House committee hears department-backed bill moving body-art rules into statute

Chairman Ruby opened the House Human Services Committee hearing on House Bill 1071, which would amend Section 23-01-35 of the North Dakota Century Code to place body‑art facility regulations directly in statute.

Julie Wiegandorf, food and lodging director with the Department of Health and Human Services, told the committee the department introduced the bill and that “the food and lodging unit is designated the lead agency to adopt rules to regulate body art facilities and any person that provides tattooing, body piercing, branding, subdermal implant, and scarification services.”

Wiegandorf said the bill moves definitions and procedural language that now exist in administrative code into the…