AN ACT to amend and reenact subdivision c of subsection 3 of section 12.1-31.2-02, subsection 1 of section 20.1-06-07, sections 37-17.1-02.1 and 37-17.1-06, subsections 1 and 4 of section 37-17.1-07, subsections 1, 2, and 5 of section 37-17.1-07.1, subsections 2 and 3 of section 37-17.1-11, sections 37-17.1-14, 37-17.1-14.1, 37-17.1-15, and 37-17.1-22, subsection 3 of section 37-17.1-28, section 37-17.3-01, subsection 1 of section 37-17.3-02.2, section 37-17.3-08, subdivision c of subsection 2 of section 39-01-01, sections 39-03-13.2 and 54-12-22, subsection 2 of section 54-12-32, subsection 1 of section 57-40.6-12, subsection 3 of section 61-16.2-03, and section 65-06-01 of the North Dakota Century Code, relating to the renaming of divisions within the department of emergency services.
HB 1079 is a broad technical and conforming bill that updates North Dakota law to reflect the renaming and reorganization of divisions within the Department of Emergency Services. The bill replaces references to the “state radio” division with the “state radio emergency communications center” and to the “division of homeland security and emergency management,” while also revising related definitions, committee memberships, reporting lines, and fee provisions across multiple chapters of the Century Code.
Beyond the renaming changes, the bill makes several operational updates tied to emergency communications, disaster response, and public safety systems. It addresses electronic entry of certain orders into the National Crime Information Center database, conditions for fishhouse registration on ice, statewide interoperability and radio system fees, silver alert and blue alert coordination, access to offender registration information, mutual aid, weather modification suspensions during disaster risk, disaster cost reimbursement, search and rescue reimbursement, floodplain management cooperation, and volunteer emergency worker definitions. The bill also preserves and clarifies existing fee structures and funding accounts for hazardous chemicals preparedness and response, including county and state accounts and reporting requirements under federal SARA Title III.
The bill’s impact on state law is primarily administrative and conforming, but it touches a wide range of affected agencies and stakeholders, including emergency services, law enforcement, counties and cities, the game and fish department, local emergency managers, hazardous chemical facility operators, and volunteer responders. It updates statutory references so that existing duties, powers, and funding mechanisms continue to operate under the new division names without interruption. It also maintains the legal framework for emergency communications infrastructure, public alert systems, and hazardous materials preparedness funding.
The overall sentiment appears strongly supportive and noncontroversial. The bill passed the House 93-0 and the Senate 46-1, indicating broad bipartisan agreement. The available record does not include committee debate, but the unanimous House vote and near-unanimous Senate vote suggest the measure was viewed as a routine but important housekeeping and modernization bill for emergency services administration.
There is little visible contention in the bill text itself, but the most likely areas of interest are the hazardous chemicals fee system, the integration of game and fish license information into law enforcement telecommunications systems, and the broad set of agencies whose statutes are being updated. Any concerns would likely center on administrative burden, fee administration, or interagency data-sharing, rather than the overall policy direction of the bill.
HB 1079 amends numerous sections of the North Dakota Century Code to conform statutory language to the renamed divisions within the Department of Emergency Services and to align related emergency-management, communications, and public-safety provisions. It updates references to the state radio emergency communications center and the homeland security and emergency management division, revises committee composition and reporting duties, and preserves existing funding and fee mechanisms for emergency communications and hazardous chemicals preparedness. The bill affects state agencies, local governments, emergency responders, hazardous chemical facilities, and volunteer emergency personnel, but does not create a new program so much as reorganize and modernize existing statutory references and procedures.
The bill appears to have been received positively and as largely noncontroversial. Its unanimous House passage and near-unanimous Senate passage indicate broad support across both chambers. The measure reads as a technical cleanup and administrative update, and the voting history suggests legislators generally agreed it was necessary to keep emergency services statutes consistent with the department’s reorganization.
No major contention is evident in the available record. The most potentially sensitive provisions are the hazardous chemicals fee system, the requirement that fishhouse registration depend on integration with law-enforcement telecommunications systems, and the expanded data-sharing and reporting provisions involving emergency communications and offender information. However, the overwhelming vote margins suggest any concerns were limited and did not generate significant opposition.