Burgum signs HB 1279 expanding workers’ comp coverage for law enforcement and firefighters

During a ceremony on Monday, Gov. Doug Burgum signed House Bill 1279 to expand workers’ compensation coverage for full-time firefighters and law enforcement officers, providing greater support and helping to address the state’s workforce shortage by making North Dakota more attractive for those considering relocating from other states.

Currently, a full-time firefighter or law enforcement officer who is injured must have worked continuously for five years in North Dakota before it is presumed that their injury is a result of their work. Previous service in another state or another profession does not count toward meeting the five-year requirement.

House Bill 1279 still require five years of service, but it counts the years of service from other states. It also adds a new section that provides workers’ compensation coverage for heart attacks, strokes, vascular rupture or other similar cardiac events that occur within 48 hours after a full-time firefighter or law enforcement officer engages in a strenuous activity related to their job – regardless of how long the individual has served in North Dakota.

“In North Dakota, we truly mean it when we say that we back the blue,’” said Burgum, who called for the legislation in his State of the State address last month. “House Bill 1279 lets every full-time firefighter and law enforcement officer in North Dakota – and every prospective officer and firefighter from across the country – know that if you serve in North Dakota, from the first day on the job we will stand with you, your family and all of your brothers and sisters in uniform. We’re grateful to the Legislature for its decisive action on this bill, which will provide the coverage these officers and firefighters deserve while helping to address our workforce challenges and ensure our police and fire departments are fully staffed to keep the public safe.”

The bipartisan bill, which passed both chambers unanimously, has a retroactive clause to cover the case of West Fargo Police Officer Tim Brown and two firefighters who were previously denied coverage due to the length-of-service requirement.

“The signing of this bill is historic,” said Art Thompson, director of North Dakota Workforce Safety & Insurance, the state’s worker’s compensation agency. “Currently 30 states of 52 jurisdictions in the United States provide presumption clause coverage for full-time law enforcement and firefighters – all require a years-of-service trigger ranging from 2 years to 12 years. North Dakota will now be the only state in the country to provide this level of coverage.”

House Bill 1279 was introduced by Rep. Shannon Roers Jones of Fargo and co-sponsored by Reps. Pat Heinert of Bismarck, Jim Jonas of West Fargo, Scott Louser of Minot, Austen Schauer of West Fargo and Paul Thomas of Velva, and Sens. Jeff Barta of Grand Forks, Diane Larson of Bismarck and Judy Lee of West Fargo.

“It can’t be overstated how much collaboration went into getting this bill passed in as short amount of time as we did,” Roers Jones said, noting it took about two weeks to get the bill through the Legislature from start to finish. “And that just underlies the commitment with all of the legislators, all of the professionals who worked on this.”

“Thanks to everyone who has been involved with this, and I think we’re all very happy to have Officer Brown with us today,” Lee said.

Also attending today’s bill signing ceremony were Lt. Gov. Tammy Miller, Officer Brown, West Fargo Mayor Bernie Dardis, West Fargo Police Chief Denis Otterness, West Fargo Fire Chief Dan Fuller, Stephanie Dassinger Engebretson from the Chiefs of Police Association of North Dakota, Donnell Preskey from the North Dakota County Sheriff’s and Deputies Association, and representatives from other law enforcement agencies and fire departments, including those in the Bismarck-Mandan area.

“At the end of the day, it’s about everybody behind me here, all the police officers, firefighters that do go out every day to put their life in jeopardy to serve everybody else, and certainly Officer Brown and the struggle that his family has been through. We have been beside them the entire time,” Otterness said. “Just a heartfelt thanks to everybody that really put this on the front burner and got things done.”

Video of the bill signing ceremony can be found on the governor’s Facebook page at facebook.com/GovernorDougBurgum.

Burgum meets with Interior deputy secretary, NPS director on Painted Canyon, wild horses, water supply

Gov. Burgum met Wednesday with U.S. Deputy Secretary of the Interior Tommy Beaudreau and National Parks Service (NPS) Director Charles Sams on Wednesday in Washington, D.C., to discuss a variety of North Dakota-related issues including the Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library, Painted Canyon, water supply project funding, oil and gas development on federal lands and the state’s recent offer to help the NPS manage the herd of wild horses in Theodore Roosevelt National Park.

“We appreciate Deputy Secretary Beaudreau and Director Sams taking the time to discuss opportunities for collaboration and partnership on these and other issues important to North Dakota citizens,” Burgum said. “The Department of the Interior has wide-reaching impacts on our state, with its many agencies touching land, water, tribal affairs, mining, parks, and fish and wildlife, so it’s essential that we remain engaged with their leadership on these critical issues.”

