HOW A BILL BECOMES LAW & WHAT IS THE CENTURY CODE HOW A BILL BECOMES LAW & WHAT IS THE CENTURY CODE? Constance Kalanek, PhD, RN, FRE North Dakota Board of Nursing

NORTH DAKOTA CENTER FOR NURSING The North Dakota Legislative Assembly is the formal designation of the state legislature. The Legislative Assembly consists of a Senate and a House of Representatives. The Senate may consist of 40-54 members and the House may consist of 80-108 members, depending on the number of senatorial districts. Legislative members take office December 1 of even-numbered years. The Legislative Assembly convenes in regular session the following January. The first Legislative Assembly convened on November 19, 1889.

http://www.legis.nd.gov/general-information/north-dakota-century-code

Title 43 Occupations and Professions Chapter 43.12.1

How a Bill Become a Law Steps in the Bill Process Bill preparation- the legislative council prepares bills for legislators who introduce the bill. This can happen in conjunction with interested citizens. Bill introduction- the sponsoring legislator introduces the bill by handing it to the bill clerk when the presiding officer calls for introduction of bills First Reading of Bill (9th order of business)- the bill clerk assigns a number to the bill and the Chief Clerk (house) or Secretary (Senate) reads the bill by title only Committee Assignment & Introduction- presiding officer refers the bill to the proper committee Committee Discussion and Public Hearing- the bill is explained and discussed, a public hearing is held on every bill Committee Recommendation- the committee then will report the bill to the House or Senate where the bill was originally introduced Report the bill unfavorable with or without amendment Report the bill favorably with or without amendment Report the bill without and recommendation and with or without amendment Request that the bill be rereferred to another committee with or without amendment Source: http://www.legis.nd.gov/docs/pdf/bill-law.pdf

Source: http://www.legis.nd.gov/docs/pdf/bill-law.pdf Calendar Placement and Consideration of Amendments- All bills are placed on the legislative calendar for final passage. If there is an amendment that is adapted or rejected before the bill is placed on the calendar. Second reading- on the day the bill appears on the calendar, the bill is read again. The bill is debated and then voted on. If the bill passes it goes to the other house. Second House Consideration- if the second house passes the bill, then it is enrolled, signed by presiding officers and sent to the governor. If it is amended and passed in the second house, it is sent back to the first house for concurrence. If the first house does not concur- then the presiding officers of both houses appoint a conference committee. Conference committee- the conference committee discusses bill and makes recommendation to both houses and both houses must approve bill in the same form. The bill is then enrolled, signed by the presiding officers and then sent to the Governor. Bill becomes law on July 1st if appropriation or revenue measure or August 1st for other measures. Veto- if the bill is vetoed by the governor, it can still become law by 2/3 vote in both houses Voter’s referral- a bill that has become law can be repealed by a referendum or a vote of the electorate Initiated Measure- a law may also be proposed and acted upon by the electorate through an initiated measure Source: http://www.legis.nd.gov/docs/pdf/bill-law.pdf

The Nurse Practices Act is a part of the ND Century Code. The ND Century code includes all general and permanent law enacted since statehood. The numbering system for the Century Code is a three-part number, with each part separated by a hyphen. The first part refers to the title, the second to the chapter and the third to the section. The Century code consists of 65 titles, generally arranged in alphabetical order. The Nurse Practices Act is a part of the ND Century Code. Administrative Rules are developed to carry out the purposes and provisions of the Century Code. The North Dakota Administrative Code Title 54 are the rules for the Board of Nursing which regulates the standards for nursing education, licensure and practice. Source: http://www.legis.nd.gov/information/statutes/cent-code.html , https://www.ndbon.org/ , NDNA legislative process overview

NDCC 43-12.1-08 DUTIES OF THE BOARD Regulate the practice of nursing to assure that qualified competent practitioners and high quality standards are available.

NORTH DAKOTA CENTER FOR NURSING Brochure http://www.legis.nd.gov/files/resource/miscellaneous/bill-law.pdf?20130211093903