Summary — North Dakota HB 1180 (2025): Amendments to Veteran Benefit Eligibility
Status: Introduced in 2025; read and referred; died in Senate Committee at sine die adjournment (May 5, 2025).
Sponsors: Representatives Pyle, Dockter, Frelich, Tveit, Vollmer; Senators Dever, Roers.
Purpose
- To broaden and clarify eligibility for multiple veteran-earned benefits by expressly including veterans who receive an extra-schedular rating (including Individual Unemployability) that results in the veteran being paid at the 100% service‑connected disability rate.
Key provisions and statutory changes
- Amends multiple sections of the North Dakota Century Code to treat certain extra-schedular determinations as equivalent to a formal 100% service‑connected disability for benefit‑eligibility purposes. Sections amended include:
- § 15-10-18.2(1) — Definition of “dependent” for education/tuition‑related benefits: adds language that dependents of veterans who have extra‑schedular ratings (including Individual Unemployability) resulting in 100% pay qualify as dependents for statutory benefits.
- § 37-19.1-03(2) — Employment preference: allows a spouse of a veteran whose disability is effectively 100% because of an extra‑schedular/individual unemployability rating to be eligible for the veteran employment preference when the veteran cannot exercise it due to disability.
- § 39-04-18(2)(j) — Motor vehicle registration exemption: extends the vehicle registration/plate exemption (no-cost distinctive or standard non‑veteran identification plates for qualifying vehicles) to disabled veterans whose extra‑schedular/individual unemployability rating results in 100% pay (and to eligible surviving spouses where applicable).
- § 57-02-08.8(1) and § 57-40.3-04(1) — (partially shown): analogous changes to provisions that grant property tax or related veteran financial benefits (text truncated in provided materials), making veterans with qualifying extra‑schedular/individual unemployability ratings eligible where a numerical disability threshold or 100% status is required.
Who is affected
- Primary beneficiaries: veterans who have been granted extra‑schedular ratings or Individual Unemployability (IU) that produce a total disability payment at the 100% rate; their spouses, dependents, and surviving spouses (for the specified benefits).
- State and local agencies that administer veteran preferences, motor vehicle registration, education/dependent benefits, and property tax/veteran financial benefits — they would apply the clarified eligibility standard when determining benefit entitlement.
Fiscal and administrative impact
- The bill is primarily definitional/eligibility‑clarifying. Any fiscal impact would stem from additional benefit recipients (e.g., plate fee waivers, education or tax benefits). The provided materials do not include a fiscal estimate for North Dakota; impacts are likely modest but would depend on the number of newly eligible veterans in the state.
Procedural/timeline notes
- Introduced in the 69th Legislative Assembly (2025 session). Legislative actions show readings and committee referrals; the bill ultimately died in the Senate committee at sine die adjournment on May 5, 2025.
- The bill text included an explicit effective date clause (common in enrollment copies), but the specific effective date was not visible in the truncated materials.
Bottom line
- HB 1180 sought to ensure veterans who receive extra‑schedular disability determinations (including IU) that result in 100% benefit payments are treated the same as veterans formally rated at 100% for multiple earned‑benefit programs (dependents’ education benefits, employment preference for spouses, vehicle plate exemptions, and certain tax/financial benefits). The measure did not become law in 2025.
