The civic record
Read. Follow. Verify.North Dakota bill proposes $221,993 appropriation for watershed lawsuit legal fee grants
Last action · February 4, 2025: Second reading, failed to pass, yeas 6 nays 85Sponsor: Mike Schatz
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What This Bill Proposed
North Dakota House Bill 1557 proposed a one-time of $221,993 from the state water commissioner fund to the Department of Water Resources for legal fee reimbursement grants. The grants were intended for residents involved in watershed lawsuits heard by the North Dakota Supreme Court during the 2025-2027 . The bill ultimately failed to pass in the House.
Residents involved in specific state supreme court watershed litigation would have been eligible to apply for state-funded reimbursement of their legal expenses.
Who It Would Have Affected
Groups the bill's text would have affected, as described in the record. Being affected is not a position for or against it.
North Dakota residents involved in watershed lawsuits
Eligible residents would have had access to state grants to reimburse legal fees associated with specific supreme court cases.
Department of Water Resources
The department would have been tasked with receiving and distributing the $221,993 appropriation for legal fee reimbursement grants.
Key Facts
You don't have to trust us. Each fact below is taken straight from the official document - click any one to see the exact passage, highlighted in the original.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who would have been eligible to receive the legal fee reimbursement grants?
Where would the funding for these grants have come from?
What else do you want to know?
News Coverage
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Votes, people, money & the original sourceWhere This Stands
This bill did not become law - Failed in the House.
Procedural history
4 actions- Feb 4, 2025HouseSecond reading, failed to pass, yeas 6 nays 85
- Jan 31, 2025HouseCommitteeReported back, do not pass, placed on calendar 12 0 1
- Jan 30, 2025HouseCommitteeCommittee Hearing 09:00
- Jan 20, 2025HouseIntroducedIntroduced, first reading, referred Energy and Natural Resources Committee
Version history
Only one version on file - nothing to compare yet. As later stages (committee substitute, engrossed, enrolled) are captured, the redline appears here.
View official text →Lobbying Activity
No state lobbying filings in our records match this bill. Federal lobbying reports (LDA) cover Congress, so they are not listed on state bills.
Full breakdown
Who this bill affects and the strongest case for and against it, written only from the bill’s own text.
Sponsors
Connected Entities
Sources
ndlegis.gov
Analysis Score
0–100- Significance20Lowered because this bill did not pass (its text scored 25)
- Controversy40Intensity of disagreement among stakeholders
- Entertainment5Compellingness for a non-policy-wonk reader
- Buzz10Current news / social attention level
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