North Dakota Senate passes several bills, defeats Dark Sky Week and a party-ballot primary measure; SB2311 withdrawn

The North Dakota Senate on Jan. 24, 2025, approved a package of bills affecting motor-vehicle excise tax exemptions, workforce safety benefits and other measures, adopted technical amendments to Department of Health and Human Services legislation, and defeated a concurrent resolution designating April 21–28 as North Dakota Dark Sky Week and a proposal to use separate party ballots in primaries.

Why it matters: The measures approved change tax-exemption eligibility for tribal governments, raise a workplace death-benefit cap and scholarship amounts for injured workers’ families, and clarify rules for children's advocacy centers and library material disbursement. The defeated measures would have urged local dark-sky awareness and created separate party primary ballots; both generated committee-level debate on local implementation and administrative burden.

Key outcomes and short summaries

- Senate Bill 2207 — motor-vehicle excise tax exemption for tribal governments: Final passage, 45 ayes, 1 nay, 1 absent. The bill amends subsection 2 of NDCC 57-40.3-04 to add tribal governments to an existing excise-tax exemption that already covers political subdivisions and state and federal governments. The Senate Transportation Committee recommended a 6-0 do pass vote. (Sponsor: Senator Cory.)

- Senate Bill 2109 — workforce safety system updates: Final passage, 44 ayes, 2 nays, 1 absent. The bill amends NDCC section 65 to modernize communications (allowing electronic notifications), raises the death-benefit cap from $300,000 to $400,000 with a provision for biannual adjustment, and increases scholarship funding for spouses/children from $10,000 to $12,500 annually. The industry and business committee reported no opposition. (Sponsor: Senator Klein.)

- Senate Bill 2173 — children's advocacy centers confidentiality and accreditation: Final passage, 46 ayes, 0 nays, 1 absent. The bill amends NDCC to add “accredited” to the definition of a children’s advocacy center and clarifies confidentiality provisions and the categories of parties that may review certain records. The Human Services Committee voted 6-0 to approve. (Sponsor: Senator Lee.)

- Senate Bill 22/19 (listed in the record as 2219) — library materials and state aid eligibility: Final passage, 46 ayes, 0 nays, 1 absent. The bill creates exemptions allowing the State Library to disburse surplus physical materials directly to public and K–12 libraries rather than routing those items through state surplus, and clarifies that libraries that fail to complete the annual public-library report will forfeit state aid eligibility for the following year. Committee recommendation: due pass. (Sponsor: Senator Bridal.)

- Senate Bill 2113 — technical corrections for the Department of Health and Human Services: Amendment on bed reporting and behavioral health facility standards adopted; bill re-referred to appropriations. The amendment changes reporting of open beds in neuropsychiatric nursing facilities from daily to weekly and adds standards for state-operated behavioral health centers and certified behavioral health clinics. (Sponsor presenting amendment: Senator Hogan.)

- Senate Bill 2070 — resident bill of rights in long-term care facilities: Proposed amendments adopted; bill placed on calendar. Amendments include changing a notification deadline from 14 days to 30 days, clarifying private-communication rights, limiting storage obligations to ‘as space allows,’ revising physician-choice language to allow assigned attending physicians where necessary, extending restraint-order authority to advanced practice providers, and clarifying rules for recording devices and admission-denial notices. The Human Services Committee worked with the long-term care ombudsman, the Department of Health and Human Services, and the Long Term Care Association on the language. (Sponsor presenting amendment: Senator O'Rourke.)

- Senate Bill 2178 — separate party ballots for primary elections: Lost. Final tally showed 4 yes, 42 no, 1 absent; the State and Local Government Committee recommended do not pass (6-0). The bill would have required election officials to provide party-specific primary ballots and record which party ballot a voter requested; committee testimony cited logistical complexity and potential voter confusion. (Sponsor: Senator Wallow.)

- Senate Concurrent Resolution 4004 — North Dakota Dark Sky Week (April 21–28, 2025): Lost on final vote, 17 yes, 29 no. The Energy and Natural Resources Committee recommended do not pass (6–1); opponents cited public-safety and municipal-implementation concerns even as supporters urged educational value and potential energy savings. (Sponsor: Senator Beard.)

- Senate Bill 2311 — withdrawal: Senator Klein moved to return Senate Bill 2311 to the floor from the Education Committee for the purpose of withdrawal; Senator Barta requested withdrawal, stating another bill would better cover the subject. With no objections, SB2311 was withdrawn by unanimous consent.

Discussion vs. actions: Several items were discussed in committee and on the floor before votes. The transcript records committee recommendations (for example, do pass or do not pass votes) and final roll-call tallies where taken. Where specific committee or stakeholder input was referenced (for example, the long-term care ombudsman and the Long Term Care Association on SB2070), that collaboration was noted on the floor.

What’s next: Bills placed on the calendar (for example, SB2113 and SB2070) were referred to appropriations or scheduled for further consideration as indicated in the Senate record. Several standing committees announced upcoming meetings to continue work on appropriations and other bills.