North Dakota House advances scores of bills; key votes on raw milk, speed limits, teacher licenses

BISMARCK — The North Dakota House of Representatives acted on a large slate of bills during a floor session, advancing legislation on mobile barber shops, high-school graduation credit substitutions in emergencies, pesticide labeling, teacher lifetime licenses and interstate speed limits while rejecting several other proposals, including a proposed safe food donation program.

The session opened with routine business and roll call; the house recorded a quorum and proceeded through consent and contested calendar items. Lawmakers withdrew House Bill 1461, returned multiple bills from committees, and voted on a series of measures reported from committee with recommendations for final passage or do-not-pass.

Why it matters: Several bills change regulatory requirements for businesses and schools, alter administrative authority for state agencies, and affect liability and public-safety rules that could touch farmers, students, teachers, drivers and correctional employees across North Dakota.

Votes at a glance (selected bills from the session)

- House Bill 1314 (mobile barber shops): Passed, final vote recorded as 87 yea, 1 nay. The bill creates definitions and regulatory fees for barbering in mobile vehicles and requires mobile operations to follow the same practice requirements as brick-and-mortar barber shops. Committee: Industry, Business and Labor (due pass 14-0). Representative Koppelman presented the bill, saying mobile barber shops are “barber shops operated in a mobile vehicle, trailer, or mobile structure” and that “these barbers would have to follow all the same requirements of barbers that operate in a bricks and mortar facility.”

- House Bill 1200 (graduation credit substitution in emergent circumstances): Passed, final vote recorded as 88 yea, 0 nay. The bill allows local school boards, under a board policy, to substitute up to one required unit for an elective or dual-credit course in certain emergent circumstances that threaten a student’s ability to graduate. Committee: Education (due pass 14-0). Sponsor Representative Helt described the change as creating “a pathway to graduation for a student faced with an emergency that threatens graduation.”

- House Bill 1318 (pesticide labeling): Passed, final vote recorded as 88 yea, 0 nay. The bill adds a section to clarify pesticide-labeling standards and recognizes EPA human-health assessments as sufficient warning labels for actions under the new chapter. Committee: Agriculture (due pass 13-0).

- House Bill 1131 (sale of raw milk products): Passed, final vote recorded as 82 yea, 9 nay. The bill permits farms to sell raw milk and raw milk products directly to consumers for personal consumption and prohibits sales to wholesalers or retail stores and donations. Committee: Agriculture (due pass 12-1). The floor debate included extended discussion of public-health risks and insurance concerns. Representative Kaye Anderson, speaking on committee testimony, said the committee did not discuss requiring liability insurance for raw milk sellers. Representative Murphy and others pressed on liability; Representative Murphy warned he would vote against the bill because it does not require liability insurance. Representative Holly, a sponsor, framed the measure as support for struggling dairy farmers and cited newly opened raw-milk farms since the prior law. Representative Van Winkle described the bill as closing a perceived loophole to include raw-milk products (butter, cream, etc.).

- House Bill 1253 (authority for attorney general to fine property owners for gaming violations): Passed; final vote reported as recorded by the clerk and the bill declared passed. Committee: Judiciary (due pass 14-0). The bill authorizes the attorney general to impose fines on property owners for certain gaming-rule violations when previously only charitable organizations could be fined.

- House Bill 1192 (prize-value limits for charitable gaming): Passed, final vote recorded as 88 yea, 3 nay. The bill raises the maximum main prize value from $8,000 to $15,000 and total annual prize value from $40,000 to $50,000 for eligible fundraising organizations. Committee: Judiciary (due pass 10-3).

- House Bill 1034 (reestablishment of parental rights): Passed, final vote recorded as 91 yea, 0 nay. The bill creates a process, with statutory guardrails, allowing a parent whose parental rights were terminated to petition for reinstatement in limited circumstances, subject to state’s attorney agreement and clear-and-convincing-evidence findings. Committee: Judiciary (due pass 13-0).

