TFND tracks how the legislature votes regarding bills we support and bills we oppose. This section is for information purposes only and is not intended to be an endorsement for any legislator.
Methodology
Each vote is tallied with a “0” or a “1”. A “1” represents a legislator for a bill in favor with TFND’s position (example: voting for a bill we support gets a 1; voting against a bill we don’t support also gets a 1). The numbers are then tallied to show a total and percentage of how frequently each legislator voted with TFND.
The 2023 legislative session is over, and we are thankful for the work of the legislature. This session was a mixed bag for TFND. We scored huge wins in policy with increased funding for tobacco prevention and control in House Bill 1004 and with the electronic tobacco products licensing requirements in House Bill 1412. Lawmakers voted to undercut the state’s smoke-free air law in House Bill 1229 by allowing cigar lounges in places that aren’t currently covered by local smoke-free ordinances. We are sad to see an important protection for citizens rolled back, especially one that was approved by 2/3 of North Dakota voters to enact it in 2012. In light of this, we will continue to work to protect smoke-free spaces for all North Dakotans. Below is an explanation of each bill TFND followed for the 2023 legislative session:
HB1004: This is the appropriation bill for the Health Division of the North Dakota Department of Health and Human Services, which includes funding for the state tobacco program and local tobacco prevention grants. This bill has multiple positive developments for tobacco prevention, including an $800,000 increase in state funding. This increase brings North Dakota above the CDC recommended minimum in state tobacco funding, a massive public health accomplishment! The increases are $500,000 for tobacco prevention grants and $300,000 specifically targeting youth vaping prevention grants. The bill also outlines that 80 percent of all the money received from the state’s settlement with JUUL will be deposited into the Community Health Trust Fund. After many back-and-forth committee meetings (as is typical with all appropriations bills), the House passed the bill with 79 yeas, 12 nays. The Senate passed the bill with 41 yeas, 6 nays.
HB1229: This is the industry-backed “cigar bar bill” that appeared for a third consecutive session. The original version would have allowed bars to allow smoking indoors if they met a 2% sales threshold. The bill also stated, “The [tax] commissioner is not required to confirm the accuracy of information reported but may not issue a certificate absent supporting documentation from the bar or lounge.” Similar language would also establish lounges in North Dakota. The lounge threshold was marginally higher at 20%. The house passed the bill in its original form. TFND strongly opposed this bill and spent weeks at the capitol trying to defeat it in both chambers.
With the help of many advocates and more than 1,500 people emailing, signing support cards, submitting resolutions of support, and calling senators, we closed the gap- the Senate amended the bill and removed the bar portion, but lowered the lounge threshold to 15%. The bill only passed the Senate by 2 votes. It was sent back to the House with the amendments and the House concurred. Governor Burgum signed the bill, and it went into effect on August 1, 2023. We will continue to work to protect smoke-free spaces around North Dakota by offering support to local ordinance efforts.
HB1412: This is the ENDS licensing bill that failed in previous sessions. This bill simply defines Electronic Nicotine Delivery Systems (ENDS) as tobacco products, resulting in 3 things: Finally recognizing that these products are tobacco products, making everyone who sells electronic products have a tobacco retail license, and making sure vape-only retailers are included in retail compliance checks, in parity with other current commercial tobacco retailers. Both chambers passed it without any amendments and the Governor signed the bill. It went into effect on August 1, 2023.
Methodology
Each vote is tallied with a “0” or a “1”. A “1” represents a legislator for a bill in favor with TFND’s position (example: voting for a bill we support gets a 1; voting against a bill we don’t support also gets a 1). The numbers are then tallied to show a total and percentage of how frequently each legislator voted with TFND.
The Covid-19 pandemic was in full throw, with a vaccine just coming available at the beginning of the 2021 legislative session. It was an unusual gathering in Bismarck, but TFND did everything possible to make our voices as loud as possible.
We saw the “cigar bar” bill come back and it failed by only one vote. The tobacco industry has made it very clear they will spend whatever it takes to undercut our smoke-free air law, which was put in place by the VOTERS in 2012. The legislature again voted down measures to increase the tobacco tax and classify ENDS products as tobacco products, but we believe we’re slowly making progress on the issue.
