[{"_1":2,"_112":-5,"_113":-5},"loaderData",{"_3":4,"_26":27},"root",{"_5":6,"_17":10,"_18":19,"_20":21,"_22":10,"_23":-5,"_24":-5,"_25":10},"user",{"_7":8,"_9":10,"_11":10,"_12":-5,"_13":-5,"_14":15,"_16":-5},"roles",[],"isAuthenticated",false,"isPremium","planName","subscriptionStatus","featureFlags",{},"insightsBudget","isDevelopmentHost","userPreferences",{},"recaptchaSiteKey","6LcvOJcUAAAAAHsB-gPGfGktcRlKpH7OTIU_dMTD","isImpersonating","impersonation","affiliateStatus","isFreedomPortal","routes/v2/article/layout",{"_28":29,"_30":31},"notFound",true,"relatedArticles",[32,76,88,100],{"_33":34,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":40,"_41":42,"_43":44,"_45":46,"_47":48,"_49":50,"_51":52,"_53":54,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":60,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":66,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},"mediaId",6342478,"mediaKeyId","2254810-4dfb736ca99026d54f345225486b7e2d","parentId",2254810,"title","Committee roundup: key Health Committee votes on a string of bills","audioSeconds",5447,"startMs",0,"endMs",5447000,"viewUrl","/Search/View?dp=1&key=2254810-4dfb736ca99026d54f345225486b7e2d&start=0&end=5447","thumbnailUrl","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2254810-4dfb736ca99026d54f345225486b7e2d/thumbnail_0.jpg","articleUrl","/articles/6342478/North-Dakota/Committee-roundup-key-Health-Committee-votes-on-a-string-of-bills","mediaUrl","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6342478-6002468f4c7d1d1812784e29867bfc4b/orig.mp4?Expires=1770604538&Signature=DIUwZdYJr-VphrGQqvbW08tWfBdYOKX5jMFKIha46V3MazNe8OrcUfzZ8QO~p118pQ4vbZ6tmiAt0tceMEwOpqtUS6OUrBOATasaSZw8uX3W2PGWxu803n-kIvTNgmwYjBiIwBb6evFoc3XqbfFFLKvtvEsNra63IiSnag90eJIvMBbBNthjXKVxS3V0e5UOimTFFnpb1~WCRsYNGeZtcxYw4ICSpngYCwbzPrnvTQyEV5vEkQA0yTCxHJUNEI93SSDwu4nsoeTBu0cbqXMAaACt-8L535z8gD~QyGH0mtuekeXkQTFBS2aUmyrDT365G-iSFHTS0BX~Cqtnoihp4A__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","author","North Dakota State Legislature","date","2025-02-10T00:00:00Z","article","The House Health Committee took formal votes on a series of bills during the session. Below are the bills, the committee disposition and the roll-call outcomes recorded by the clerk.

Votes at a glance

- House Bill 13-73: Motion for do not pass. Motion carries 11-1.
- House Bill 14-88: Motion for do not pass. Motion carries 12-0.
- House Bill 12-82: Motion for do not pass as amended. Motion carries 9-3.
- House Bill 12-84: After an initial fail on a due-pass motion, the committee later approved a do not pass as amended. Motion passed 7-6 (do not pass as amended).
- House Bill 14-77: Motion for do not pass. Motion carries 10-3.
- House Bill 14-78: Motion for do not pass. Motion carries 10-3.
- House Bill 14-51: Motion for do not pass. Motion carries 11-2.
- House Bill 14-52: Motion for do not pass. Motion carries 11-2.
- House Bill 15-19: Do pass as amended and re-refer to Appropriations. Motion carries 10-3.
- House Bill 14-64: Do pass as amended (see separate article). Motion carries 13-0.

Context and note on procedure

Several items on infertility and assisted reproductive technology were considered in pairs or groups during the session; the committee disposition varied by bill and by the presence of amendments. For bills where the committee adopted an amendment to exclude Medicare Part D or to change coverage language, the clerk’s roll call reflects the final amended motion. The committee also converted one bill, House Bill 15-66 (kratom), into a study (see separate article).

