Senate defeats PTSD workers’ comp bill, approves custody enforcement, farming and radon disclosure measures

At a floor session in Bismarck this week, the North Dakota Senate rejected a proposal to add post‑traumatic stress disorder to workers’ compensation coverage and approved several other bills after extended committee and floor debate.

The most contested measure, Senate Bill 2181, would have added PTSD as a compensable condition under Workforce Safety & Insurance (WSI). The Senate voted 16 ayes, 29 nays, 2 absent; the bill failed. Supporters said the bill included guardrails — a two‑biennium sunset, a 32‑week limit on disability benefits per claim, a two‑claim lifetime cap, an effective date of Aug. 1, 2025, and diagnostic and causation standards — but committee fiscal analysis and testimony from insurers raised concerns about unknown long‑term premium and reserve impacts.

Why it matters: Advocates said coverage would help first responders and others with work‑related PTSD obtain care. Opponents warned that other states’ experiences showed steep premium increases and that WSI lacks sufficient data to set rates now.

On other major items, the Senate passed legislation creating criminal penalties and civil citations tied to certain custody violations and false reports (Senate Bill 2186), approved a statutory cleanup to corporate/LLC farming language after rejecting a floor amendment (Senate Bill 2150), and adopted a seller radon‑disclosure and education measure (Senate Bill 2204). Debate on a proposed statewide property‑tax information portal (Senate Bill 2166) centered on cost and county reporting burdens; that bill failed.

Details from debated bills

Senate Bill 2181 (PTSD / workers’ compensation): The bill sponsor described provisions intended to limit duration and fiscal exposure and to require diagnosis by a licensed psychiatrist or psychologist, with at least 50% of causation attributed to the covered work event. Testimony included emotional accounts from potential claimants and warnings from WSI and insurers about potential rate increases; the Senate rejected the bill 16‑29 (2 absent).

Senate Bill 2166 (property tax information portal): The Senate Finance and Tax Committee noted a $5 million fiscal note to build a statewide portal hosted by the tax department, concerns about interface work with dozens of county systems and county staffing burdens to keep data current; the final vote was 13 ayes, 32 nays, 2 absent and the bill was lost.

Senate Bill 2186 (custody enforcement, false reports): The bill, carried by Senator Lueck and sponsored on the floor by Senator Clemens, creates a graduated penalty scheme for parents who intentionally withhold custody in violation of decrees and for knowingly filing false reports to law enforcement or the Department of Health and Human Services. Penalties range from infractions for early offenses up to misdemeanors for repeated violations; it also authorizes law enforcement to issue citations in appropriate cases. The Senate passed the bill 26‑19 (2 absent). Opponents cautioned the measure could draw child‑protective resources into custody disputes and raised concerns about overlap with existing false‑report statutes.

Senate Bill 2150 (corporate and LLC farming cleanup): The bill, described by the sponsor as technical cleanup to House Bill 1371 (2023), passed 41 ayes, 4 nays, 2 absent. A floor amendment attempting to change wording from “person” to “individual” (to narrow ownership to natural persons) failed after debate that referenced century‑code definitions and a 160‑acre cap for certain livestock feeding operations.

Senate Bill 2204 (radon disclosure): The measure requires sellers to disclose known radon test results and includes an educational statement about radon risks and testing. Sponsors said North Dakota has high radon levels and that the bill does not require testing or mitigation, only disclosure when results are in a seller’s possession or reasonably available. The bill passed unanimously, 45‑0 (2 absent).

Votes at a glance (selected final tallies reported on the floor)

- SB 2155 (gratis antelope licenses): Passed, final tally 27 ayes, 19 nays, 1 absent, not voting. - Motion to reconsider SB 2155 (verification vote): Passed, 27 ayes, 19 nays (verification to reconsider recorded earlier). - SB 2203 (consolidation of hearing‑related licensing boards): Lost, 4 ayes, 42 nays, 1 absent. - SB 2181 (PTSD / WSI coverage): Lost, 16 ayes, 29 nays, 2 absent. - SB 2150 (corporate/LLC farming cleanup): Passed, 41 ayes, 4 nays, 2 absent. - SB 2166 (property tax information portal): Lost, 13 ayes, 32 nays, 2 absent. - SB 2334 (adds tap rooms to alcoholic‑beverage establishment definition for charitable gaming): Passed, 34 ayes, 11 nays, 2 absent. - SB 2233 (notice requirements for claims against the state): Passed, 45 ayes, 0 nays, 2 absent. - SB 2138 (appropriation for grants to organizations providing care for the elderly): Passed, 45 ayes, 0 nays, 2 absent. - SB 2273 (diagnostic imaging by physical therapists): Passed, 45 ayes, 0 nays, 2 absent. - SB 2144 (secretary of state cleanup for business filings, notaries): Passed, 45 ayes, 0 nays, 2 absent. - SB 2278 (study on retention of library materials and impact of AI): Passed, 44 ayes, 1 nay, 2 absent. - SB 2186 (custody violations / false reports): Passed, 26 ayes, 19 nays, 2 absent. - SB 2013 (appropriation for the commissioner of university and school lands): Passed, 45 ayes, 0 nays, 2 absent. - SB 2204 (radon disclosure by sellers): Passed, 45 ayes, 0 nays, 2 absent.

Other floor actions noted: a motion by Senator Klein to re‑refer Senate Bill 2206 to the Judiciary Committee was adopted; several committee amendments on insurance, data security, education pilot grants and other bills were adopted by the chamber without recorded roll‑call opposition.

Procedure and next steps: The clerk recorded roll calls for each final passage vote and the Senate adjourned to reconvene at 12:30 p.m. Friday, Jan. 31, 2025, per the motion adopted on the floor.