The legislature did increase funding for the state’s tobacco control program to $13.45 million over the biennium, very close to the $14 million recommended by the CDC. We thank the lawmakers increasing this and hope to continue to work to lessen the effects of tobacco in North Dakota. Below is pictures of voting results and the bills TFND during the session.
The Senate voted on 5 bills while the House voted on 6 bills. The results are listed in the photos below. The explanation for each bill is listed below the slideshow.
HB1152: The “Cigar Bar” bill would severely undermine the state’s smoke-free air law, which was overwhelmingly passed by the VOTERS in 2012. The industry lobbied heavily in favor, TFND and public health remain strongly OPPOSED to any exemptions in the smoke-free air law. The bill passed the House 48 yeas to 45 nays, but failed in the Senate 23yeas to 24 nays.
HB1403: This bill would have increased the price on cigarettes by roughly $1. The CDC recommends increasing tobacco-product prices by $1.50 to avoid the tobacco industry from ignoring the tax via price discounts. Price increases are part of the CDC’s best practices approach to tobacco control. TFND strongly supports increasing the price, which hasn’t changed since 1993. The bill failed in the House, 25 yeas to 66 nays.
HB1422: This bill was a more expansive version of HB1403, including price increases for all currently taxed tobacco products. This bill would have also specifically allocated money into the community health trust fund, a bucket typically used in other healthcare related legislation. TFND supported this bill and it gained more traction in the House, but ultimately failed 33 yeas to 58 nays.
SB2004: This bill contained the funding for the North Dakota Department of Health, including increased funding for the tobacco control program. The biennial funding sits at $13.45 million, just short of the CDC recommended $14 million. We supported the bill and will continue to work to fully fund our tobacco control program. The House passed the final version of the bill 76 yeas to 12 nays, the Senate passed the bill 41 yeas to 6 nays.
SB2156: This is the “T21” bill, raising the purchase age of tobacco products to 21. The federal government passed the same law in December 2019. We support all states and localities putting this law into place. The House passed the bill 64 yeas to 30 nays, the Senate passed it 40 yeas to 7 nays.
SB2189: When this bill was introduced, it was meant to put a tax on electronic nicotine products, which currently aren’t taxed. It would also require retailers to be licensed to sell ENDS products. The bill was amended twice- once removing the tax, once turning the whole law into a legislative study. TFND held support of the bill in both forms. The bill passed both chambers as a study, but was not selected for the interim by the Legislative Management committee. The Senate passed the bill with the licensing requirement 39 yeas to 8 nays. The House passed the bill as a legislative study only 78 yeas to 13 nays. The Senate then confirmed the House version. TFND’s Senate record reflects the chamber’s original vote for the bill with the licensing provision.
SB2190: This bill would have banned internet sales of tobacco products in North Dakota by banning the shipping of these products into the state. It mimicked a South Dakota law passed the previous session. TFND supported this legislation as it is too easy for underage people to obtain these products over the internet. The bill failed in the Senate 3 yeas to 44 nays.
Methodology
Each vote is tallied with a “0” or a “1”. A “1” represents a legislator for a bill in favor with TFND’s position (example: voting for a bill we support gets a 1; voting against a bill we don’t support also gets a 1). The numbers are then tallied to show a total and percentage of how frequently each legislator voted with TFND.
North Dakota as a state is in a much better position after the 2019 session. The long-term outlook for state revenue is now stable. This will allow policy initiatives that had to be held off during the hard times to come before the Legislature. Both chambers took up several bills on the tobacco front, including taxation of tobacco and electronic nicotine delivery systems, or ENDS. TFND calculated a score for each of the representatives and senators voting records.
The Senate voted on four bills. TFND couldn’t calculate support for SCR4007 since it was a voice vote. The House voted on eight. Legislators who were absent on the day of a vote were marked absent. Absent days were removed from a legislator’s total. Senator Arne Osland, R-Mayville, retired from the Senate on March 18, dropping the total number of senators to 46. Senator Randy Lemm, R-Hillsboro, was sworn in to replace Osland on March 27.
