# North Dakota SB 2291: AN ACT to create and enact two new sections to chapter 30.1-28 and two new sections to chapter 30.1-29 of the North Dakota Century Code, relating to removal, resignation and death of a guardian, notices in a guardianship, notices in a conservatorship, and confidentiality of reports; to amend and reenact subsection 1 of section 23-12-13, subsection 1 of section 25-03.1-18.1, subsection 1 of section 27-20.1-17, sections 30.1-01-06 and 30.1-28-03.1, subsection 3 of section 30.1-28-03.2, section 30.1-28-04, subsection 1 of section 30.1-28-05, section 30.1-28-07, subsection 1 of section 30.1-28-09, sections 30.1-28-10.1, 30.1-28-12, 30.1-28-12.1, 30.1-28-12.2, and 30.1-29-05, subsection 6 of section 30.1-29-07, subsection 2 of section 30.1-29-08, sections 30.1-29-13 and 30.1-29-18, subsection 3 of section 30.1-29-19, subsection 1 of section 30.1-29-20.1, subsection 2 of section 30.1-29-22, and subsection 5 of section 30.1-29-25 of the North Dakota Century Code, relating to incapacitated persons, court-authorized involuntary treatment, guardianship of a child, guardianship of an incapacitated person, and protection of property of persons under disability and minors; and to repeal sections 30.1-26-01, 30.1-28-08, and 30.1-28-15 of the North Dakota Century Code, relating to visitors in a guardianship proceeding and appointment of successor guardians.

North Dakota SB 2291, AN ACT to create and enact two new sections to chapter 30.1-28 and two new sections to chapter 30.1-29 of the North Dakota Century Code, relating to removal, resignation and death of a guardian, notices in a guardianship, notices in a conservatorship, and confidentiality of reports; to amend and reenact subsection 1 of section 23-12-13, subsection 1 of section 25-03.1-18.1, subsection 1 of section 27-20.1-17, sections 30.1-01-06 and 30.1-28-03.1, subsection 3 of section 30.1-28-03.2, section 30.1-28-04, subsection 1 of section 30.1-28-05, section 30.1-28-07, subsection 1 of section 30.1-28-09, sections 30.1-28-10.1, 30.1-28-12, 30.1-28-12.1, 30.1-28-12.2, and 30.1-29-05, subsection 6 of section 30.1-29-07, subsection 2 of section 30.1-29-08, sections 30.1-29-13 and 30.1-29-18, subsection 3 of section 30.1-29-19, subsection 1 of section 30.1-29-20.1, subsection 2 of section 30.1-29-22, and subsection 5 of section 30.1-29-25 of the North Dakota Century Code, relating to incapacitated persons, court-authorized involuntary treatment, guardianship of a child, guardianship of an incapacitated person, and protection of property of persons under disability and minors; and to repeal sections 30.1-26-01, 30.1-28-08, and 30.1-28-15 of the North Dakota Century Code, relating to visitors in a guardianship proceeding and appointment of successor guardians., is a 2025 Regular Session Senate bill sponsored by Michael Dwyer (Republican); status signed, last action 2025-05-02 (Filed with Secretary Of State 04/30) (as of 2026-10-19).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/ND-SB2291-202501
- As of: 2026-10-19
- Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts.

