The Senate voted 27-20 to pass House Bill 1298, a package that raises the speed limit on interstates I-94 and I-29 to 80 miles per hour, overhauls speeding-fee schedules and authorizes pilot variable-speed electronic signs on selected crash-prone highway segments.

Supporters said the bill simplifies fee schedules and creates stronger deterrents for high-speed violations while allowing the Department of Transportation and the North Dakota Highway Patrol to test variable speed zones at a small number of permanent electronic-sign sites. "It is the first time in several decades that the speeding fines are being increased in the 25 to 55 mile an hour speed limit zones," said Senator Rummel, a sponsor of the conference committee changes, describing new minimums and per-mile increases.

The bill replaces eight separate fine schedules with two: one for 25–65 mph zones with a $20 minimum and an increase of $3 per mile per hour over the limit, and one for zones above 65 mph with a $20 minimum and an increase of $5 per mile per hour over the limit. Both schedules add an extra $20 penalty once a driver is 16 miles per hour over the limit. The conference committee also removed the column of penalties that represented local ordinances allowing doubling of fines.

Lawmakers also converted proposed increases to driver's-license points for 29 frequent and serious violations into an interim study of the license-point systems and traffic-fee schedules to be carried out by the North Dakota Highway Patrol in coordination with local law enforcement.

Opponents warned the change could increase dangerous driving behavior. "People are gonna go faster than the speed limit," said Senator Dwyer, arguing that a higher posted limit will lead drivers to travel even faster and raise safety risks. Several senators raised enforcement concerns and questioned how temporary reduced limits on electronic signs would be used during adverse weather or construction.

Senator Grama said the variable-speed signs would be permanent electronic structures used selectively at identified pile-up crash sites and that only a small number of trial sites would be installed initially—one site to start, with up to five if the pilot is effective. Grama said the signs are intended primarily to slow commercial traffic in extreme weather and not to be a tool to issue tickets for incidental speed adjustments during brief adverse conditions.

Senator Rummel told colleagues the Department of Transportation already operates cameras on I-29 and I-94 and cited an average travel speed of 81.6 mph on those interstates; he said the bill's fee increases and new limits are meant to modify driving behavior and enforcement practice.

The conference committee adopted amendment 1,011 in place of the Senate's earlier amendment 1,003. The committee report was adopted and the bill advanced through second reading and final passage on the fourteenth order. Final passage tally: 27 yes, 20 no.

The bill as passed directs the Department of Transportation and the North Dakota Highway Patrol to conduct the authorized tests and report findings; the statute references in the bill amend sections of the North Dakota Century Code related to statutory fees and speed limits. Implementation details such as the exact locations and number of trial variable-speed signs, and the schedule for the Highway Patrol's interim study, were discussed but left to the agencies to finalize.

The bill also removes the ability for cities to double speeding fines by local ordinance and reduces the total number of statewide fine schedules from eight to two. Questions about enforcement intensity, potential effects on agricultural traffic, and whether officers will change enforcement thresholds were raised repeatedly during debate but no additional enforcement mandates were added to the bill.