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March
15,
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 by the
House and Senate. The bill was signed into law by the Governor on
March 4. Some news on SB 2117, the Labor Comm'rs amendments to the ND
Human Rights Act. The House Industry, Business & Labor Committee's
hearing was this morning, and they took action this afternoon.
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. The bill has been referred to the House Industry,
Business and Labor Committee for hearing.
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. The bill has
been referred to the House Government and Veterans Affairs Committee
for hearing.
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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 Senate Education Committee approved the bill 6-0
do pass. The Senate voted for the bill, 45-0.
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. The amended bill was approved 13-0 do pass in the
Government and Veterans Affairs Committee. The House voted for the
amended bill, 89-1.
HCR
3019 – Establish Stable Water Supply for Standing Rock –
NDHRC supports:
The
amended resolution to establish a stable water supply for Standing
Rock was approved 14-0 do pass in the Natural Resources Committee.
The amended resolution was adopted by the House.
HCR
3031 – Study Tribal Relations –
NDHRC supports:
The study
of Tribal relations was approved 13-0 do pass in the Judiciary
Committee. The resolution was adopted by the House.
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. The Senate voted against the bill,
38-6.
SB
2041 - Hunting on Indian land; relating to transportation of
game and fish taken on Indian lands –
NDHRC supports:
View
NDHRC testimony
here. The bill relating to hunting on Indian land and
transportation of game and fish taken on Indian lands amendment was
approved 7-0 do pass in the Natural Resources Committee. The Senate
voted against the bill, 32-11. The bill was reconsidered by the
Senate, voted for 40-6. The bill has been referred to the House
Natural Resources Committee for hearing on March 3 at 9:00 a.m.
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Workers Compensation
HB
1119 – Worker’s Comp. Drug Testing –
NDHRC opposes:
View
NDHRC testimony
here. 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. The bill has been referred to the Senate Industry,
Business, and Labor Committee for hearing.
HB
1171 - Changes to Workers' Compensation Benefits for Injured
Workers – NDHRC opposes:
View NDHRC testimony
here.
The amendment to the bill changes to workers’ compensation benefits
for injured workers was approved 11-2 do pass in the House Industry,
Business & Labor Committee. The House voted for the bill, 63-24. The
bill has been referred to the Senate Industry, Business & Labor
Committee for hearing on February 28 at 9:00am.
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.
Thank you for your continued support.
