Committee gives do-pass recommendation to study farm safety insurance discount program

The Senate Agriculture and Veterans Affairs Committee voted to recommend Senate Bill 2157 for passage after witnesses urged the Legislature to study whether a farm safety program could support insurance premium discounts for safer operations.

Senator Scribe, who introduced the bill, told the committee the idea grew from conversations with local farmers and from an alarming number of recent farm accidents. "The number is quite staggering," he said, listing tractor mishaps, grain bin entrapments, well falls, baler and equipment entanglements, and chemical inhalations. He urged a legislative study to identify durable, measurable safety training that could justify an insurance discount.

The bill would create a legislative management study to explore how a farm safety insurance discount program might be designed and implemented. Senator Scribe said he consulted the Insurance Commissioner John Godfried, Agriculture Commissioner Doug Goin and NDSU Extension farm and ranch safety coordinator Angie Johnson while developing the idea. He told the panel a single course is unlikely to cover the many hazards on modern farms and recommended a meaningful, multi‑stakeholder study rather than a cursory review.

Supporters who testified told personal and industry stories to underscore the toll of farm accidents. State Representative Keith Kepnick said training can be scarce for smaller operations and hired help and described grain‑handling and livestock incidents he has witnessed. Christie Schlosser Carlson of Farmers Union Insurance and the North Dakota Farmers Union said her insurer has run similar programs and would be willing to assist. Dan Wagsland of the North Dakota Grain Growers Association said the measure is "a proactive approach to safety." John Arnold, Deputy Insurance Commissioner, told the committee the insurance department is "happy to take part" and noted safer operations mean fewer claims and the potential to help constrain premiums.

A motion to give SB 2157 a "do pass" recommendation was made and seconded. The committee recorded affirmative votes during a roll call (Senator Marsalai: yes; Senator Weston: yes; Senator Weber: yes; Chairman Lueck: yes; Vice Chair Meyedal: aye; Senator Lamb: aye). After the vote, the committee designated a member to carry the bill to further proceedings.

The bill as written directs a study; it does not create an insurance discount or set eligibility criteria. Witnesses and the introducer emphasized the study should include the Insurance Commissioner and Agriculture Commissioner and consider funding for NDSU research and nonvoting industry experts in interim workgroups. No timetable or appropriation amount was specified in testimony.

The committee's recommendation advances the study concept to the next step in the legislative process; further drafting and any future statutory changes would depend on the study's findings and subsequent bills.