[{"_1":2,"_88":-5,"_89":-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],{"_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",6337179,"mediaKeyId","2274136-8f564d5f4fb648e4c3ee98b43e41cb57","parentId",2274136,"title","House Industry, Business and Labor Committee advances several bills, holds or rejects others","audioSeconds",3230,"startMs",1695000,"endMs",4925000,"viewUrl","/Search/View?dp=1&key=2274136-8f564d5f4fb648e4c3ee98b43e41cb57&start=1695&end=4925","thumbnailUrl","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2274136-8f564d5f4fb648e4c3ee98b43e41cb57/thumbnail_1695000.jpg","articleUrl","/articles/6337179/North-Dakota/House-Industry-Business-and-Labor-Committee-advances-several-bills-holds-or-rejects-others","mediaUrl","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6337179-cdec6fb85a1a240f781f497e78f9fc45/orig.mp4?Expires=1771216544&Signature=Wwp3g4Jar5nm8pHJCP3aznwyMFv5f3UqMP4v0R8ICSS7zQUPBAE0yGz7V5QBwc8RmkjAHfnvNEBBvR2KMf51xhMV6~dbdUfiKx893PMbCB0lhkR0RvQQwqnTI1qA1Kgck1abU98zUIbI4mVYpvIlbadovyijtkW~q2lK0FCwjCKc3-nB-N7JI-NBRGWrGe~UMgiIJJ8h2F7YN-80JqMDIZOaXK-Sb3iw51w7JZxzYJytuUEM~TiFNqSrsLh-1EZ6QVBv02eiwWJR5DU~dXjnps2jYpYDPJI6nj-U-hk-97UIXsFRgzmgJ7Lg~8Bk842la1-HdapEOMxeZ1D6iiST6w__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","author","North Dakota State Legislature","date","2025-02-12T00:00:00Z","article","BISMARCK — The House Industry, Business and Labor Committee took action on several bills during its session, adopting amendments and issuing committee recommendations on a group of measures ranging from agency authority to ethics enforcement and investments.

Among bills that moved forward, the committee adopted amendments and issued due-pass recommendations on a measure clarifying duties and appeal language for the Department of Financial Institutions, a bill removing annual automatic adjustments from a workers’ compensation-related measure, and a bill creating a legislative committee on government efficiency. Committee members also amended a proposal on gold and silver investments to remove an explicit reference to the general fund before approving it as amended.

Lawmakers held over or continued work on other bills. The blockchain/digital-asset-mining bill was revised to remove language that would have exempted mining operations from money-transmitter regulation; the Department of Financial Institutions indicated the revised language resolved its principal regulatory concern but committee members asked that local zoning and noise issues be worked out before further action. An ethics-related bill that would have restricted use of public funds for private organizations’ political activity drew extended debate and ultimately failed to get committee approval.

Key committee actions (votes at a glance):

- House Bill 1127 (DFI duties): Committee adopted an amendment restoring language that allows a previously disciplined officer or employee to seek termination of a final order after a specified period; committee voted to give the bill a due pass as amended. (Motion: due pass as amended; mover: Representative Volmer; second: Representative Bail.)

- Gold and silver investments (state-treasury allocation amendment): Committee adopted an amendment removing “including the general fund” from the bill and voted to give the measure a due pass as amended. (Mover: Representative Koppelman.)

- House Bill 1423 (workers’ compensation-related caps and CPI language): Committee removed automatic CPI indexing language and voted to give the bill a due pass as amended.

- House Bill 1442 (creation of a Committee on Government Efficiency): Committee amended appointments language to give majority leaders appointment authority instead of Legislative Management and adjusted meeting frequency language; committee voted to give the bill a do-pass recommendation. (Mover: Representative Koppelman.)

- House Bill 1239 (blockchain/digital asset mining): Committee and the Department of Financial Institutions worked to neutralize money-transmitter language; committee held the bill over pending finalized drafting on the financial-regulation language and additional local zoning/noise concerns.

- House Bill 1141 (ethics/limits on public funds used for political activity): After extended debate and amendment that set a civil penalty amount at $500, the committee ultimately voted to recommend a do-not-pass on the amended bill.

Committee members asked departments and bill sponsors to prepare clarified bill language where technical or local concerns remain, and several members urged further review of local zoning, noise, and administrative-rule options before moving certain proposals to the floor.

