1999 North Dakota Legislative Council Bill and Resolution Summaries

HOUSE

House Bill No. 1023 - Administrative Rules Sunsetting. This bill provides that an administrative rule will be effective only until August 1 after the next regular legislative session following the effective date of the rule unless the Administrative Rules Committee designates the rule as procedural or interpretive. (Administrative Rules Committee)

House Bill No. 1024 - Rules Review. This bill allows the Administrative Rules Committee to call up administrative rules for review, and those rules would be subject to the authority of the committee to file an objection or to void the rule. (Administrative Rules Committee)

House Bill No. 1025 - State Regulatory Program Rule Relevancy. This bill provides that an agency may not adopt rules from federal guidelines which are not relevant to state regulatory programs. (Administrative Rules Committee)

House Bill No. 1026 - Agency Rulemaking Authority. This bill provides that an agency may adopt an administrative rule only when the rule falls within an area in which the agency has been specifically required or authorized to adopt rules. The bill requires the Administrative Rules Committee to review statutory rulemaking authority of each administrative agency to seek to limit administrative rulemaking to areas in which specific requirement or authorization of rulemaking exists. (Administrative Rules Committee)

House Bill No. 1027 - Child Support Contribution Trust. This bill authorizes courts to order a child support obligee to put a portion of the child support contribution into trust for the child's support and welfare. (Child Support Committee)

House Bill No. 1028 - Child Support and Employee Benefits. This bill provides that for purposes of determining gross income for purposes of establishing child support, gross income does not include an employee benefit if the employee may not lawfully liquidate the benefit without an income tax penalty and if the employee has no significant influence or control over the nature or amount of the benefit. (Child Support Committee)

House Bill No. 1029 - Child Support and Income From Overtime and Second Jobs. This bill authorizes courts to exclude an obligor's income from overtime and second jobs from the determination of gross income for purposes of establishing child support. (Child Support Committee)

House Bill No. 1030 - Child Fatality Review Panel Access to School Records. This bill requires a public or private institution offering elementary or secondary education to disclose records to the child fatality review panel or a coroner. (Criminal Justice Committee)

House Bill No. 1031 - Felonious Registered Offender's Driver's License. This bill requires the letter "Y" to be placed on the driver's license of a felonious sexual offender and an individual who has committed a felony against a child. (Criminal Justice Committee)

House Bill No. 1032 - First Simple Assault Exception From Data Base. This bill excepts a child from being listed in the law enforcement data base as the result of that child's first adjudication for simple assault. (Criminal Justice Committee)

House Bill No. 1033 - School District Grade Levels. This bill requires each school district to offer all educational grade levels from 1 through 12 before July 1, 2002, or become attached, through reorganization or dissolution, to a district that does offer those grade levels. (Education Finance Committee)

House Bill No. 1034 - NDCC Title 15 Revision. This bill rewrites those portions of Title 15 which relate to the State Board of Public School Education, the Superintendent of Public Instruction, the Department of Public Instruction, the Compact for Education, the North Dakota Educational Telecommunications Council, schools, school districts, military installation school districts, school boards, county committees, county superintendents of schools, school district boundaries, students, chemical abuse prevention programs, postsecondary enrollment options programs, and adult education. (Education Services Committee)

House Bill No. 1035 - NDCC Title 15 Cross-Reference Reconciliation. This bill reconciles references to Title 15 found in other portions of the Century Code. (Education Services Committee)

House Bill No. 1036 - Public Service Commission and Year 2000. This bill authorizes the Public Service Commission to request from any North Dakota electric, gas, telephone, or pipeline public utility and generation and transmission rural electric distribution cooperative information on activities by that utility or cooperative to ensure that the year 2000 computer problem is addressed in a timely manner. (Electric Utilities Committee)

House Bill No. 1037 - Year 2000 Computer Compliance Immunity. This bill limits state and political subdivision liability for failure to become year 2000 compliant. (Information Technology Committee)

