authorizing the secretary of state to conduct random audits of the citizenship qualification of registered voters.

2026 Regular Session Introduced by Bob Lynn

Strengthens the ban on undue preferences by public utilities; repeals outdated carrier-discrimination rules and requires PSC approval for any special rates/agreements.

Enrolled (in recess of) 06/04/2026

Summary — HB 1062 (North Dakota, 69th Legislative Assembly, 2025)

Status
- Introduced by the Energy and Natural Resources Committee at the request of the Public Service Commission (69th Legislative Assembly).
- Passed both chambers (House vote 90–0; Senate vote 46–1) and enrolled. (See enrolled bill text and certification.)

Purpose and intent
- To clarify and modernize the statutory prohibition on unreasonable preferences or advantages by public utilities and to repeal three older statutory provisions that regulated certain aspects of common‑carrier discrimination and freight practices.
- The stated aim is to maintain a broad prohibition against undue preferences while removing outdated or duplicative statutory provisions governing carrier discrimination, long/short haul rules, and freight pooling.

Key provisions
1. Amends and reenacts NDCC § 49‑04‑07 (Unreasonable preferences or advantages prohibited):
- Restates that no public utility may grant undue or unreasonable preference or advantage to any person, entity, locality, or particular character of traffic or service.
- Prohibits public utilities from charging different compensation for substantially similar and contemporaneous services under similar circumstances.
- Explicitly preserves the ability of a utility to enter “reasonable agreements” with customers, consumers, or employees and to provide sliding‑scale charges — but conditions such agreements/sliding scales on filing with and approval by the Public Service Commission.

Repeals NDCC §§ 49‑04‑08, 49‑04‑09, 49‑04‑10:

Those sections historically addressed (respectively) permissible discrimination by common carriers, long and short haul rate relationships, and freight pooling arrangements. Their repeal removes those specific statutory rules from the chapter.

Who is affected
- Public utilities and common carriers operating in North Dakota (including electric, gas, water, telecommunication and transportation carriers to the extent covered by chapter definitions).
- Shippers, customers and other commercial users who rely on rate and service protections under current statutes.
- The North Dakota Public Service Commission, which will review and must approve filed agreements/sliding scales.

Potential impacts and considerations
- Consolidates and modernizes anti‑preference language; may shift detailed regulatory oversight of certain discrimination/haul/pooling matters from statutory prescription to Commission rulemaking, case law, or administrative review.
- Repeal of the freight/carrier‑specific sections could reduce statutory constraints on some common‑carrier practices, but the broad anti‑preference prohibition and PSC oversight remain.
- Utilities wishing to use special rates/agreements must file them with the Commission for approval, preserving administrative review authority.
- Practical effects will depend on Commission interpretations, potential rulemaking, and how market participants and litigants respond to the statutory changes.

Timing
- Enrolled following legislative passage in the 2025 session. The bill text does not specify an alternative effective date; any effective date will depend on the enrolling/enacting process (governor signature and/or statutory effective date language).