WeVote
Log In

Bill

Bill

HB 1558

requiring proof of insurance or adequate financial responsibility for vehicle registration.

2026 Regular Session Introduced by Lorie Ball and 2 co-sponsors

Establishes parental loss restitution: judges order ongoing monthly payments to a victim’s minor children from a criminal vehicular homicide defendant, with enforcement via probati

Inexpedient to Legislate: MA VV 02/19/2026 HJ 5 P. 6
0
WeVote Research Nonpartisan
Bill Summary · HB 1558

HB 1558 — Summary (North Dakota)

Status: Second reading, failed to pass (yeas 3, nays 43)
Introduced: December 10, 2024
Primary focus: Creates a statutory mechanism for “parental loss restitution” where a person convicted of criminal vehicular homicide may be ordered to pay ongoing restitution to the deceased victim’s minor children; also ties restitution to probation conditions and enforcement.

Purpose and intent

The bill authorizes courts sentencing persons for criminal vehicular homicide (NDCC § 39‑08‑01.2) to order recurring restitution payments to the deceased victim’s minor children to help maintain their financial needs until each child reaches 18. It also provides enforcement mechanisms (probation continuation/extension, civil docketing) to encourage payment and administration procedures for handling funds.

Key provisions

  • New statutory section (chapter 39‑08) establishing “parental loss restitution”:

    • Applies when the homicide victim was a parent or legal guardian of a minor child.
    • Court may order monthly restitution payments to each of the victim’s children until each child turns 18.
    • Restitution may be ordered at sentencing or within 60 days after sentencing (extendable for good cause). A hearing is required unless waived.
    • The prosecutor must notify the defendant of the recommended restitution amount prior to the hearing.
    • Factors the court may consider in setting the amount include: child’s needs/resources; surviving parent/guardian’s financial situation; child’s accustomed standard of living; physical/emotional/educational needs; custody arrangements; reasonable work‑related child care expenses; and any monetary or insurance settlements or awards related to the incident.
    • The court may subtract from the restitution total any monetary/insurance settlements or civil awards received by the surviving parent/guardian.
    • Payment processing: court may order payments to the clerk of court (trustee) who remits to the state’s attorney’s office, which deposits and then remits to the surviving parent/guardian within specified timeframes (ten working days / next business day).
    • If the payer is incarcerated and unable to pay, they must begin payments (or enter a payment plan for arrearage) within one year of release; termination of scheduled payments does not end the obligation if arrearage remains.
    • On prosecutor motion showing unpaid arrearage, the court may have the restitution duty docketed as a civil judgment (same manner as civil judgments under NDCC § 29‑26‑22.1).
    • Parental loss restitution orders generally may not be modified except to account for settlements as noted above.
    • If parental loss restitution has been ordered, a later civil judgment arising from the same incident may not have the parental restitution amount considered by the factfinder in awarding damages.

  • Probation provisions:

    • Amends NDCC 12.1‑32‑06.1(5) to allow continuation or an additional period of (unsupervised) probation when a defendant is convicted of crimes including criminal vehicular homicide so probation can continue while responsibility for support or parental loss restitution continues.
    • Adds a probation condition option in 12.1‑32‑07: “Pay parental loss restitution” — the court shall proceed per chapter 39‑08 when restitution is a condition.

Who is affected

  • Defendants convicted of criminal vehicular homicide whose victim was a parent/legal guardian of a minor — may face ongoing restitution obligations and extended probation conditions.
  • Surviving parents/legal guardians and the deceased victim’s minor children — potential recipients of ordered payments.
  • Courts, prosecutors, clerks of court, and state’s attorney offices — responsible for hearings, calculating orders, administering and remitting payments, and pursuing civil docketing for arrearages.
  • Potential civil plaintiffs/defendants in subsequent civil litigation — courts and juries are restricted from factoring parental loss restitution amounts into later civil damage awards.

Enforcement, timeline, and application

  • Restitution ordered at sentencing or within 60 days (hearing required unless waived).
  • Payments run until each child reaches 18; incarcerated payers must begin or plan to address arrears within one year of release.
  • Court may docket unpaid restitution as civil judgments via prosecutor motion.
  • The bill’s provisions apply to criminal charges for criminal vehicular homicide filed on or after the act’s effective date.

Potential impacts

  • Financial relief for children of victims through directed monthly payments.
  • Administrative workload for courts and prosecuting offices to conduct hearings, set amounts, manage funds, and pursue enforcement.
  • Increased use of probation as an enforcement tool and civil judgment docketing to secure payments.
  • Limits on modification of orders and on considering those payments in later civil litigation could affect compensation strategies by surviving families in civil suits.

Note: Title and procedural materials reference a penalty and probation enforcement, but the bill chiefly establishes civil restitution, probation continuation/extension authority, and civil judgment docketing as enforcement mechanisms rather than creating a new criminal penalty.

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

Sign in to ask a question.