Among the topics discussed were Burgum’s recent letter to Sams urging the NPS not to adopt its preferred alternative plan for managing the herd of roughly 200 wild horses at Theodore Roosevelt National Park – a plan that calls for gradually eliminating the herd. Burgum reiterated his offer for the State of North Dakota to work with the NPS to manage the herd in a size and manner that supports genetic diversity and protects the park. The governor noted that the five tribal nations with whom North Dakota shares geography also have provided their general support for continued preservation of wild horses and longhorn cattle in the national park.

Burgum stressed the need to fund and complete the decades-old Garrison Diversion project, which would supply Missouri River water to eastern North Dakota in times of drought, as well as the federal funding mechanisms for the Northwest Area Water Supply project. Burgum also discussed the need to resume oil and gas leases on federal lands; the potential benefits of improving the Painted Canyon rest area in conjunction with the planned Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library in Medora; and how carbon capture, utilization and storage can help extend the life of baseload coal power and support enhanced oil recovery, helping to keep energy prices low for consumers while strengthening U.S. energy security with environmental stewardship.

Burgum was in Washington, D.C., to participate in the National Governors Association’s 115th Winter Meeting Thursday through Saturday. Burgum is a member of the NGA Executive Committee. Governors discussed best practices and bipartisan collaboration on leading policy issues including infrastructure, workforce development and youth mental health, and met with a number of private and public sector leaders, including President Biden and Surgeon General Vice Admiral Vivek Murthy.

The winter meeting is one of two annual gatherings of the NGA, a bipartisan organization representing governors from all 50 states and five U.S. territories.

President approves Burgum’s request for major disaster declaration for Nov. 9-11 storm damage

President Joe Biden has approved Gov. Doug Burgum’s request for a presidential major disaster declaration for a severe winter storm in November that brought record-breaking snowfall to central North Dakota and ice accumulations in the southeast that impacted transportation and severely damaged electrical infrastructure, costing more than $1.7 million.

The declaration covers seven counties: Dickey, Kidder, Mercer, Nelson, Ransom, Sargent and Wells. A copy of Burgum’s Jan. 10 letter to the president and Federal Emergency Management Agency requesting the disaster declaration can be viewed here.

“This major disaster declaration provides relief to local entities whose budgets, personnel and operations were hit hard by the November storm,” Burgum said. “We appreciate President Biden and FEMA granting our request and making assistance available to our local jurisdictions that endured this record-breaking weather event. We’re especially grateful to the North Dakota Highway Patrol, Department of Transportation, Department of Emergency Services, State Radio and all of the state and local agencies and utility companies that kept citizens safe throughout this storm, and to Sens. Hoeven and Cramer and Rep. Armstrong for supporting our request.”

The Nov. 9-11 storm dumped 24 to 30 inches of snow across some counties, with snowfall rates approaching 3 inches per hour in some locations and winds exceeding 40 miles an hour creating blizzard conditions. Zero visibility conditions, combined with layers of ice under the snow and significant drifting, forced the closure of major state highways for nearly five days. Ice accumulations also toppled trees and downed power lines, leaving thousands of residents without power or heat.

The presidential declaration unlocks FEMA public assistance to help cities, counties and townships pay for costs of repairing infrastructure and snow removal. Preliminary assessments indicate costs at just under $1.75 million, including over $125,000 for snow removal.

Burgum noted that the electrical infrastructure damaged during the Nov. 9-11 storm is the same type of infrastructure that was ripped apart during a blizzard and subsequent flooding in April and May of 2022. That disaster, declared less than a year ago, was the fifth-largest in North Dakota history and caused approximately $97 million in damages statewide. Much work remains from that disaster to restore and harden electrical systems, with an estimated 18-24 months of recovery efforts still expected. North Dakota has received five federal disaster declarations over the past three years, three of which were caused by severe storm events.

The federal government also granted the governor’s request for the Hazard Mitigation Grant Program to be implemented on a statewide basis to help communities pay for projects that increase resiliency and reduce costs in the long term.

Burgum issues statement on President Biden’s State of the Union address

Gov. Doug Burgum released the following statement regarding President Joe Biden’s State of the Union address on Tuesday evening.

“We agree with the president’s desire for unity across the country and support for the middle class. This needs to be shown through action and not just words. President Biden’s attempt to frame the first two years of his administration as progress falls flat under the weight of the glaring issues that received too little attention in his State of the Union address – namely his misguided policies that have weakened U.S. energy security and economic security with near-record inflation and the illegal immigration that continues to run rampant at the southern border,” Burgum said. “While we appreciate the president’s focus on the need to invest in our nation’s infrastructure and better address behavioral health and the scourge of fentanyl deaths, and agree with him on the resiliency of the American people, the fact is our nation and its citizens can’t reach their full potential until this administration recognizes that the real path to progress is innovation, not regulation, and that our national security is stronger when we sell energy to our friends and allies versus buy it from our adversaries. By taking the handcuffs off our farmers and ranchers, entrepreneurs and energy producers, we can re-establish America’s dominance in feeding and fueling the world.”

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