House Bill No. 1038 - Ambulance Service Grants. This bill provides that the formula used by the State Department of Health to distribute equipment grants to ambulance services for prehospital emergency medical services equipment must consider the ambulance services' expenses that are not dependent on response volume. The bill also appropriates $3,800,000 to the State Department of Health for the purpose of defraying expenses of prehospital emergency medical services. (Insurance and Health Care Committee)

House Bill No. 1039 - Prehospital Emergency Medical Services. This bill requires insurance companies, nonprofit health service corporations, and health maintenance organizations that provide coverage for prehospital emergency medical services to determine reimbursement eligibility for those services based on a prudent layperson standard of evaluating the need for the services. (Insurance and Health Care Committee)

House Bill No. 1040 - Hail Suppression Pilot Program. This bill provides for a six-year, statewide hail suppression program and appropriates $3,100,000 to the State Water Commission for the purpose of implementing the first two years of the program. (Insurance and Health Care Committee)

House Bill No. 1041 - Games of Chance Conduct and Play. This bill removes statutory provisions on the conduct and play of games of chance; allows the Gaming Commission to adopt the rules for those games; and authorizes the Gaming Commission to adopt rules to permit an organization to conduct certain poker variations in addition to traditional straight poker. (Judiciary Committee)

House Bill No. 1042 - Clerk of Court Filing Fees. This bill imposes a new fee for four types of filings--an $80 fee for petition for subsequent administration, an $80 fee for filing a trust registration, an $80 fee for a petition for allowance of a trustee's annual report or other remedies, and a $10 fee for filing a guardian's annual report52;and increases from $10 to $80 the fee for filing a foreign judgment or decree. (Judiciary Committee)

House Bill No. 1043 - Housing Discrimination. This bill repeals the current housing discrimination statutes, creates new housing discrimination laws, provides a procedure for filing a housing discrimination claim, provides remedies, and designates the Labor Department as the agency responsible for receiving and investigating housing discrimination claims. (Judiciary Committee)

House Bill No. 1044 - Twentieth Century Statutory References. This bill removes references to the twentieth century in statutory forms and removes antiquated and gender-specific language. (Judiciary Committee)

House Bill No. 1045 - Technical Corrections. This bill eliminates inaccurate or obsolete name and statutory references or superfluous language in the North Dakota Century Code. (Judiciary Committee)

House Bill No. 1046 - State Agency Service Contracts. This bill prohibits a state agency or institution from contracting for services to be provided to the agency or institution in the current biennium if the contract provides for payment for the services to extend beyond the current biennium. (Legislative Audit and Fiscal Review Committee)

House Bill No. 1047 - Beginning Farmer Revolving Loan Fund. This bill transfers the assets, liabilities, and fund equity of the beginning farmer revolving loan fund to the Bank of North Dakota on July 1, 1999. (Legislative Audit and Fiscal Review Committee)

House Bill No. 1048 - Centralized Debt Collection. This bill establishes a centralized debt collection unit within the State Treasurer's office. (Legislative Audit and Fiscal Review Committee)

House Bill No. 1049 - Audit Report Confidentiality. This bill provides that state agency and institution financial audit reports, financial-related audit reports, or performance audit reports prepared by the State Auditor's office or a private firm under contract with the State Auditor's office are confidential until the reports are presented to the Legislative Audit and Fiscal Review Committee. (Legislative Audit and Fiscal Review Committee)

House Bill No. 1050 - Regulatory Reform Review Commission. This bill extends the duration of the Regulatory Reform Review Commission to the year 2003. (Regulatory Reform Review Commission)

House Bill No. 1051 - Charitable Property Special Assessments for Fire, Police, and Infrastructure Costs. This bill allows imposition of special assessments by cities against tax-exempt property of charitable organizations for the proportionate share of costs of police and fire protection and infrastructure expenditures paid from the city's budget. The bill limits the amount that may be levied against subject properties based on comparison of the value of those properties to the value of taxable property in the city. (Taxation Committee)

