Committee accepts amendment and advances cleanup removing expired Public Law 99‑294 references

Senate Bill 2045, presented by Sindhuja Pollegrinoz of the Department of Water Resources, is a technical cleanup bill that removes obsolete references to Public Law 99‑294 (the Garrison Diversion Unit Reformulation Act of 1986) from the North Dakota Century Code. Pollegrinoz told the committee the original draft removed the citation in one section but inadvertently omitted a second cross‑reference in chapter 43.

Pollegrinoz, water development division director at the Department of Water Resources, asked the committee to approve an amendment to remove the additional reference in Century Code section 43‑07‑12. "The bill language in front of you removes the reference to that public law 99‑294 in Century Code 48‑01.2‑04, but that reference is also in 43‑07‑12. So the amendment would be to remove that in that section as well," she said.

Committee members questioned whether the exception could come back into use; Pollegrinoz said Bureau of Reclamation representatives indicated it is unlikely. The committee approved the technical amendment and then voted to recommend passage of the amended bill. Committee discussion noted the change is corrective and described as an oversight during drafting; members emphasized the purpose of cleanup bills is to address such omissions.

Senator Behm moved the amendment; the amendment passed by unanimous committee vote and the committee subsequently recommended passage of the amended bill, 7‑0. Senator Gearhart volunteered to carry the bill to the floor.

The committee record shows a two‑step process: amendment to include removal from 43‑07‑12, then a do‑pass on the amended bill. No substantive policy changes were reported.