Clerk roll-call tallies cited above are the counts read on the record during the committee session. This roundup is a summary of recorded dispositions and not a full transcript of debate or amendment text; individual bills will appear separately in committee minutes and in the bill files with complete amendment language and fiscal notes.","mediaType","Video","parentTitle","House Human Services Mon, Feb 10, 2025","oneSentenceSummary","The House Health Committee recorded several disposition votes on bills spanning reproductive-health policy, infertility coverage, weight-loss drug coverage and other measures; this roundup lists each bill and the committee outcome with the clerk’s roll-call results where available.","taxTitle","Human Services, House of Representatives, Legislative, North Dakota","taxId",28893,"location","North Dakota","headline","","shortSummary",{"_33":77,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":78,"_41":79,"_43":80,"_45":81,"_47":82,"_49":83,"_51":84,"_53":85,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":86,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":87,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},6342483,"Committee approves time-series vaccine–death record study; members ask for clearer cause-of-death handling",656,3599000,4255000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=2254810-4dfb736ca99026d54f345225486b7e2d&start=3599&end=4255","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2254810-4dfb736ca99026d54f345225486b7e2d/thumbnail_3599000.jpg","/articles/6342483/North-Dakota/Committee-approves-time-series-vaccinedeath-record-study-members-ask-for-clearer-cause-of-death-handling","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6342483-f0722eaf915b14c41950e299ca60dc8c/orig.mp4?Expires=1770604538&Signature=CW5bWe3ypjl-iwH8u-z40wLeDmWlylSrTmoOdPrW25WAK6aNjxDmxvZFQpyV~w2ZV7TR~utX6BAoYLYfOZ1p1fkH-wglBXZLXzVxx6-zRARQcljBG2q2dnKp0aJFY11fHJwc4k5xpGp8XIde3YeZtym-88GGq98ga1n5ZjPVyQ5fU181NxCJwpTieCd9-wEuyqO9oBZeLgSaRi5qx2TSOp6CRPHZI8OIXIGCU6GcMVfKOTZLUKUoWvEid3XUBlvFdC9mjgMJRPoUhoaSgXu6zhtudjhai~trsXCzzqYj3ThtIHE6MffDsd5SwQCSF~g6SsBt3vITkXKNpgEehdO1XQ__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","The House Health Committee approved House Bill 15-19 as amended and re-referred it to Appropriations, sending the bill’s time-series vaccine and death-record linkage study forward for potential funding and program changes.

Representative Rohrer, sponsor of the measure, described technical corrections in the amendment (changing \"shall\" to \"must\" in the summary report requirement and correcting \"vaccine marker\" to \"vaccine manufacturer\") and said the amendment aligns the bill text with the sponsors’ intent.

\"If you guys recall, this is the time series studies that we were asking the immunization people and the death record people to participate in,\" Rohrer said, noting the changes fix typos and clarify reporting language.

Committee members raised methodological questions about whether the proposed descriptive dataset would reliably indicate causation and whether death-certificate cause-of-death fields would be included. Representative Dobrevitch urged that the bill be more explicit about including cause-of-death fields to avoid misinterpretation. \"I'm concerned about just the way that that Section 1 is written, that it will potentially be difficult to determine causation and correlation,\" Dobrevitch said.

Department staff said the project is principally descriptive and observational; its purpose is to compile and examine vaccination and mortality records for signals that could merit further study. Committee members were told that pulling data across systems would require program changes and some staff time; the fiscal note estimates modest work time for analytic staff.

Representative Rohrer moved a do-pass as amended and re-referral to Appropriations; Representative Hendricks seconded. The clerk recorded the roll call and the motion carried 10-3.

Committee members requested clearer documentation about which death-record fields (for example, listed cause of death) would be included in the compiled dataset and cautioned that observational linkage cannot by itself establish causation. The bill sponsor and agency were asked to ensure the appropriation request to Appropriations contains details on data elements and analytic methods.