House Bill No. 1052 - Homestead Credit Income Limits. This bill increases income limits for eligibility for the homestead credit by $500 in each of the five income categories. (Taxation Committee)

House Bill No. 1053 - Beginning Farmer Farm Buildings Property Tax Exemption. This bill allows beginning farmers to qualify for the farm buildings property tax exemption. (Taxation Committee)

House Bill No. 1054 - Farm Buildings Property Tax Exemption Application. This bill eliminates consideration in farm buildings tax exemption decisions of the criteria established by the North Dakota Supreme Court in 1977. The bill provides that buildings are not eligible for the exemption if they are primarily used for processing to produce a value-added physical or chemical change in an agricultural commodity beyond the ordinary handling of that commodity by a farmer before sale. (Taxation Committee)

House Bill No. 1055 - Exempt Farm Buildings Assessment. This bill provides that property tax-exempt farm buildings or residences do not have to be assessed. (Taxation Committee)

House Concurrent Resolution No. 3001 - Geropsychiatric Training Study. This resolution provides for a Legislative Council study of the expansion of psychiatric and geropsychiatric training for general practice and family practice physicians at the University of North Dakota School of Medicine and Health Sciences. (Budget Committee on Long-Term Care)

House Concurrent Resolution No. 3002 - American Indian Long-Term Care Study. This resolution provides for a Legislative Council study of American Indian long-term care and case management needs. (Budget Committee on Long-Term Care)

House Concurrent Resolution No. 3003 - Senior Mill Levy Match Study. This resolution provides for a Legislative Council study to determine if the mill levy match program could be expanded to enhance home and community-based service availability. (Budget Committee on Long-Term Care)

House Concurrent Resolution No. 3004 - Swing-Bed Process Study. This resolution provides for a Legislative Council study of the swing-bed process. (Budget Committee on Long-Term Care)

House Concurrent Resolution No. 3005 - Domestic Relations Pro Se Representation Study. This resolution provides for a Legislative Council study of the feasibility and desirability of facilitating pro se representation in domestic relations matters. (Child Support Committee)

House Concurrent Resolution No. 3006 - State Bar Association of North Dakota Joint Task Force on Family Law. This resolution expresses approval of the actions taken by the State Bar Association of North Dakota Joint Task Force on Family Law to facilitate and promote mediation as a method of addressing family law matters. (Child Support Committee)

House Concurrent Resolution No. 3007 - NDCC Title 15 Revision Study. This resolution provides for a Legislative Council study to continue the revision of those provisions of NDCC Title 15 which relate to elementary and secondary education. (Education Services Committee)

House Concurrent Resolution No. 3008 - Multistate Lottery. This resolution proposes a constitutional amendment to permit the Legislative Assembly to provide by law for participation by the state in a multistate lottery. (Judiciary Committee)

SENATE

This bill requires administrative rulemaking notices to be published in each official county newspaper rather than in each daily newspaper. (Administrative Rules Committee)

Senate Bill No. 2028 - Local Government Efficiency Planning Grant Program Repeal. This bill repeals the local government efficiency planning grant program administered by the Advisory Commission on Intergovernmental Relations. (Advisory Commission on Intergovernmental Relations)

Senate Bill No. 2029 - Nonresident Tuition Rates. This bill eliminates the requirement that the Budget Section approve nonresident tuition rates proposed by the Board of Higher Education for state colleges and universities. (Budget Section)

Senate Bill No. 2030 - University of North Dakota Campus Building Construction. This bill authorizes the University of North Dakota to construct a building for use as a university bookstore and other retail businesses and appropriates $4.5 million of other funds for the construction. (Budget Section)

