BISMARCK, N.D. – The North Dakota Legislature is considering a measure that requires the state health officer to be a practicing licensed physician. The Republican-backed bill comes after three health officers chosen by Gov. Doug Burgum quit during a time the coronavirus pandemic was worsening. Dirk Wilke, who has no medical training, has been the interim state health officer since…
BISMARCK, N.D. – The North Dakota House has endorsed a bill requiring the state’s courts to seal drunken driving records if the offender stays out of trouble for at least seven years. Representatives voted 89-3 on Monday to approve the bill that backers said was aimed at giving convicted drunken drivers who stay out of trouble better odds of getting…
(DEA photo)BISMARCK, N.D. (KVRR/KCND) – The North Dakota House has passed a bill which would add spoons, stericups and cotton syringe filters to the needle exchange program. The vote in the Human Services Committee was 7 to 6 for a “do pass.” Fargo Democratic Representative Gretchen Dobervich supports the measure. She says it would provide sterilized supplies that prevent the…
BISMARCK, N.D. – A bipartisan North Dakota bill that would have required clergy to be included in state law as mandatory reporters of child abuse has been withdrawn. West Fargo Republican Sen. Judy Lee withdrew the legislation on Friday, saying the bill has become a distraction. The Roman Catholic dioceses in Fargo and Bismarck had opposed the bill. Private discussions between…
FM Diversion BISMARCK, N.D. (KVRR/KCND) – The FM Diversion Project would receive $435.5 million from a Republican-sponsored bonding bill in the North Dakota legislature. “I know it’ll take a few years to get that done, but if we get that off the table, then we can start looking bigger” House Majority Leader Chet Pollert said. The $800 million bill also…
BISMARCK, N.D. – A plan by some members of the North Dakota Legislature to terminate a pandemic-related emergency declaration could discontinue food assistance to the state’s neediest residents. North Dakota and other states that have emergency orders in place have been getting additional money for food stamps under a package passed by Congress. If lawmakers end the emergency declaration, North…
BISMARCK, N.D. (KVRR/KCND) – The North Dakota Senate has defeated a measure that would allow medical marijuana patients to grow their own plants. Edinburg Republican Sen. Janna Myrdal said the Senate Judiciary Committee gave the measure a unanimous “do not pass” recommendation, after law enforcement raised concerns. The bill’s main sponsor, Minot Sen. Ole Larsen, told the Senate that he…
BISMARCK, N.D. (KVRR/KCND) – The North Dakota Senate Human Services Committee will hold hearings on three bills designed to help lower prescription costs. Two of the bills would allow North Dakota to buy medications wholesale from Canada. A third bill would use price data from the four most populous Canadian provinces to compare with U.S. drug prices, and set the…
BISMARCK (KVRR/KCND) – The North Dakota Senate has passed a bill to make not buckling up a “primary” offense. Right now, the law is a “secondary offense,” which means drivers must be stopped for another violation before the extra $25 is tacked on for not wearing a seat belt. Bismarck Republican Senator Mike Dwyer said law enforcement has been pleading…
BISMARCK, N.D. – A North Dakota lawmaker wants to ban the testing of wastewater for the coronavirus, saying the practice violates the privacy rights of college students. Republican Rep. Claire Cory introduced a bill that would prohibit wastewater testing “for genetic material or evidence of disease.” She says she brought the bill over concerns from people about wastewater testing tracing…
