HB 1605 (North Dakota) — Summary
Status summary
- Title: An Act to create and enact a new section to chapter 61‑28.1 of the North Dakota Century Code, relating to the prohibition on water fluoridation; to provide a penalty; and to provide an effective date.
- Introduced: February 26, 2025.
- Legislative status (provided): Failed on second reading (yeas 40, nays 53) — therefore the bill did not become law.
Purpose and intent
- The bill would have prohibited adding any form of fluoride to public water supplies in North Dakota. Its stated purpose is to ban deliberate fluoridation of community water systems.
Key provisions
- New statutory section added to chapter 61‑28.1 NDCC including:
- Definitions:
- “Fluoride” — any chemical compound containing the fluoride ion (explicitly includes sodium fluoride, hydrofluoric acid, sodium silicofluoride, and fluorosilicic acid).
- “Public water supply” — a system that provides water for human consumption through pipes or other constructed conveyances to at least 15 service connections or serves an average of at least 25 people for at least 60 days a year.
- Prohibition: A person may not add, or cause to be added, any form of fluoride to any public water supply “for the purpose of fluoridation,” regardless of the intended concentration.
- Exceptions:
- The prohibition does not apply where fluoride naturally occurs in the water source.
- The prohibition does not apply to fluoride used in industrial or manufacturing processes unrelated to public water treatment.
- Penalties:
- First violation: fine of $500.
- Subsequent violation: fine of $1,000.
- Enforcement: the Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) is designated to enforce the section.
- Effective date (if enacted): August 1, 2026.
Who would be affected
- Directly affected:
- Municipalities, water districts, public water systems and their operators that currently add fluoride to community water supplies.
- Contractors or vendors who supply or apply fluoride for public water fluoridation.
- Indirectly affected:
- Residents and public health programs that rely on community water fluoridation for dental health prevention strategies.
- Local governments that set public‑health policy or that might otherwise fund or manage fluoridation programs.
- Regulators (DEQ) responsible for monitoring and enforcing the ban.
Potential impacts and considerations
- Public health: eliminating community water fluoridation could affect dental caries prevention efforts, particularly for populations with limited access to dental care. Public health and dental associations typically weigh evidence of benefit in policy decisions.
- Regulatory/enforcement: fines are modest; enforcement mechanisms beyond fines (e.g., injunctive relief, monitoring) are not detailed in the bill text provided.
- Legal/operational: systems with naturally occurring fluoride are exempt; systems would need to document source chemistry and avoid deliberate dosing. Contracts, supplier relationships, and local ordinances may need revision if a ban were enacted.
- Fiscal: the bill itself does not appropriate funds; potential costs to water systems would relate to changing operating protocols or legal compliance.
Procedural note
- According to the status provided, HB 1605 failed on second reading (40–53) and therefore did not advance to become law. If reintroduced or amended in future sessions, provisions (definitions, exceptions, fines, enforcement by DEQ, and proposed effective date) are likely to reappear.