Here is what each bill means
HB1004- This bill funds the ND Department of Health. Lawmakers removed more than $744,000 from the Tobacco Prevention line item as Executive Branch agencies had to conform to cuts Gov. Doug Burgum requested. TFND was in favor of this bill. It passed by a vote of 70-22 in the House and 44-2 in the Senate.
HB1236- This bill would have raised the legal purchase age for tobacco products to increase from 18 to 19. TFND did not support this policy. HB1236 was voted down in the House on January 21 by a vote of 25 yays to 63 nays.
HB1274- This bill would have made it a traffic violation to smoke with children under 9-years-old in the car. This also included ENDS products. While TFND appreciates the sentiment of this bill, the organization ultimately couldn’t support it due to the age limit and questions of how to enforce the policy. This bill was voted down on January 21 by a vote of 31 yays to 57 nays.
HB1386- This bill would impose a wholesale tax on electronic smoking devices. A fiscal note shows this tax would generate more than $18 million for biennium. TFND supported this measure, as does the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) as a best practice for tobacco regulation. It was voted down on January 25 by a vote of 22 yays to 69 nays.
HB1446- This bill would create labeling requirements for nicotine liquids to include “the name and percent by weight of each ingredient contained in the nicotine liquid.” A 2015 study by NDSU researchers show many labels don’t show the true contents of liquids. TFND supported this policy, but it was voted down on February 6 by a vote of 20 yays to 72 nays.
HB1450- This bill would raise the state tobacco tax from 17 mills to 37 mills. The CDC recommends increasing the price of tobacco products as one of the three best practices to tobacco prevention. TFND supported this policy. The House voted against the bill on January 25 by a vote of 25 yays to 66 nays.
HB1477- This bill originally would create a penalty for selling nicotine liquids and ENDS to any minor in North Dakota. It was then amended in the Senate to make selling tobacco products to a minor a Class B misdemeanor, which in ND could be a maximum penalty of 30 days in jail and a $1,500 fine. When this version of the bill reached the Senate, it was split into two parts- one for strictly the ENDS fines and one for the Class B misdemeanor. The section regarding a Class B misdemeanor failed, while the ENDS section passed. TFND supported this in its original form and in the form that ultimately passed. The vote total in the House was 60 yays, 33 nays. In the Senate, the vote was 46 yays, 1 nay.
SB2137- This bill would allow for cigar bars and other indoor smoking establishments in North Dakota. TFND strongly opposed this legislation, which seeks to undercut the “Smoke Free Law” voters overwhelmingly approved. Every single county voted in favor of the law, leading to a statewide total of 67 percent voting yes. The bill was voted down in the Senate on February 13 with 17 yays to 30 nays.
SB2355- This bill would create a tax structure specifically for ENDS and nicotine liquids. The bill was amended into an interim study which the interim taxation committee is taking under consideration. TFND supported this bill in its original and final form. The Senate voted to approve the study with 46 yays, 1 nay. The House voted to approve the study with 49 yays, 43 nays.
Methodology
Each vote in line with TFND’s position is tallied with a “1”. A “1” represents a legislator for a bill in favor with TFND’s position (example: voting for a bill we support gets a 1; voting against a bill we don’t support also gets a 1). The numbers are then tallied to show a total and percentage of how frequently each legislator voted with TFND.
The 2017 session was full of pressing issues- The protests surrounding the Dakota Access Pipeline and the state facing a massive budget shortfall led to drastic actions by the legislature. The legislature voted to eliminate the Center for Tobacco Prevention and Control Policy-which voters put in via initiated measure in 2008.
HB1312: This bill would have increased the purchase age of tobacco products to 19. This was a recommended practice before there was data available about T21 laws. Since the data for T21 didn’t exist in 2017, we supported a T19 bill. It failed in the House 22 yeas to 66 nays.
SB2004: This bill funded the ND Department of Health and its tobacco control program. The program had funding cut, however it was left mostly intact. TFND supported this bill, but continues to fight for a fully funded program at CDC-recommended levels. The bill passed the Senate 47 yeas, 0 nays; then the House 74 yeas to 17 nays.
SB2024: This bill contained technical changes in various chapters of North Dakota Century Code. TFND opposed this bill because The bill inevitably passed both chambers: 36 yeas to 10 nays in the Senate and 63 yeas to 29 nays in the House.