The committee’s action advances the descriptive study to the appropriations process where funding and detailed implementation plans will be reviewed.","House Bill 15-19 was amended and advanced to appropriations to fund time-series linkage of vaccine and death records for descriptive study; committee members asked for more clarity on cause-of-death fields and data limitations before implementation.",{"_33":89,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":90,"_41":91,"_43":92,"_45":93,"_47":94,"_49":95,"_51":96,"_53":97,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":98,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":99,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},6342489,"Committee advances postpartum doula certification bill after waiving state fee and removing mandated coverage",745,2637000,3382000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=2254810-4dfb736ca99026d54f345225486b7e2d&start=2637&end=3382","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2254810-4dfb736ca99026d54f345225486b7e2d/thumbnail_2637000.jpg","/articles/6342489/North-Dakota/Committee-advances-postpartum-doula-certification-bill-after-waiving-state-fee-and-removing-mandated-coverage","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6342489-fe5bd0bfd867e951e6101fee16b71235/orig.mp4?Expires=1770604538&Signature=jPs60gB0-nmqy929RLCmnw4CHpQuGYkNZLTbZHUadXWGul8cM-X5P-0Wm6Q2UBJ-ONNsuOADqOLFqDY2Ci7ry-VYuUVlLCCkeLdfmJBL6X0zKZm1FhlE1k954J7Yo6dGethrb7oPp3GLYhpbFZcCcW5xfhfA3K-X57ecFLW7Sbtj4DNSPTH4f7vCyV7LEQRAonY7zGplX0I49jXBbWqUqTQkKOTz~i~LMwuDzPMg408cl4tD67gbT0EOHu4AqqOpr7B4LoVZjXhtH3WLS58Pp09IMkOyGLnhXcenF6tF4IoYIFtjRKpdGRdBdV1G3EaAKNutalfrUm5IjutUYdEAQw__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","The House Health Committee voted 13-0 to advance House Bill 14-64 as amended to create a postpartum doula certification and direct data collection on utilization, while removing a provision that would have mandated coverage.

Representative Dobrevitch, who led discussion on the bill, said the intent was to assure doula services are available to families using Medicaid without imposing a mandate on private insurers. \"The intention was to assure that it was available to any family utilizing Medicaid services. But it is not optional, they're not forced to, and there's no intention to make a mandate to PERS or to health insurance,\" Dobrevitch said.

Committee amendment language added a prohibition on charging an additional state doula licensure or certification fee and directed a report to Legislative Management during the interim. Representative Dobrevitch moved the amendment to add the fee waiver and data-collection requirement and Representative Anderson seconded; the voice vote carried.

Committee members expressed concern that codifying certification requirements could raise costs for doulas and reduce participation. Representative Freilich recounted a recent increase in external certification fees for doulas and urged a provision to avoid creating an additional state fee that would burden practitioners. \"I'm just worried that we're going to be increasing the cost of fees,\" Freilich said.

The committee later voted to remove section 2, which would have required mandated coverage, on a motion by Representative Balinski, seconded by Representative Rohrer; that amendment passed 13-0. With that change, the committee approved a do-pass as amended recommendation and the bill will move forward without a mandate to require private coverage. The committee discussion also added a data-collection requirement to report during the interim to Legislative Management so lawmakers can review utilization and cost information before further action.

The amendments aim to preserve access to doula certification and postpartum support for Medicaid recipients while minimizing new costs or mandates for insurers or doulas themselves. Committee members asked that the department and sponsor return with data addressing certification fees and program costs.

