A BILL for an Act to create and enact a new section to chapter 37-01 of the North Dakota Century Code; relating to the deployment of the North Dakota national guard; and to declare an emergency.
Summary
HB 1315 would add a new section to North Dakota law governing when the governor may deploy the North Dakota National Guard into “active duty combat.” The bill defines that term to include participation in armed conflict, hazardous service related to armed conflict in a foreign state, or duty through an instrumentality of war. Under the bill, the Guard could not be released from the state into active duty combat unless Congress had either declared war or taken an explicit constitutional action to call forth the Guard for executing federal laws, repelling an invasion, or suppressing an insurrection.
The bill also directs the governor to take all actions necessary to comply with these restrictions, while preserving the governor’s ability to consent to National Guard deployments under Title 32 of the U.S. Code for domestic defense support to civil authorities within the United States and U.S. territories. It was drafted as an emergency measure, meaning it would have taken effect immediately if enacted.
Impact
If enacted, HB 1315 would have constrained the circumstances under which North Dakota could send its National Guard into federal active duty combat, tying deployment authority to a formal congressional declaration of war or a specific constitutional call-up. It would have affected state executive authority over the Guard and added a state-law limitation in chapter 37-01 of the North Dakota Century Code, while leaving intact Title 32 domestic missions and other non-combat support roles. Because the bill failed on House second reading, no statutory change resulted.
Sentiment
The available voting history suggests the bill did not have broad legislative support: it failed on House second reading by a vote of 10 yeas to 84 nays. No committee transcripts are available, so there is no recorded floor or committee debate to show detailed arguments, but the lopsided vote indicates the chamber largely opposed the proposal. The bill’s introduction by a group of Republican legislators suggests it had support from a limited faction rather than the full caucus.
Contention
The central point of contention was likely the bill’s attempt to limit the governor’s and federal government’s ability to deploy the National Guard into combat absent a formal declaration of war or explicit congressional call-up. Supporters appear to have favored a stricter constitutional standard for combat deployments and greater state control over the Guard, while opponents likely viewed the measure as an improper or unnecessary restriction on existing military and executive authority. The bill’s preservation of Title 32 domestic missions suggests an effort to narrow, rather than eliminate, deployment authority, but the overwhelming defeat indicates that restriction itself was controversial.