Senate Bill 2332, a proposal to create a Legacy Fund earnings‑backed emergency services and public safety fund, drew broad support from county and city officials, emergency responders and 9‑1‑1 coordinators during a State and Local Government Committee hearing.

Sponsor State Senator Josh Bauscher described the bill as a response to rural ambulance closures, aging volunteer bases and equipment shortfalls. “Our first responders, firefighters, paramedics, and law enforcement are the backbone of our communities,” Bauscher said in opening remarks, urging a dedicated funding stream to strengthen staffing, equipment and response capability.

The bill would create the Legacy Earnings Emergency Services and Public Safety Fund and an advisory board composed of statewide associations representing law enforcement, fire safety, EMS, emergency management and other stakeholders. Bauscher proposed directing $25 million from legacy fund earnings to seed the program and described potential priorities: recruiting and retaining responders, expanding rural emergency coverage, modernizing technology, supporting mental‑health response teams and encouraging interjurisdictional collaboration.

Representatives from the North Dakota EMS Association, League of Cities, Association of Counties, search‑and‑rescue organizations, and the North Dakota 9‑1‑1 Association testified in favor. Bill Kalanick of the North Dakota EMS Association said the group “welcome[s] the opportunity to serve on this committee,” and Matt Gardner of the League of Cities warned that property‑tax caps and existing budgetary pressures make state grants an important tool for local public safety needs.

Testimony included operational details and examples of local shortfalls: Danelle Presky of the Association of Counties said 21% of county property tax dollars support public safety; Sarah Miller, Barnes County 9‑1‑1 coordinator and president of the state 9‑1‑1 association, described rural response times of 40 minutes or more in parts of her county and noted the role of dispatchers as interim first responders in some incidents. Travis Bateman, representing Badlands Search and Rescue, described volunteer teams that lack stable funding for training, equipment and mission costs and said the bill would create a reliable funding source currently unavailable to nonprofit search‑and‑rescue groups.

Committee members questioned board size, membership and funding mechanics. Several senators expressed concern that a board with many members could be unwieldy and suggested a smaller core of voting members with additional nonvoting or ex‑officio advisors. Senator Bauscher said he intended to work with other legislative committees and stakeholders, including Appropriations, to refine board composition and statutory language and added members for search‑and‑rescue organizations and the statewide 9‑1‑1 association to the proposed list.

Witnesses and committee members also discussed how the proposed $25 million interacts with existing grant streams and the Strategic Investment and Improvement Fund (SIF). Supporters warned that grant substitution is a common risk and urged the committee to preserve or increase overall support for EMS and rural public safety rather than simply reallocating existing dollars.

No final committee vote on SB 2332 was recorded in the hearing; the committee closed testimony and assigned a carrier to move the bill forward for consideration. Sponsors indicated they would coordinate with Appropriations and other stakeholders to arrive at board makeup and funding mechanics before final action.

If enacted, the fund would be housed at the Department of Emergency Services and governed by an advisory board tasked with vetting grant applicants and setting program priorities. Testimony emphasized that many volunteer and nonprofit response organizations currently have no stable government funding and that a dedicated state program could support training, equipment, recruitment and interjurisdictional cooperation.

Committee members asked for additional data and follow‑up on response‑time studies from Department of Health and Human Services material cited in witnesses’ testimony to inform appropriation and program design.

The hearing closed with committee leaders asking legislative staff to coordinate next steps with Appropriations to resolve question of money flows, board size and statutory priorities.