AN ACT to amend and reenact section 1-01-49, subdivision g of subsection 1 of section 12.1-32-15, subdivision b of subsection 1 of section 14-07.6-01, section 18-01-36, subdivision j of subsection 4 of section 27-20.3-16, subsection 19 of section 45-13-01, subsection 7 of section 49-02-02, section 52-02-18, subsection 5 of section 54-10-28, section 54-52.6-02.2, subsection 3 of section 57-02-08.8, subsection 2 of section 57-38-30.3, and subsection 1 of section 57-40.5-03 of the North Dakota Century Code, relating to technical corrections and improper, inaccurate, redundant, missing, or obsolete references; to repeal sections 1-01-18, 1-01-20, 1-01-21, 1-01-27, 1-01-29, 1-01-30, 1-01-36, 1-01-40, 1-01-41, 1-01-42, 1-01-45, 1-01-46, 1-01-47, and 1-01-51 of the North Dakota Century Code, relating to technical corrections and improper, inaccurate, redundant, missing, or obsolete references; and to provide an effective date.
HB 1031 is a broad technical-corrections bill that updates multiple sections of the North Dakota Century Code to fix improper, inaccurate, redundant, missing, or obsolete references. It revises general statutory definitions in section 1-01-49, including definitions for terms such as person, sex, female, male, organization, and other common legal terms, and it also updates references in a range of subject areas including criminal law, domestic violence procedures, child welfare, energy regulation, job service audits, information technology oversight, retirement administration, tax law, and veterans’ benefits.
The bill also makes targeted substantive changes in a few areas. Most notably, it creates a new election window for certain eligible state employees to move from the public employees retirement system main plan to the defined contribution plan, with an associated lump-sum transfer and an additional state employer contribution for up to three years. It also adds and updates income tax deductions and exemptions, including deductions for organ donation-related expenses, military pay, retired military benefits, social security benefits, and retired law enforcement benefits, and it clarifies or updates exemptions for disabled veterans and other tax-related provisions. Several obsolete definitional statutes are repealed.
In terms of impact on state law, the bill primarily modernizes cross-references and cleans up statutory language across the code, reducing the risk of conflicts or outdated citations. It affects agencies and programs such as the insurance commissioner, state auditor, job service North Dakota, the Public Employees Retirement System board, the tax commissioner, and local assessors, while also affecting taxpayers, state employees, veterans, retirees, and parties involved in domestic violence and sexual offender-related statutes. The bill’s effective date is immediate for most provisions, with the tax-related changes applying to taxable years beginning after December 31, 2024.
The overall sentiment around the bill appears strongly favorable and noncontroversial. It passed both chambers unanimously, with 91-0 in the House and 47-0 in the Senate, and there is no recorded committee opposition or transcript debate in the provided materials. That voting pattern suggests broad agreement that the bill is a routine cleanup measure with a few policy updates that were acceptable to both chambers.
No notable contention is reflected in the available record. Because the bill bundles many technical corrections with a handful of substantive changes—especially the retirement-plan election and the revised statutory definitions—those topics could have drawn scrutiny in another setting, but the votes and absence of recorded discussion indicate no visible disagreement in this case.
HB 1031 amends numerous sections of the Century Code to correct references, update definitions, and remove obsolete provisions. It also changes retirement-plan election rules for certain eligible state employees, adjusts tax deductions and exemptions for items such as organ donation expenses, military and retired public-safety income, and veterans’ benefits, and updates administrative provisions affecting state agencies and audits. The bill repeals several outdated general-definition statutes and takes effect mostly upon enactment, with tax changes effective for taxable years beginning after December 31, 2024.
The bill was received as a routine technical cleanup measure and passed both chambers unanimously, indicating broad bipartisan support and little to no opposition. The absence of committee transcript discussion in the provided record and the 91-0 House vote and 47-0 Senate vote suggest the bill was viewed as noncontroversial, with its technical corrections and limited policy updates generally accepted by legislators.
No significant contention is evident in the available materials. The only provisions that might have prompted policy discussion are the revised statutory definitions in section 1-01-49, the retirement-plan transfer option for eligible state employees, and the new or expanded tax deductions and exemptions, but the unanimous votes and lack of recorded debate suggest these issues did not generate visible disagreement during consideration of the bill.