AN ACT to amend and reenact section 50-25.1-15 of the North Dakota Century Code, relating to abandonment of infants in newborn safety devices.
HB 1205 allows parents or their agents to anonymously leave infants under 60 days old in secure, 24/7 monitored safety devices at designated hospitals or leave them with on-duty staff at approved locations without facing prosecution under certain criminal codes. The bill defines "newborn safety devices" as temperature-controlled, alarm-equipped units visible to staff, and requires hospitals to accept infants without asking for parent information or medical history. It also creates a numbered identification bracelet system to link parents to infants for potential reunification, while guaranteeing confidentiality of parent identities unless the infant was harmed. The law provides immunity to hospitals and staff for accepting infants under these provisions and mandates a public awareness campaign about the program.
Bill status
signed
all 5 stages cleared
Introduction
Jan 2025
Committee Review
Mar 2025
House Passage
Apr 2025
Senate Passage
Mar 2025
Signed into Law
Apr 2025
Introduced Jan 10, 2025
Signed Apr 11, 2025
Maddy AI version diff · 3 comparisons
What changed between versions
SECOND ENGROSSMENT
→
Enrollment
·
3 edits
MINOR
The bill text was reformatted from a second engrossment version to a final enrollment version, with minor text corrections and formatting adjustments throughout. No substantive policy changes were made to the actual provisions of the abandoned infant safety bill.
TECHNICAL
Header information was updated from 'SECOND ENGROSSMENT' to 'Enrollment' with updated session dates and bill numbering format.
Minor text corrections were made throughout the bill text, including fixing spacing issues and correcting some awkward phrasing in subsections.
Page numbering and formatting were standardized between the two versions.
Floor votes · Senate Mar 20, 2025 · House Apr 2, 2025
How they voted
44–2
Passed · 1 other
Total votes 47
Mar 20, 2025
D
Democratic5
60% Yea
R
Republican42
97% Yea
Vote distribution
All Yea
All Nay
Mixed
No data
Full legislative history
Actions timeline
Total actions
24
Key actions
14
Committee
8
Apr 14, 2025
Introduced
Filed with Secretary Of State 04/11
legislature
Apr 11, 2025
Signed into law
Signed by Governor 04/10
lower
Apr 2, 2025
Lower · Passed
Second reading, passed, yeas 91 nays 0
lower
Apr 2, 2025
Lower · Passed
Concurred
lower
Mar 20, 2025
Upper · Passed
Second reading, passed as amended, yeas 44 nays 2
upper
Mar 19, 2025
Upper · Passed
Amendment adopted, placed on calendar
upper
Mar 18, 2025
Upper · Passed
Reported back amended, without recommendation 6 0 0
upper
Mar 11, 2025
Upper · Passed
Committee Hearing 09:00
upper
Mar 7, 2025
Introduced
Introduced, first reading, referred Human Services Committee
upper
Feb 24, 2025
Lower · Passed
Second reading, passed, yeas 93 nays 0
lower
Feb 24, 2025
Lower · Passed
Amendment adopted, placed on calendar
lower
Feb 21, 2025
Lower · Passed
Reported back amended, do pass, amendment placed on calendar 22 0 1
lower
Feb 20, 2025
Committee
Rereferred to Appropriations
lower
Feb 18, 2025
Lower · Passed
Reported back, do not pass, placed on calendar 21 2 0
lower
Jan 29, 2025
Committee
Rereferred to Appropriations
lower
Jan 29, 2025
Lower · Passed
Amendment adopted
lower
Jan 28, 2025
Lower · Passed
Reported back amended, do pass, amendment placed on calendar 12 0 1
lower
Jan 21, 2025
Lower · Passed
Committee Hearing 03:30
lower
Jan 10, 2025
Introduced
Introduced, first reading, referred Human Services Committee
lower
1 primary · 10 co-sponsors
Sponsors
Role
Legislator
Party
State
District
P
Dawson Holle
RRepublican
Co
Austen Schauer
RRepublican
Co
Diane Larson
RRepublican
Co
Jose Castaneda
RRepublican
Co
Josh Boschee
DDemocratic
Co
Kent Weston
RRepublican
Co
Lisa Meier
RRepublican
Co
Macy Bolinske
RRepublican
Co
Matt Ruby
RRepublican
Co
SuAnn Olson
RRepublican
Co
Tim Mathern
DDemocratic
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