbursement language and voted to give a due-pass recommendation as amended; motion passed 16–0. The bill changes the funding source for forensic medical screenings and children's forensic interviews from the insurance regulatory trust fund to the general fund and establishes reimbursement authority (up to the estimated biennial amount of $964,560) to the Attorney General for disbursement to providers; reimbursements are limited to claims actually incurred.

- Senate Bill 2033 (Distressed ambulance services): Committee adopted an amendment to appropriate $150,000 for consulting to identify and plan responses for distressed ambulance services and then approved a due-pass recommendation; motion passed 16–0. Members said the one-time consulting appropriation would yield a framework for longer-term responses to local ambulance shortages.

- Senate Bill 2190 (Medical assistance benefits): The committee voted to give a due-pass recommendation on an amendment clarifying Medicaid coverage to include applied behavior analysis for autism spectrum disorder and certain dental screening/case management services; members noted a federal match that reduces state share (rostering $300,000–$426,000 in special funds over the biennium). Motion passed 16–0.

- Senate Bill 2176 (Children's Cabinet staffing and working groups): Committee approved the bill to establish the Children's Cabinet within the governor's office and appropriated $220,000 from the general fund for its operations; the motion passed 15–1. Committee members said the governor's budget included a smaller staff estimate and that placement in the governor's office formalizes prior informal arrangements.

What was deferred

- Senate Bill 2200 (crisis hotline / call-center funding and fees): Committee members expressed confusion about how the amended bill reached the $500,000 general-fund figure after an earlier version relied on fee revenue and a $4.5 million fiscal estimate. Members requested fuller briefing from the bill's floor carrier and asked that the bill be taken up Monday morning at 8:30 a.m. for more complete testimony and to reconcile fiscal differences. No committee vote was taken on SB 2200 on the day of this hearing.

Next steps: Bills receiving do-pass recommendations will be carried forward by designated carriers for floor consideration; SB 2200 was scheduled for additional committee consideration Monday morning to allow the bill carrier and staff to clarify fiscal assumptions and any fee structure changes.