Senate Bill No. 2031 - Legislative Budget Committee. This bill creates a Legislative Budget Committee under the Legislative Council to coordinate and direct activities involved in the development of budget recommendations during the interim and as needed during the legislative session to assist the Legislative Assembly in developing the final legislative budget. (Budget Committee on Government Finance)

Senate Bill No. 2032 - Assistance for Adopted Children With Special Needs. This bill requires the Department of Human Services to pay the cost, in excess of the federal share, of assistance provided adopted children with special needs and related administrative costs. (Budget Committee on Human Services)

Senate Bill No. 2033 - Basic Care Rate Equalization. This bill repeals basic care rate equalization and changes the definition of a private pay resident to include a managed care entity as a payer excepted from rate equalization. (Budget Committee on Long-Term Care)

Senate Bill No. 2034 - Alzheimer's and Related Dementia Pilot Projects. This bill authorizes the Department of Human Services to continue the approved Alzheimer's and related dementia population pilot projects during the 1999-2001 biennium. The bill also requires the department to monitor and report on the progress of the projects. (Budget Committee on Long-Term Care)

Senate Bill No. 2035 - Geropsychiatric Nursing Unit. This bill provides an exception to the case mix system of nursing home reimbursement to allow for the establishment of one 14-bed geropsychiatric nursing unit within an existing nursing facility. (Budget Committee on Long-Term Care)

Senate Bill No. 2036 - Basic Care and Assisted Living Repeal. This bill repeals basic care and assisted living and creates an adult residential care facility classification. The bill becomes effective July 1, 2001, to allow time for development of new rules, policies, and procedures. (Budget Committee on Long-Term Care)

Senate Bill No. 2037 - Targeted Case Management. This bill provides for the implementation of a targeted case management program and a requirement that any Medicaid-eligible individual obtain a preadmission assessment to determine the type of services necessary to maintain that individual. The bill also provides that the department is to monitor the results of the targeted case management program to determine if the program should be extended to all individuals. (Budget Committee on Long-Term Care)

Senate Bill No. 2038 - Nursing Facility and Basic Care Bed Moratorium. This bill maintains the moratorium on nursing facility and basic care beds through the 1999-2001 biennium. The bill also provides an exception to the basic care bed moratorium for the establishment of a traumatic brain-injured facility in western North Dakota. (Budget Committee on Long-Term Care)

Senate Bill No. 2039 - Child Support Guidelines and Extended Visitation. This bill provides that the child support guidelines created by the Department of Human Services must include consideration of the length of time a minor child spends with the child's obligor parent. (Child Support Committee)

Senate Bill No. 2040 - Parental Rights and Duties and Visitation. This bill provides parents with specific rights and duties and provides that courts must include these rights and duties in child visitation orders. The bill also allows courts, as a part of child visitation enforcement proceedings, to use any appropriate remedy that is available to enforce a child support order. (Child Support Committee)

Senate Bill No. 2041 - School Construction Loans. This bill increases from $25 million to $40 million the limit for school construction loans made from the coal development trust. (Education Finance Committee)

Senate Bill No. 2042 - School District Payments. This bill allows for the withholding of state aid payments to a school district if the school district fails to make full and timely payments on any evidences of indebtedness sold to the Bond Bank. (Education Finance Committee)

Senate Bill No. 2043 - Information Technology Department. This bill establishes an information technology department to be responsible for all telecommunications selection for all state agencies and for counties, cities, and public elementary and secondary schools. The department replaces the Information Services Division. (Information Technology Committee)

Senate Bill No. 2044 - Legislative Council Information Technology Committee. This bill statutorily establishes the Legislative Council Information Technology Committee, which is responsible for establishing statewide goals and policy regarding information systems and technology, conducting studies of information technology efficiency and security, and reviewing the activities of the Information Technology Department. (Information Technology Committee)

Senate Bill No. 2045 - Public Health Law Consolidation. This bill consolidates the public health law into one chapter of the code, unifies the powers and duties of local public health units, and requires statewide participation in a public health unit. (Insurance and Health Care Committee)