Votes and procedural outcomes recorded in the committee transcript were taken by voice and roll call; where the committee completed a roll-call tally the committee record was appended to the bill file.

Committee clerks assigned floor carriers for several bills that received due-pass recommendations.","mediaType","Video","parentTitle","House Industry, Business and Labor Wednesday, Feb 12, 2025","oneSentenceSummary","At its committee meeting lawmakers recommended passage of multiple bills (including a DFI duties bill and a government-efficiency panel) and held or rejected others; committee amended several measures before votes.","taxTitle","Industry, Business and Labor, House of Representatives, Legislative, North Dakota","taxId",28894,"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},6337184,"Committee backs bill to make corrections employee work schedules exempt from open records",1266,400000,1666000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=2274136-8f564d5f4fb648e4c3ee98b43e41cb57&start=400&end=1666","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2274136-8f564d5f4fb648e4c3ee98b43e41cb57/thumbnail_400000.jpg","/articles/6337184/North-Dakota/Committee-backs-bill-to-make-corrections-employee-work-schedules-exempt-from-open-records","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6337184-03b2ac254478bd6d5851d182e7e433bc/orig.mp4?Expires=1771216544&Signature=oHG8mOURQQRuyIGrXfvmxOQu4z0maOpqIWdScjqy5ftGbOIJc~nOxMJftaEK9Gjvoeh-NiltMcAgKWP-S8E-FfaAK4NAQ1Om9dG2Vx5-JIbySjACNtdYdEapoLAHNxnzVOzlySqNW9XhFNEan2zKR0ewK9HW7~uFCZLEZRJHwzaai0ULXX4Y7aKIZjBxf1m0xlv4XIUPcfJg1EOdUTEYteXqva5lebIZ9TXFMYYQotdHsfOt4S9yswjXLADUi~q8JdPiuHKXYR0Ls5LIQEEzuyAIyTi-yE8uvLhvDNSvBcLwmRcNxIJU3NTnpM7KLU-SZ6ZrbLVJybCKCjeNbLhH9g__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","BISMARCK — The House Industry, Business and Labor Committee voted to give House Bill 1415 a favorable recommendation after lawmakers heard testimony that public access to employee work schedules at the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation creates safety risks.

Representative Emily O’Brien, sponsor of House Bill 1415, told the committee the measure “would add the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation employee work schedules as exempt records.” She said the change is prompted by an incident in which a staff member shared nursing schedules with a recently released resident, and that the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (DOCR) is not currently treated as a law-enforcement agency for the open-records exemption that protects some schedules.

The bill’s supporters told the committee the exemption is needed for two main reasons: worker safety and facility security. Travis Singlehart, identified in the hearing as a human-resources official with the North Dakota Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, told lawmakers that public access to schedules could allow “a bad actor” to time actions such as escape attempts or target staff involved in special investigations. Singlehart asked the committee for a “favorable due pass recommendation.”

Committee members pressed sponsors and DOCR witnesses on alternatives. Several members asked whether the department could address the issue by internal policy or administrative rule rather than statute. Witnesses said internal policy could limit sharing among employees but would not stop public requests under existing open-records law; as written today, schedules outside law-enforcement agencies are available on request, and statute, not agency policy, determines whether a record is exempt.

Lawmakers also asked for factual details about the reported incident. Committee members were told an employee used a personal cell phone inside a facility to take a photo of nursing schedules and sent it to a recently paroled person; the employee was later terminated for multiple violations. Department witnesses said they could not discipline that employee specifically for sharing the schedules because they later learned the schedules were public records under current statute.

The committee debated whether the measure could invite other agencies to seek similar exemptions. Representative Schatz and others suggested that if DOCR qualifies for protection, other departments might follow. Supporters said DOCR faces distinct security challenges because of the population it supervises.

Representative Ruby moved and Representative Casper seconded a motion to give House Bill 1415 a due pass. The committee adopted the motion. The committee selected Representative Finley DeVille to carry the bill forward.

The bill now moves to the House floor for further consideration.","The House Industry, Business and Labor Committee voted to give House Bill 1415 a favorable recommendation after testimony that releasing Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation work schedules poses safety risks for staff and secure facilities.","actionData","errors"]

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House Industry, Business and Labor Committee advances several bills, holds or rejects others

Committee backs bill to make corrections employee work schedules exempt from open records