LEGISLATIVE UPDATE

February 14, 2005                                                                                 Fargo, North Dakota

North Dakota Human Rights Coalition

Legislative Activity this Week

During this legislative session, we are following several bills that affect human rights.  Below is a listing of the bills and their current status in the legislature.

For more information on any of these bills, go to: http://www.state.nd.us/lr/assembly/59-2005/leginfo/bill-inquiry/index.html

Discrimination

HB 1130 – Amendments to the North Dakota Human Rights Act – NDHRC supports:

The amendments to the ND Human Rights Act were approved 14-0 do pass in the Judiciary Committee.  The House voted for the bill, 92-0.  The bill has been referred to the Senate Judiciary Committee for hearing.

HB 1158 – Amendments to the North Dakota Housing Discrimination Act – NDHRC opposes:

The amendments to the ND Housing Discrimination Act were approved 9-5 do pass in the Judiciary Committee.  The House voted for the bill, 81-7.  The bill has been referred to the Senate Judiciary Committee for hearing on February 15 at 11:15 a.m.

SB 2117 - Amendments to the North Dakota Housing Discrimination Act – NDHRC opposes:

The amendments to the ND Housing Discrimination Act were approved 7-0 do pass in the Industry, Business and Labor Committee.  The Senate voted for the bill, 47-0.

SB 2245 – Change the Name of the Department of Labor to the Department of Labor and Human Rights – NDHRC supports:

The name change was approved 6-0 do pass in the Senate Industry, Business & Labor Committee.  The Senate voted for the bill, 31-10.

SB 2337 – North Dakota Commission on Human Rights – NDHRC supports:

Senator Mathern introduced an amendment to replace the original bill.  Instead of a commission, the bill would provide for a seven-member volunteer advisory committee to the Labor Department, to be appointed by the governor.  The Senate voted against the original and amended bill.  The motion to replace the bill with the amendment lost on party lines, 32-15, and the original bill calling for a commission then lost, 30-17.

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Home and Community Based Services

SB 2185 – Workers with Disabilities Program – NDHRC supports:

The workers with disabilities coverage was approved 15-0 do pass in the Appropriations Committee.  The Senate voted for on the bill, 47-0.  The bill has been referred to the House Human Services Committee for hearing on February 15 at 10:00 a.m.

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Tribal Issues

HB 1081 – Notification Between School Districts and Indian Tribes – NDHRC supports:

The notification between school districts and Indian Tribes amendment was approved 14-0 do pass in the Education Committee.  The House voted for the bill, 92-0.  The bill has been referred to the Senate Education Committee for hearing on February 15 at 9:30 a.m.

HB 1254 – Tribal Government Identity Cards Use in Voter Identification – NDHRC supports:

The bill to add Tribal identity cards for voting was scheduled to be heard before the Government and Veterans Affairs Committee on January 28 at 8:00 a.m.

HCR 3019 – Establish Stable Water Supply for Standing Rock – NDHRC supports:

The bill to establish a stable water supply for Standing Rock was scheduled to be heard before the Natural Resources Committee on February 11 at 9:00 a.m.

HCR 3031 – Study Tribal Relations – NDHRC supports:

The study of Tribal relations was approved 13-0 do pass in the Judiciary Committee.

SB 2320 – State Tribal Relation Committee – NDHRC supports:

The state Tribal relation committee was not approved 6-0 do not pass in the Political Subdivisions Committee.

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Workers Compensation

HB 1119 – Worker’s Comp. Drug Testing – NDHRC opposes:

The worker’s comp. drug testing was approved 10-4 do pass in the Industry, Business and Labor Committee.  The House voted for the bill, 57-31.  The bill has no safe guards or provisions for false positives, rehabilitation or wrongful and harmful decisions then made by the bureau.

SB 2381 –Worker's Comp. Bureau Reclaim Lost Wages – NDHRC opposes:

The worker’s comp. bureau amendment was approved 4-2 do pass in the Judiciary Committee.  The Senate voted against the bill, 21-26.  The amendment made claimants medical records open, if an injured employee or injured employee's representative voluntarily discloses claim information to the public, the injured employee waives the confidentiality of this section to the extent necessary for the organization to respond to the disclosure.

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North Dakota Human Rights Coalition represents its members, all people in North Dakota, and any individual who has experienced a violation of his or her human rights and those most likely to experience discrimination.

Also, please consider becoming a member of the NDHRC.  The more members we have, the stronger our voices can be heard.  Membership information is available at http://ndhrc.org/membership_form_revised.htm.