Senate Bill No. 2046 - Partnership for Long-Term Care Program Repeal. This bill repeals the North Dakota Century Code chapter authorizing the partnership for long-term care program. (Insurance and Health Care Committee)

Senate Bill No. 2047 - Contingent Fee Arrangements. This bill provides that the Attorney General may not appoint a special assistant attorney general in a civil case in which the amount in controversy exceeds $150,000 and for which the special assistant attorney general is to be compensated by a contingent fee arrangement unless the arrangement is approved by the Emergency Commission. (Judiciary Committee)

Senate Bill No. 2048 - North Dakota Stockmen's Association Fee Collection Procedures. This bill provides that fees collected for certain services of the North Dakota Stockmen's Association must be remitted to the State Treasurer for deposit in the North Dakota Stockmen's Association fund. The bill makes a continuing appropriation of the moneys in the fund to the North Dakota Stockmen's Association. (Judiciary Committee)

Senate Bill No. 2049 - Safe Deposit Box Entry. This bill provides for an affidavit procedure whereby an interested person may have access to a safe deposit box after the death of the owner to determine if the box contains a will or other document that states the owner's wishes regarding funeral or burial arrangements. (Judiciary Committee)

Senate Bill No. 2050 - Local Gaming Enforcement Grants. This bill provides for local gaming enforcement grants to be distributed based on the prior quarter's adjusted gross proceeds instead of the current quarter's adjusted gross proceeds. (Legislative Audit and Fiscal Review Committee)

Senate Bill No. 2051 - School and Township Representation in City and County Property Tax Exemptions. This bill gives an affected school district or township the right to have a member participate as a nonvoting, ex officio member of the governing body of the city or county when that governing body is considering granting an exemption or the right to make payments in lieu of taxes for a new or expanding business. (Taxation Committee)

Senate Bill No. 2052 - Inundated Agricultural Property Assessment. This bill creates a separate property tax valuation category for inundated agricultural land. The bill limits the county average valuation for inundated lands to 10 percent of the valuation of noncropland for the county. (Taxation Committee)

Senate Bill No. 2053 - Agricultural Property Tax Valuation Formula Capitalization Rate Limit. This bill limits the capitalization rate used in the agricultural property tax valuation formula to no less than 10 percent and no more than 11 percent. (Taxation Committee)

Senate Bill No. 2054 - Agricultural Property Tax Valuation Formula Farmer Cost Index. This bill incorporates an index of prices paid by farmers in the agricultural property tax valuation formula. (Taxation Committee)

Senate Concurrent Resolution No. 4001 - Federal Block Grant Legislative Hearings. This resolution authorizes the Budget Section to hold legislative hearings required for receipt of federal block grant funds. (Budget Section)

Senate Concurrent Resolution No. 4002 - County Social Service Agency Cooperation. This resolution urges the continued cooperation and coordination among county social service agencies for the delivery and administration of social services in a cost-effective and efficient manner and provides for monitoring by the Legislative Council. (Budget Committee on Human Services)

Senate Concurrent Resolution No. 4003 - Department of Human Services Administrative Changes. This resolution urges the Department of Human Services to implement recommendations to improve its administrative structure and enhance its budget presentation methods and to report to the Legislative Council regarding implementation of the recommendations. (Budget Committee on Human Services)

Senate Concurrent Resolution No. 4004 - Rural Long-Term Care Beds Reduction Incentives Study. This resolution provides for a Legislative Council study of an incentives package to assist rural communities and nursing facilities in closing or significantly reducing bed capacity and providing alternative long-term care services. (Budget Committee on Long-Term Care)

Senate Concurrent Resolution No. 4005 - Legislative Redistricting Study. This resolution provides for a Legislative Council study of the state of the law and technology with respect to legislative redistricting. (Legislative Management Committee)