Legislative Update | April 11, 2025
Posted: Apr 17 2025
This Week at the Legislature
Today is legislative day 60 of 80. We’re at least three-quarters done! Leadership still has their eyes on adjournment by the very end of April, which remains plausible. The number 60 has some significance in the legislative arena this week. A couple days ago, the Senate advanced a constitutional measure to raise the threshold to pass a constitutional ballot measure from a simple majority to 60%. If the Secretary of State approves, the constitutional amendment will go to the voters in 2026. Getting 60% of a vote on a topic of public interest is like trying to get your in-laws to agree on where to eat for dinner—technically possible but emotionally tiring and historically rare!
Appropriations is now the bottleneck. They are kicking out bills left and right but some big budgets are yet to be kicked out of the second chamber—human services, commerce, department of transportation, water, higher education, and others. We project those to get kicked out next week, which will advance most substantive discussions into the conference committee realm. The work of policy committees is near complete with committee members participating in conference committees, as appointed. The House and Senate have both been “clearing their calendars” each day, which is a promising sign.
Hearings and Other Action this Week
HB 1584 – Pharmacy Benefit Managers - UPDATE
On Tuesday afternoon, the Senate Appropriations - Government Operations Division held its first of three meetings regarding HB 1584. HB 1584 relates to pharmacy benefits managers (PBMs) and is intended to remove the statutory protection for Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) health plans, thereby allowing modifications to PBM laws for the benefit of pharmacies. The Senate Industry and Business Committee had amended the bill to provide the Insurance Department with the financial and FTE resources necessary to administer the bill. This change required the bill to be reviewed by the Appropriations Committee. On Thursday afternoon, the Government Operations Division amended the bill to reduce both the FTE and appropriation amount. In addition, they added a required actuarial analysis by the Insurance Department of the effect of the PBM policy change contained in the bill. The committee then gave the bill a 5-0 do-pass recommendation. The bill now moves to the full Appropriations Committee for action. The Committee is planning on acting on the bill Monday, along with the Insurance Commissioner’s budget.
HB 1259 – Eliminating Daylight Saving Time - UPDATE
HB 1259, which deals with Daylight Saving Time, was amended in the Senate State and Local Government Committee to make “daylight saving” the year-round time in North Dakota. In addition, they added a trigger making the changes effective only if Congress authorizes states to observe daylight saving time year-round and Minnesota, Montana, and South Dakota each have commenced the observance of daylight-saving time. The full Senate took up HB 1259 Monday afternoon, defeating it by a 15-32 vote.
HB 1354 – Evaluations Performed by Professional Appraisers - UPDATE
HB 1354 would allow appraisers to perform evaluations for North Dakota financial institutions. The Senate had amended the bill to clarify that the North Dakota Appraisal Board only has authority over an apprentice, licensed, or certified appraiser. Wednesday afternoon, the House concurred with the Senate changes and passed the bill 90-1. The bill now heads to the Governor for his signature.
NDBA 2025 Legislative Tracking Lists