North Dakota House advances wide range of bills; key measures pass while others fail or are deferred

BISMARCK, N.D. — The North Dakota House of Representatives considered a broad slate of bills on Jan. 27, taking final action on measures ranging from tax credits for home educators to new harassment language related to doxxing, and procedural questions about publication of county commission minutes. Several bills passed with committee recommendations and recorded roll-call votes; others were rejected after debate or committee do-not-pass recommendations; a small number were withdrawn or laid over.

Why it matters: The measures the House acted on touch on tax policy, education policy and public-safety statutes that will affect state law, school-district practices and how local governments notify the public. Many passed bills include technical changes to the North Dakota Century Code and some carry fiscal notes that alter biennial appropriations.

Votes at a glance (key bills and outcomes)

- House Bill 1244 (home education income tax credit): Passed, final vote 65 yea, 27 nay. Committee: Finance and Taxation (recommendation: due pass, amended). Summary: Creates a home-education income tax credit for qualified educational expenses, with amended credit limits (up to $1,000 for married filing jointly; $500 for married filing separately). Fiscal impact: committee noted limited/fuzzy fiscal impact given low marginal income-tax rates; analysis referenced average household income of about $76,000.

- House Bill 1281 (fuel tax refund for fire departments): Passed unanimously, final vote 93 yea, 0 nay. Committee: Finance and Taxation (due pass, amended). Summary: Amends and reenacts refund provisions in North Dakota Century Code sections relating to motor vehicle fuel, special fuels and aviation fuel to explicitly include fire departments and fire districts that file a certificate of existence under the cited statute.

- House Bill 1232 (residential property definition): Passed, final vote 87 yea, 5 nay. Committee: Political Subdivisions (due pass). Summary: Adds “or future dwelling” to the definition of residential property so vacant lots zoned residential are not automatically categorized as commercial.

- House Bill 1134 (harassment; doxxing amendment): Passed, final vote 98 yea, 2 nay. Committee: Judiciary (due pass after Hogg-House amendment). Summary: Amends harassment statute to make it a class A misdemeanor, if committed with intent to frighten or harass, to publicly post an individual’s personal identifying information on a public Internet site or forum; committee discussion framed this as addressing “doxing.” Committee and sponsor testimony cited a victim’s testimony and the need for clarity in the statute; opponents raised fiscal and proportionality concerns about criminal penalties and local corrections costs.

- House Bill 1160 (school district cellular telephone policy): Passed, final vote 89 yea, 3 nay. Committee: Education (due pass, amended). Summary: Requires local school boards to adopt written policies governing students’ use of cellular telephones during instructional and noninstructional time; policies must include exceptions for medical and educational accommodations and for emergencies. The bill does not mandate a single statewide restriction and leaves details to local boards.

- House Bill 1223 (suspension/expulsion revisions): Passed, final vote 92 yea, 0 nay; emergency clause carried. Committee: Education (due pass, amended). Summary: Clarifies provisions governing suspension and expulsion for K–12 students, including allowing expulsions up to 12 months for certain conduct and instructions to consider severity, age and disciplinary history.

- House Bill 1098 (North Dakota scholarship — teacher pathway): Passed, final vote 98 yea, 2 nay; emergency clause carried. Committee: Education (due pass, amended). Summary: Expands coursework options for the North Dakota scholarship to allow 4 career-and-technical education (CTE) credits in teaching-related coursework to qualify under the workforce-ready pathway. Fiscal note: additional expenditures estimated ($40,500 in 2025–27; $94,500 in 2027–29 per committee summary).

- House Bill 1076 (National Guard death benefit parity): Passed, final vote 92 yea, 0 nay; emergency clause carried. Committee: Government and Veterans Affairs (due pass). Summary: Raises the state death benefit for a National Guard member who dies on state active duty to $100,000 (parity with federal death benefit for federal service). Committee testimony said the emergency-disaster fund covers the cost if a state mission causes a death; committee noted no prior state-duty deaths have occurred.

- House Bill 1293 (veterans burial medallion program): Passed, final vote 92 yea, 0 nay. Committee: Government and Veterans Affairs (due pass). Summary: Creates a state burial medallion program for National Guard and Reserve members who are not eligible for U.S. VA grave markers. Fiscal note: initial and biennial appropriations noted (example: $45,000 in 2023–25 and projections for following biennia per department fiscal note).

- House Bill 1300 (legislative term-limits calculation): Passed, final vote 64 yea, 28 nay. Committee: Government and Veterans Affairs (due pass). Summary: Statute to clarify how years of service are calculated for recently adopted term limits and to state the legislature’s interpretation prospectively; sponsors acknowledged courts may ultimately resolve disputes.

Bills that failed or were recommended do-not-pass

- House Bill 1136 (oilseed checkoff penalty): Failed, final vote 10 yea, 83 nay. Committee: Agriculture (recommendation: do not pass, 11–3). Summary: The bill would have reinstated or mandated a specific penalty (a $500 flat fine or 10% of the checkoff, whichever is greater) for failure to submit oilseed checkoff assessments. Committee and floor speakers warned a flat $500 fine could unduly burden small first purchasers and reduce market participation; committee preferred not to pass.

- House Bill 1384 (county auditor — full-time auditor election): Failed, final vote 7 yea, 86 nay. Committee: Political Subdivisions (do not pass, 11–1). Summary: Sponsor and committee said the bill’s subject already exists in statute and the change was unnecessary.

- House Bill 1380 (publication of county commission minutes): Failed, final vote 13 yea, 80 nay. Committee: Political Subdivisions (do not pass, 10–2). Summary: Proposed allowing counties to publish minutes on county websites rather than in newspapers; opponents (newspaper association testimony summarized in committee report) said publishing in newspapers provides affidavit verification and broader public access, especially for older adults; committee recommended do not pass.

- House Bill 1312 (school board/park board election timing): Failed, final vote 12 yea, 81 nay. Committee: Political Subdivisions (do not pass, 11–0; 2 absent). Summary: The bill would have moved school and park board elections from primary elections to the general-election ballot; committee cited operational and timing problems for school boards (midyear transitions, staffing/budget impacts) and recommended working further with stakeholders.

Other procedural actions

- House Bill 1506: Withdrawn by unanimous consent. - House Bill 1416: Laid over one legislative day. - House Bill 1161: Returned from appropriations committee and re-referred to the education committee.

Context and fiscal notes

Several bills carried committee fiscal notes or sponsor summaries that the House read into the record (for example, HB 1098 and HB 1293 included dollar estimates in committee fiscal notes; HB 1244’s fiscal effect was reported as not material or undetermined given low state income-tax rates and the distribution of filers). Where committees amended bills, the House record notes those amendments and changed statutory subsection language as part of the recommendation.

Process notes: The House called the roll (93 present; quorum present), adopted the committee on correction/revision report, received a chaplain’s prayer, and paused briefly for visiting students. Motions to excuse absent members and to adjourn were approved; the House adjourned to reconvene at 12:30 p.m. on Jan. 28, 2025.

Ending: The House approved a mix of measures that update Code language and program eligibility and rejected proposals the committees or members said would create unintended burdens or duplicate existing law; several bills will be subject to further committee work or Senate consideration as the session continues.