Senate Bill 2358, a short measure to permit rural ambulance districts to provide compensation or expense reimbursement to elected board members, received a brief hearing before the State and Local Government Committee.

Bill Kolonik, representing the North Dakota EMS Association, said the change responds to difficulty recruiting volunteers to serve on newly authorized rural ambulance district boards and that the organization supports permitting locally formed districts to set compensation or expense reimbursement amounts. Kolonik said the bill intentionally leaves the amount unspecified so local districts can determine appropriate levels, and he suggested a legislative per‑diem comparable to other boards as one option.

Committee members raised practical questions about funding sources and whether stipends would divert money from operations. Kolonik told the committee that most ambulance districts have a local property‑tax base and that compensation or reimbursement would be funded locally, not from the state EMS grant program, which generally reimburses staffing and equipment.

Senators also discussed whether modest compensation could offset board members’ costs and help increase participation, and whether limits or a standard reimbursement policy should be included in statute. The witness and committee members were generally open to a modest, locally determined reimbursement to offset travel and time costs.

The hearing closed without a recorded committee vote on SB 2358 during the session captured in the transcript.