Committee actions: dental joint-negotiation bill rejected; audit of Development Fund advanced; study of boards tabled

The House Industry, Business and Labor Committee took formal action on multiple bills during the same meeting.

SB 2375 (voluntary joint negotiations for dental providers and insurers) Representative Jordan Koppelman moved and Vice Chair Osley seconded amendments offered by Perel (Peril) Grossman (representing the American Council of Life Insurers); the committee adopted those amendments by voice. Later, Representative Ruby moved a committee recommendation of "do not pass as amended"; the motion carried. The committee's roll-call in the provided record counted eight votes in favor of "do not pass," five opposed and one absence (recorded in the transcript as "8-5-1"). The adopted outcome is a committee recommendation against advancing SB 2375.

SB 2396 (performance audit of the North Dakota Development Fund) Representative Koppelman offered an amendment to require legislative management to contract with an independent third party to perform a performance audit of the North Dakota Development Fund and to report findings to Legislative Management; the amendment also added a capped appropriation to fund the work. The committee approved an amendment setting a cap at $250,000 for a third-party audit contractor and removed language naming the Department of Commerce as the audit recipient; the amendment directs the independent auditor's findings to legislative management for integration with the state auditor's work. Representative Koppelman then moved a due-pass recommendation as amended and to re-refer the bill to appropriations; Representative Ruby seconded. A roll-call in the transcript shows the measure carried in committee and was referred to appropriations (the committee record shows a majority voice/roll-call in favor).

SB 2357 (study of boards and commissions) Representative Koppelman moved a "do not pass" recommendation, noting the subject (consolidation or study of boards and commissions) overlaps with another pending measure (a task force bill reported out by another committee). The committee recorded a roll-call of 11 in favor of "do not pass" and 1 opposed. The committee recommendation was to not advance SB 2357.

Why these outcomes mattered - SB 2375: The committee chose not to advance a bill that would have facilitated voluntary joint negotiations between dental providers and insurers and that had drawn both provider-side sponsors and insurer opposition on competition and antitrust grounds. - SB 2396: The committee advanced a targeted oversight step to obtain a third-party performance audit of the North Dakota Development Fund, including a capped appropriation for the work; the amendment directs findings to legislative management for review. - SB 2357: The committee declined to pursue a separate study of boards and commissions, citing overlap with another task-force approach.

Provenance: each outcome and vote is recorded in the committee transcript provided. The transcript shows motions, amendment adoption, and roll-call results for the three bills summarized above.

Sources: Committee hearing transcript; motions and roll calls recorded during the House Industry, Business and Labor Committee meeting.