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HB 1258

relative to per and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) and public health data.

2026 Regular Session Introduced by Debra Altschiller and 4 co-sponsors

The law limits state permits for electric projects from overriding local land-use rules, requiring findings and notices before any preemption.

Minority Committee Report: Ought to Pass with Amendment # 2026-0796h
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Bill Summary · HB 1258

HB 1258 — Summary (North Dakota, 2025)

Status: Enacted (Act 435). Passed House 86–7; Senate 27–18. Signed by Governor April 15, 2025; filed with Secretary of State April 17, 2025. Retroactive effective date: January 1, 2025.

Main purpose

Amend NDCC § 49‑22‑16(2) to clarify the relationship between state siting permits for electric transmission and energy conversion facilities and local land‑use/zoning/building rules, strengthen requirements for advance notice and local input, and set standards under which a state permit may supersede local requirements. The Act is applied retroactively to Jan 1, 2025.

Key provisions

  • Adds an express prohibition that a certificate of site compatibility for an electric energy conversion facility may not supersede or preempt any local land‑use, zoning, or building rules; a site may not be designated if it would violate those local rules.
  • For electric transmission facilities in designated corridors:
    • A state permit may supersede and preempt local land‑use, zoning, or building rules only after the commission makes a finding (by a preponderance of the evidence) that the local regulations are unreasonably restrictive in view of existing technology, cost/economics, or consumer needs (the standard applies “regardless of location”).
    • Before approval, applicants must comply with road‑use agreements of impacted political subdivisions.
    • The commission must notify affected townships (with retained zoning authority), cities, and counties when an application is filed.
    • The commission may not schedule a public hearing sooner than 45 days after notification.
    • Political subdivisions must provide to the commission a listing of all local requirements identified; that listing must be filed at least 10 days before the hearing or those requirements will be deemed superseded/preempted.
    • Applicants must comply with all local requirements submitted to the commission that are not explicitly superseded by the commission.

Who is affected

  • Electric transmission and energy conversion facility applicants and developers (utilities, independent power/transmission developers)
  • North Dakota Public Service Commission (or relevant “commission”) — decisionmaker applying the new standards
  • Local governments (townships, cities, counties) with land‑use/zoning/building authority
  • Landowners, communities along proposed corridors, and road‑use stakeholders

Procedural/timeline points

  • The statute requires a minimum 45‑day waiting period between notice to affected political subdivisions and any public hearing; local requirements must be submitted at least 10 days before the hearing.
  • Retroactive application to January 1, 2025 means the law can affect applications, hearings, permits, or disputes dated back to that date.

Likely impacts and considerations

  • Strengthens local land‑use protections by limiting when state permits can preempt local rules, and requires explicit commission findings to preempt.
  • Increases early coordination and documentation between applicants and local governments (road‑use agreements, listing of local requirements).
  • May slow or complicate siting of transmission projects in designated corridors due to increased procedural steps, potential for contested commission findings, or litigation over whether a local rule is “unreasonably restrictive.”
  • May reduce instances where state permits automatically override local ordinances; conversely, retains a path for preemption when the commission finds local rules are unreasonably restrictive based on specified factors.

For a copy of the enacted text, see NDCC § 49‑22‑16(2) as amended by HB 1258 (Act 435, 2025).

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

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