Febuary 8, 2013 Legislative Update

An update on all the votes in the Senate on Thursday, February 7, 2013.

• SB 2305, which would place unreasonable and burdensome regulations on the Red River Women's Clinic, passed by a vote of 30-17.
• SCR 4009, a constitutional personhood amendment, placing the issue on the ballot in November 2014, passed by a vote of 26-21.
• SB 2302, an "ethical treatment of embryos" bill, failed by a vote of 18-29.
• Finally, the Personhood bill SB 2303 was successfully amended on the floor to add universal medical coverage for pregnant women. It passed by a vote of 25-22. Because the amendment has a fiscal impact, the bill was reconsidered and referred to the budget committee (appropriations). A hearing in appropriations is scheduled for 2/13 at 11:15am. It will return to the Senate floor after the appropriations committee makes a recommendation. We still have an opportunity to defeat this bill in the Senate. Thank your Senator if they voted no to ensure they keep that position. Only two more need to vote no to defeat it. 2305 and 4009 now go to the House for consideration.

You can see how your Senator voted here. Scroll through the document to see the votes on each bill and amendment.


You can watch yesterday’s debate here.


Today the House will debate and vote on 1305 and 1456 House today. 1456 is a near total ban on abortion in ND - abortion banned as soon as a heartbeat is detected. There are no exemptions for health of the woman, rape or incest. Call your representative today: 888-635-3447 to leave a message.


Click here to download the most updated tracking grid.


There is a hearing of great interest next week. We should all be greatly interested in seeing an ethics commission for the state of ND. The number of inaccuracies presented on the Senate floor call for a review of ethics but there is no entity to file a complaint.  As an example, Senator Berry stated on the floor that 2305 is not intended to close the one abortion clinic in ND. But, if you were to review the materials from the bills proponent, North Dakota Right to Life, you will see they are promoting the bill as a means to close the clinic. We need to stand strong to call for an ethics commission.

HB 1442

Relating to the establishment of a state ethics commission; and to provide a penalty.

Date	​Chamber	​Action	​Journal	​Measure Version	​FN	​Enhanced View
​01/21/2013	​House	​Introduced, first reading, referred Government and Veterans Affairs Committee	HJ 181	13.0763.01000	​FN	13.0763.01000
​02/14/2013	​House	​Committee Hearing - 08:00 AM