AN ACT to amend and reenact section 24-01-01.2 of the North Dakota Century Code, relating to the length of the state highway system.
Summary
HB 1053 amends North Dakota Century Code section 24-01-01.2 to restate the statutory cap on the size of the state highway system. Under current law, the state highway system may not exceed 7 percent of the state’s total road mileage and, in any event, may not exceed 7,700 miles. The bill keeps that framework in place and updates the law governing the maximum length of the state highway system.
The measure is a technical transportation bill requested by the Department of Transportation. It does not create a new program or funding source, but it preserves the existing mileage limit that defines the boundaries of the state highway network and helps govern which roads remain under state control versus local control.
Impact
HB 1053 affects North Dakota’s transportation code by amending the mileage limitation for the state highway system in section 24-01-01.2. The practical effect is to maintain the statutory ceiling on the total length of state highways at 7,700 miles, while also preserving the 7 percent cap relative to statewide road mileage. The bill primarily affects the Department of Transportation and state/local road classification decisions, rather than private parties.
Sentiment
The bill appears to have been broadly supported and largely noncontroversial. It passed the House unanimously and received strong bipartisan support in the Senate, with only a small number of dissenting votes on later Senate action. The voting pattern suggests general agreement that the measure is a routine or technical update to transportation law rather than a major policy change.
Contention
There is little evidence of substantive contention in the available record, and no committee transcript is provided. The only notable point is the small number of Senate no votes, which may indicate limited disagreement over the need for the amendment or its effect on highway system limits. Otherwise, the bill’s request from the Department of Transportation and its narrow subject matter suggest it was treated as a housekeeping measure.
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AN ACT to amend and reenact sections 47-20.2-01, 47-20.2-02, 47-20.2-03, 47-20.2-05, and 47-20.2-06 of the North Dakota Century Code, relating to the North Dakota coordinate system zones.