HB 1551 North Dakota House · 69th Legislative Assembly (2025-26)

AN ACT to create and enact a new chapter to title 4.1 of the North Dakota Century Code, relating to regulation of biostimulants and beneficial substances; and to provide a penalty.

HB 1551 creates new state regulations for products called "beneficial substances" (substances that improve plant or soil health without being pesticides or standard fertilizers). It requires sellers to label products with clear information like ingredients, usage instructions, and net weight, and to obtain a $100 distributor license for each location. Sellers must also pay $50 per product for registration and $10 or $0.20 per ton for inspections, with penalties for late fees. Certain common soil products like compost, mulch, and garden soil are exempt from full labeling rules. The law directly affects businesses selling these agricultural products in North Dakota.

Bill status signed all 5 stages cleared

Introduction

Jan 2025

Committee Review

Mar 2025

House Passage

Mar 2025

Senate Passage

Mar 2025

Signed into Law

Mar 2025

Introduced Jan 20, 2025 Signed Mar 26, 2025

Maddy AI version diff · 2 comparisons

What changed between versions

FIRST ENGROSSMENT → Enrollment · 3 edits

MINOR

The bill text was reformatted from a First Engrossment version to an Enrollment version, with minor substantive changes to definitions and labeling requirements. The main policy impact is a slight expansion of the 'Beneficial substance' definition to explicitly include soils and media, and a rewording of labeling requirements to specify 'CONTAINS BENEFICIAL SUBSTANCES' as a required heading for ingredient statements.

Scope change

The scope of the bill remains the same, regulating biostimulants and beneficial substances in North Dakota, though the definition of 'Beneficial substance' was slightly broadened to explicitly mention 'soils, or media' in addition to plants.

DEFINITION

The definition of 'Beneficial substance' was modified to explicitly state that the term applies to materials beneficial to 'one or more species of plants, soils, or media,' expanding the scope beyond just plants.

REQUIREMENT

Labeling requirements were modified to require a specific heading 'CONTAINS BENEFICIAL SUBSTANCES' for the ingredient statement section, and the requirement for ingredient source information was added.

TECHNICAL

The organization of the bill was changed from a First Engrossment format to an Enrollment format, including updated header information and page numbering, with some text reflowing for readability.

Floor votes · Senate Mar 13, 2025 · House Mar 18, 2025

How they voted

44–2

Passed · 1 other

Total votes 47

Mar 13, 2025

D Democratic5

5 Yea

100% Yea

R Republican42

39 Yea 2 Nay 1

92% Yea

Vote distribution

All Yea All Nay Mixed No data

Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions

Key actions

Committee

Mar 27, 2025

Introduced

Filed with Secretary Of State 03/26

legislature

Mar 26, 2025

Signed into law

Signed by Governor 03/25

lower

Mar 18, 2025

Lower · Passed

Second reading, passed, yeas 89 nays 4

lower

Mar 18, 2025

Lower · Passed

Concurred

lower

Mar 13, 2025

Upper · Passed

Second reading, passed as amended, yeas 44 nays 2

upper

Mar 12, 2025

Upper · Passed

Amendment adopted, placed on calendar

upper

Mar 11, 2025

Upper · Passed

Reported back amended, do pass, amendment placed on calendar 6 0 0

upper

Mar 7, 2025

Upper · Passed

Committee Hearing 10:00

upper

Feb 20, 2025

Introduced

Introduced, first reading, referred Agriculture and Veterans Affairs Committee

upper

Feb 19, 2025

Lower · Passed

Second reading, passed, yeas 87 nays 4

lower

Feb 18, 2025

Lower · Passed

Amendment adopted, placed on calendar

lower

Feb 17, 2025

Lower · Passed

Reported back amended, do pass, amendment placed on calendar 10 1 3

lower

Jan 30, 2025

Lower · Passed

Committee Hearing 09:45

lower

Jan 20, 2025

Introduced

Introduced, first reading, referred Agriculture Committee

lower

1 primary · 6 co-sponsors