- House Bill 1238 (lifetime teaching license after 20 years): Passed, final vote recorded as 79 yea, 12 nay. The bill reduces the service threshold for a lifetime teaching license from 30 to 20 years and adds provisions allowing the licensing board to promulgate rule-based checks on lifetime license holders; sponsor Representative Hager said the board could require periodic checks at no cost to license holders.

- House Bill 1412 (donations to private land open to sportsmen program): Passed, final vote recorded as 91 yea, 0 nay. Committee: Energy and Natural Resources (due pass 10-0).

- House Bill 1251 (prohibiting school extracurricular activities on certain holidays): Failed, final vote recorded as 30 yea, 61 nay. The Education Committee recommended do not pass (10-4), arguing such decisions belong to local school districts, parents and students.

- House Bill 1413 (safe food donation program): Failed, final vote recorded as 0 yea, 91 nay. The sponsor requested do not pass; the Agriculture Committee complied (do not pass 12-0).

- House Bill 1177 (correctional officer definition for public-employee retirement): Passed, final vote recorded as 90 yea, 1 nay. The bill permits certain correctional officers to enter the public-safety defined-benefit retirement plan without waiting for completion of certification and was recommended due pass 13-0 by the Political Subdivisions Committee.

- House Bill 1202 (flexible transportation fund grant designation): Failed, final vote recorded as 17 yea, 74 nay. The Transportation Committee recommended do not pass (14-0); the bill would have designated $3 million from the flexible transportation fund for a county water board project the committee found did not meet DOT funding criteria.

- House Bill 1243 (ownership after total-loss insurance determination): Failed, final vote recorded as 5 yea, 86 nay. The Transportation Committee recommended do not pass (10-3); discussion explored how insurance adjusters set buyback and total-loss values and whether the bill would change policyholder outcomes.

- House Bill 1250 (entries against driving record / minor infraction points): Passed, final vote recorded as 86 yea, 5 nay. The bill reverses last session’s requirement to make points of 2 or less available to the public and records them separately so minor infractions are less likely to affect public records used by insurers. Committee: Transportation (due pass 13-1). Sponsor Representative Johnston said the change aims to protect drivers from insurance penalties tied to minor infractions.

- House Bill 1298 (raise interstate speed limits from 75 to 80 mph in qualifying locations): Passed, final vote recorded as 69 yea, 22 nay. The Transportation Committee recommended due pass 13-0. Sponsor Representative Koppelman said the change would be phased and would allow DOT and local authorities to keep lower limits through cities or on sections that need upgrades. Lawmakers debated enforcement and safety; supporters cited the 85th-percentile rule and experience from other states, while opponents questioned enforcement thresholds and speed differentials between vehicles.

Other procedural actions and outcomes

- House Bill 1461: Returned from committee for withdrawal and withdrawn by unanimous consent. - Several bills on the consent calendar (including House Bills 1133, 1410, 1261, 1311) were declared passed on a single roll-call (final vote recorded as 85 yea, 3 nay) and placed on further orders as appropriate.

What lawmakers debated

- Raw milk (HB 1131) generated the most extended floor discussion. Supporters framed the bill as helping small dairy farmers sell directly to consumers and to offer raw milk products; opponents and some members pressed concerns about public-health risks and liability insurance for producers. Representative Kaye Anderson said the committee did not discuss requiring liability insurance for raw-milk sellers; Representative Murphy said the absence of an insurance requirement influenced his intent to vote against the bill.

- Interstate speed limits (HB 1298) prompted several members to question law-enforcement views and enforcement practices. Sponsor Representative Koppelman said law-enforcement representatives were not present at the committee hearing this year and that private conversations suggested current enforcement typically focuses on speeds 10 mph or more over posted limits.

- Lifetime teaching licenses (HB 1238) drew questions about post-license safeguards. Representative Hager said the bill includes language allowing the Educational Standards and Practice Board to promulgate rules requiring periodic checks of lifetime license holders; committee testimony emphasized retention and reduced costs for long-serving educators.

Session adjournment

The House excused absent members and agreed to adjourn until 1 p.m. Monday, Jan. 27, 2025.

Sources: Floor proceedings of the North Dakota House of Representatives as read by the chief clerk and statements by members recorded on the floor.