Committee advances House Bill 1588 after restoring binary-trigger language, adds higher-education exception

A special legislative gun committee voted Thursday to send House Bill 1588 to the full committee with a due-pass recommendation after approving several technical and substantive amendments, including restoring language about binary triggers and adding an explicit exception for property owned or controlled by the State Board of Higher Education.

The vote follows hours of line-by-line review of the bill’s definitions and exceptions. Chairman Heinert presided over the meeting and the committee adopted multiple edits that change wording such as replacing “city, county, township” with “political subdivision,” adding language about school property leased or rented by a school, adjusting enforcement and penalty language, and clarifying when a license must be produced to law enforcement.

The panel reinstated language addressing binary triggers — a provision that, as written, excludes a “binary trigger that fires one round upon the pull of the trigger and one round upon the release” from the bill’s definition — after several members and outside sportsmen urged that the wording remain. “They do not want that language removed,” Chairman Heinert said during debate. The committee voted to remove the overstruck deletion on page 2, lines 13–14; the motion passed by roll call, 3–1, and the committee agreed to present the provision as unstricken when the bill goes forward.

Why it matters: The changes determine where and how the proposed restrictions in HB 1588 would apply, who may adopt exceptions and what penalties and enforcement processes would look like. Restoring the binary-trigger language narrows the bill’s scope as drafted; inserting a higher-education exception preserves local control for campus policy choices and parking-lot rules the State Board of Higher Education has argued it needs.

Committee discussion and amendments

Representative Doctor moved to adopt the committee’s set of amendments and to restore the struck binary-trigger language; Representative Hager seconded the motion. The committee recorded the roll call on the specific restoration motion as three votes in favor and one opposed (tally 3–1). Later, Representative Doctor moved to add a higher-education exception proposed by university officials; Representative Conmee seconded that motion, which passed on roll call with unanimous recorded support.

University officials had asked the committee to clarify how the bill would apply to campus buildings, rented athletic facilities and parking lots. Chris Pesky, chief compliance officer for the North Dakota University System, told the committee that the amended language as drafted could leave a member of the public uncertain whether they may bring a firearm onto campus. "The concern that, from the perspective of a member of the public looking at the amended language as read, I don't know if I can bring a gun to campus or not. I would need to contact the campus, to know whether it's permitted or not," Pesky said, and proposed text that would read in substance: "buildings and property owned or under the control of the State Board of Higher Education, except as permitted by a policy adopted by the State Board of Higher Education." The committee agreed to move the exceptions (including a cross-reference to NDCC 62.10213 addressing parking-lot rules) to the front of the sentence and to add the higher-education language as a subsection.

Other notable edits adopted

- The bill’s language that listed "city, county, township" was changed to the broader term "political subdivision." - The committee added a clarification for schools: property leased or rented by a school is included in the prohibition language to address park districts and similar arrangements (ice arenas, baseball fields, etc.). - The committee removed a reference to "publicly owned building" pending future clarification and added specific exemptions (the governor and a retired state or federal judge were added to the list of exempt persons in the bill’s text as amended). - Penalties were rewritten to mirror an approach used for certain narcotics offenses: a noncriminal offense punishable by a $100 fee for a first offense and $500 for subsequent offenses, per the committee’s amendment. - The bill was amended so that a person carrying a firearm need not proactively produce a license; instead, if a peace officer asks, the person must produce the license or identify themselves.

Formal actions and votes

- Motion to remove the overstruck language on page 2, lines 13–14 (restore text relating to binary triggers): mover — Representative Doctor; second — Representative Hager; vote recorded by roll call as yes 3, no 1; outcome — approved. (Committee directed staff to present that language as unstricken when the bill goes forward.)

- Motion to insert higher-education exception language as discussed (add subsection referring to NDCC 62.10213 and a policy adopted by the State Board of Higher Education, then list "buildings and property owned or under the control of the State Board of Higher Education"): mover — Representative Doctor; second — Representative Conmee; recorded roll call — unanimous yes; outcome — approved.

- Motion to send House Bill 1588, as amended, to the full committee with a due-pass recommendation: mover — Representative Doctor; second — Representative Conmee; recorded roll call — unanimous yes; outcome — approved (bill to advance to the general committee for further consideration).

Process and next steps

Committee staff (Scott) was directed to draft the precise amended language consolidating the exceptions and cross-references as the committee agreed; that language will be presented when the bill is read to the general committee. The panel also decided to strike section 4 on page 5, lines 17–19 and renumber subsequent sections to reflect the adopted changes.

What the committee did not do

The committee did not adopt new criminal penalties beyond the fee structure described, did not expand the list of exempt locations beyond what was amended, and did not impose a statewide campus rule: instead, the amendment preserves an explicit role for the State Board of Higher Education to adopt campus policies or rely on the parking-lot exception in NDCC 62.10213.

The bill will next appear before the committee to which the panel referred it, with staff-prepared language reflecting the amendments the special committee adopted.