The committee recorded a 13-0 roll call in favor of the due pass as amended.","The House Health Committee advanced House Bill 14-64 as amended to create postpartum doula certification, waive an additional state certification fee, require data collection and remove a mandate to require coverage; the final committee vote was 13-0.",{"_33":101,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":102,"_41":103,"_43":104,"_45":105,"_47":106,"_49":107,"_51":108,"_53":109,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":110,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":111,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},6342493,"Committee converts kratom regulation bill into study after fiscal and implementation concerns",687,591000,1278000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=2254810-4dfb736ca99026d54f345225486b7e2d&start=591&end=1278","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2254810-4dfb736ca99026d54f345225486b7e2d/thumbnail_591000.jpg","/articles/6342493/North-Dakota/Committee-converts-kratom-regulation-bill-into-study-after-fiscal-and-implementation-concerns","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6342493-22ef2b64dd307ab74be2ad13a7eb4b38/orig.mp4?Expires=1770604538&Signature=DkrhLFJ5zrw7qgi0cNVMv0s8oB20l38T5rDJE8pu0Uqwukul~4lzmFEJiJIk5Vi4HYsWwoYCfveGlncX2TxhZmtZIZXDSBNyGC~8f7oao54bT41hf6ZuRjdvlAfMYAMJjRFlvQn7HJk80dfY87zwJ31msqS5S6dLFs7dqGJkoIJ-pLigoAWS4-gE42fvcMD5nD-8Bi50RYLKIwqRS5Ya38kKpXYo6ezn3vJMKY54-ehqBunCsGGKJTJruOsRj2cQDMyCx5jKL2Gu9X5qtE5ARL6i76Ky7gXR56OqeiifnlZPCSY9PJ3nU4EBGy00HrIoYgSvtr-Gdg7vurSlY08l4A__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","The House Health Committee on an amended voice vote converted House Bill 15-66, a bill proposing a product registration and licensure regime for kratom sales, into a study to give sponsors and state agencies more time to work through fiscal and implementation details.

Committee Chair Representative Ruby and Department of Health and Human Services staff raised fiscal concerns about the bill’s requirement for a state-approved product listing and an electronic registration system. Mr. Jason Wall, Department of Health and Human Services, told the committee the department expects significant IT and staffing costs if it must maintain a registry and verify each distinct kratom product and strain.

\"If the amendment did not remove the registered product listing, that is going to create expenses for the state, anticipating to get an IT solution to try to make this an electronic way for retailers to be able to submit documentation electronically to the department,\" Wall said.

The department also flagged workload tied to the sheer variety of kratom products. \"When you think about kratom, there are a number of different strains ... so if a product gets registered with the state... if they get another shipment in of capsules made with a different strain, the department would view that as specifically a different product type that would need to be registered,\" Wall said.

Committee members said those fiscal and operational uncertainties supported moving the bill to a study rather than advancing immediate regulatory requirements. Representative Freilich proposed the study motion and Representative Anderson seconded the motion to advance a do-pass recommendation as amended into a study; the clerks’ roll call showed the motion carried 11-1.

Representative Rohrer, who worked with the sponsor and industry on draft amendments, said the amendments sent to the department were a starting point for further work and stressed the sponsor bears responsibility for producing a form that will stand up to Senate review.

The committee’s action places the bill into a study process so the sponsor, industry representatives (including a Kratom Association lobbyist) and the Department of Health and Human Services can refine language, address the fiscal note and return with a clearer implementation plan.

What the committee did not decide was the underlying policy question of how kratom should be controlled—law enforcement, licensure, or product registration—only that more work is needed before imposing state-level registration and IT requirements.

The committee’s study recommendation preserves the department’s option to request changes to the amendment language and to continue negotiations with the sponsor and industry during the interim.

Votes at the committee on the amended motion were recorded by the clerk as 11 in favor, 1 opposed.

The bill will return later with the results of the study and any revised fiscal estimates and draft language for committee consideration.","The House Health Committee amended House Bill 15-66 to place kratom product regulation into a study, citing fiscal costs, IT needs and complex product variability; the motion to send the amended bill passed 11-1.","actionData","errors"]

Article not found

Committee roundup: key Health Committee votes on a string of bills

Committee approves time-series vaccine–death record study; members ask for clearer cause-of-death handling

Committee advances postpartum doula certification bill after waiving state fee and removing mandated coverage

Committee converts kratom regulation bill into study after fiscal and implementation concerns