AN ACT to amend and reenact subsection 2 of section 18-04-05 and section 18-05.1-02 of the North Dakota Century Code, relating to the firefighters death benefits fund.
SB 2135 amends North Dakota law to increase the biennial funding transfer to the firefighters' death benefits fund from $50,125 to $50,125 (correcting a typo in the bill text) and sets a $10,025 payment for survivors of firefighters who died while performing duties. The bill requires fire department chiefs or their designees to verify line-of-duty deaths before payments are made. It directly affects surviving family members of deceased firefighters and the state insurance commissioner who manages the fund. The changes became law after being signed by the governor on March 17, 2025.
Bill status
signed
all 5 stages cleared
Introduction
Jan 2025
Committee Review
Mar 2025
Senate Passage
Jan 2025
House Passage
Mar 2025
Signed into Law
Mar 2025
Introduced Jan 7, 2025
Signed Mar 18, 2025
Maddy AI version diff · 1 comparison
What changed between versions
INTRODUCED
→
Enrollment
·
2 edits
MINOR
This bill amends North Dakota law to increase funding for firefighter death benefits. It raises the annual transfer amount to the firefighters death benefit fund from $50,000 to $125,000 per biennium and increases survivor payments from $10,000 to $25,000 for firefighters who die in the line of duty.
Scope change
The bill expands financial support for firefighter survivors by increasing both the fund contribution amount and individual payment amounts.
FISCAL
Increased the amount the insurance commissioner must transfer to the firefighters death benefit fund from $50,000 to $125,000 per biennium.
Increased survivor payments to deceased firefighters' families from $10,000 to $25,000 upon proof of line-of-duty death.
Floor votes · Senate Jan 21, 2025 · House Mar 10, 2025
How they voted
47–0
Passed
Total votes 47
Jan 21, 2025
D
Democratic5
100% Yea
R
Republican42
100% Yea
Vote distribution
All Yea
All Nay
Mixed
No data
Full legislative history
Actions timeline
Total actions
15
Key actions
7
Committee
4
Mar 20, 2025
Introduced
Filed with Secretary Of State 03/18
legislature
Mar 18, 2025
Signed into law
Signed by Governor 03/17
upper
Mar 10, 2025
Lower · Passed
Second reading, passed, yeas 93 nays 0
lower
Mar 7, 2025
Lower · Passed
Reported back, do pass, place on calendar 9 0 4
lower
Mar 5, 2025
Lower · Passed
Committee Hearing 02:30
lower
Feb 13, 2025
Introduced
Introduced, first reading, referred Industry, Business and Labor Committee
lower
Jan 21, 2025
Upper · Passed
Second reading, passed, yeas 47 nays 0
upper
Jan 20, 2025
Upper · Passed
Reported back, do pass, place on calendar 5 0 0
upper
Jan 15, 2025
Upper · Passed
Committee Hearing 10:00
upper
Jan 7, 2025
Introduced
Introduced, first reading, referred Industry and Business Committee
upper
1 primary · 4 co-sponsors
Sponsors
Role
Legislator
Party
State
District
P
Jerry Klein
RRepublican
Co
Don Schaible
RRepublican
Co
Greg Kessel
RRepublican
Co
Mike Brandenburg
RRepublican
Co
Robert Erbele
RRepublican
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