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HB 1597

AN ACT to provide an exemption; and to provide for the distribution of state financial assistance to eligible ambulance service operations.

69th Legislative Assembly (2025-26) Introduced by Pat Heinert

ND DHHS will distribute formula-based grants to eligible ambulance services for 2025–27 to stabilize funding, using runs, per-run reimbursements, and property values.

Filed with Secretary Of State 04/17
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Bill Summary · HB 1597

Summary — HB 1597 (North Dakota): Ambulance Service Operation Funding Distribution

Status & scope
- Introduced: December 12, 2024 (Rep. Heinert).
- Applies only to the 2025–2027 biennium (July 1, 2025 — June 30, 2027).
- Directs the North Dakota Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS), in consultation with the Emergency Medical Services Advisory Council, to distribute state financial assistance to eligible ambulance operations under a specified formula.

Purpose / intent
- Provide targeted, formula-based state grant assistance to local ambulance service operations during the 2025–27 biennium to help cover operational costs and stabilize emergency medical services funding.

Key provisions — how grants are calculated
1. Minimum reasonable budget
- Determine each operation’s “minimum reasonable budget” as: (average annual runs over the two most recent calendar years) × (cost per run).
- Cost of a run for the biennium is set at $2,023.
- If that product is less than $125,000, the minimum reasonable budget is set to $125,000.

  1. Grant amount (deductions)

    • Start from the budget calculated above, then deduct: a. (Average annual runs) × (reimbursement per run). Reimbursement per run is $795. b. (Property tax valuation of operation’s response area for the most recent taxable year) × 0.005 (five mills). County auditors must provide the valuation by July 31 each year; if the response area spans counties, the auditor in the county with the largest response area coordinates the submissions.

  2. Limitations and floors

    • Maximum grant per operation after deductions: $225,000.
    • Maximum reimbursement per run: $2,023.
    • For grants distributed through June 30, 2027, the calculation must guarantee a minimum equal to 50% of the previous year’s grant amount (but not exceeding the budget calculation).
    • If legislative appropriations are insufficient to fund all calculations in full, DHHS must distribute prorated shares.

  3. Eligibility / exclusions

    • An operation is ineligible for funding under this section if it performs more than 800 runs per year.
    • Response areas acquired after April 1, 2024 due to an adjacent ambulance service closure are not included when calculating an operation’s response area for grant purposes.

Administrative / procedural items
- DHHS implements the distribution in consultation with the EMS advisory council.
- County auditors must annually provide response-area property valuations by July 31.
- If overall appropriations are insufficient, awards will be prorated across operations.

Who is affected
- Primary: local ambulance service operations (municipal, county, rural ambulance districts and other providers meeting eligibility). High-volume operations (>800 runs/year) are excluded from this funding stream.
- Secondary: county auditors (responsible for property valuation coordination), local taxpayers (the formula factors in local property valuation), and DHHS/EMS Advisory Council (administration & oversight).

Potential impacts / considerations
- Provides predictable, formula-driven state support for lower- and mid-volume ambulance services, with a floor ($125k budget floor; 50% hold‑harmless rule) to stabilize funding in the short biennium.
- Caps ($225k) and the >800-runs exclusion channel larger-volume services away from these grants, potentially shifting their funding responsibilities to other mechanisms.
- Incorporating local property tax valuation into the formula effectively treats part of local tax capacity as a funding offset, which may reduce state aid to operations in wealthier response areas.
- Proration clause means final award sizes could depend on the Legislature’s appropriation level for EMS during the biennium.

Effective period
- The formula and distribution apply for the biennium beginning July 1, 2025, and ending June 30, 2027.

Compiled from official sources — confirm details with the bill’s official record.

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