Representative Hansen told the conference committee on Senate Bill 2002 that House conferees were willing to accept three reductions proposed by the Senate in order to keep several House priorities for the courts.

Hansen said the House would accept a 2% increase to the compensation grid instead of 3% (a reduction she estimated at $679,000), eliminate the family mediation program (about $138,000), and split the Senate proposal on courtroom audio/video equipment (a reduction of roughly $386,700). Hansen summarized the total decrease as roughly $1.2–1.3 million and said the adjusted audio/video funding would allow replacement of the oldest equipment and a small emergency fund.

In exchange, Hansen said the House wants to retain 1.5 administrative positions for the new juvenile court (to relieve workload on juvenile attorneys), keep two of the three proposed treatment courts with operating funding, fully fund interpreter services, and fully fund the Guardian ad Litem program that would move four contracted YouthWorks positions to full-time to expand services. Hansen described treatment courts as: “a mental health court in Bismarck, an ICWA court in Devil's Lake… and a veterans treatment court in Fargo.” She added, “ICWA is, federal law called the Indian Child Welfare Act.”

Senator Meyer asked whether the three treatment courts were equivalent; Hansen said the mental health court in Bismarck was her top priority and that the problem-solving courts deliver a strong return on investment because judges volunteer time and the courts can reduce incarceration time for participants.

The committee did not record a formal vote on these tradeoffs; members said they had reached tentative agreement on several items and planned further meetings to finalize the package and draft the necessary amendment language.