## Facts
- Bill: North Dakota SB 2291
- State: North Dakota
- Session: 2025 Regular Session
- Title: AN ACT to create and enact two new sections to chapter 30.1-28 and two new sections to chapter 30.1-29 of the North Dakota Century Code, relating to removal, resignation and death of a guardian, notices in a guardianship, notices in a conservatorship, and confidentiality of reports; to amend and reenact subsection 1 of section 23-12-13, subsection 1 of section 25-03.1-18.1, subsection 1 of section 27-20.1-17, sections 30.1-01-06 and 30.1-28-03.1, subsection 3 of section 30.1-28-03.2, section 30.1-28-04, subsection 1 of section 30.1-28-05, section 30.1-28-07, subsection 1 of section 30.1-28-09, sections 30.1-28-10.1, 30.1-28-12, 30.1-28-12.1, 30.1-28-12.2, and 30.1-29-05, subsection 6 of section 30.1-29-07, subsection 2 of section 30.1-29-08, sections 30.1-29-13 and 30.1-29-18, subsection 3 of section 30.1-29-19, subsection 1 of section 30.1-29-20.1, subsection 2 of section 30.1-29-22, and subsection 5 of section 30.1-29-25 of the North Dakota Century Code, relating to incapacitated persons, court-authorized involuntary treatment, guardianship of a child, guardianship of an incapacitated person, and protection of property of persons under disability and minors; and to repeal sections 30.1-26-01, 30.1-28-08, and 30.1-28-15 of the North Dakota Century Code, relating to visitors in a guardianship proceeding and appointment of successor guardians.
- Status: signed
- Chamber: Senate
- Introduced: 2025-01-20
- Last action: 2025-05-02, Filed with Secretary Of State 04/30
- Sponsor: Michael Dwyer (Republican)
- Cosponsors: 5
- Touches household money: no
- Roll calls: 4 (269 yes, 3 no in all)
- Economic provisions PRIA read: 13

## Summary

No summary available.

## Bill overview: provisions PRIA read

- Emergency appointments get faster court review: benefit, low. Courts must hold hearings within 10 days after petitions for an emergency guardian or court-appointed money manager are filed. Emergency appointments last up to 90 days. A guardian appointment without advance notice requires sworn evidence of substantial harm before a hearing. The spouse and anyone…
- Families get clearer court notice rules: benefit, low. The law identifies who counts as an interested person in guardianship and court-managed property cases. This includes petitioners, specified relatives, lawyers, representative payees, court-designated people, and adults who shared the person’s home for over six months. After appointment, notice goe…
- Guardian replacements require notice and accounting: benefit, low. Courts can remove a guardian in the person’s best interests or accept the guardian’s request to resign. After removal, resignation, or death, courts can appoint a replacement or issue another suitable order. Appointment without a hearing requires notice offering one, with no hearing requested by or…
- Guardianship and financial reports stay private: benefit, low. Guardianship and court-managed property reports and financial accounts are closed to public inspection. This includes annual and final reports and reports by court-appointed advocates or expert examiners; guardianship visitor reports are also private. Courts, case parties, their lawyers, and people…
- Major estate decisions require court safeguards: benefit, low. Courts must give notice and hold a hearing before approving specified actions involving a protected person’s money or property. These include gifts exceeding 20 percent of the estate’s income for any year and insurance or annuity beneficiary changes. Certain decisions to give up property rights als…
- Protected people get reports and review rights: benefit, low. Guardians must mail annual and court-required reports to the person under guardianship and court-designated interested people. Court-appointed money managers must provide property inventories and required reports to the people named by law. Inventories are due within 90 days of appointment. Reports…
- Clinicians can determine health consent incapacity: benefit, low. A physician, psychiatrist, or psychologist can determine incapacity for health-care consent involving a minor or someone unable to consent. The existing priority order for people authorized to consent on the patient’s behalf remains in place.
- Some court notice requirements are removed: cost, low. The law removes a petitioner’s specific duty to serve a guardian in a case started by an interested person. It also repeals former notice rules for petitions seeking a court-appointed money manager or another property-protection order. Those rules required personal service on the person needing pro…
- Adult guardianship balances care and freedom: mixed, medium. The law defines when an adult qualifies as incapacitated for guardianship. A mental, physical, or chemical-dependency impairment must prevent responsible decisions or endanger the adult’s health or safety. Guardianship allows protective care but can limit the adult’s choices. Any limits must be nec…
- Courts can extend initial guardianship orders: mixed, medium. Courts can extend an initial guardianship order by up to 90 days when its review hearing cannot happen before expiration. The court must find good cause and issue new guardianship papers showing the new end date. This keeps the care arrangement in place but also continues the person’s guardianship…
- Medication court orders reach voluntary patients: mixed, medium. Qualified mental-health professionals can seek court-approved medication for voluntary patients in public treatment facilities, as well as patients under treatment orders. Notice, a hearing, and certification by a psychiatrist or an uninvolved final-year psychiatric resident are required. Certifica…
- Families challenging contact limits must notify: mixed, low. People challenging a guardian’s contact or visitation restriction must serve their request on the people named by law. The request must explain their relationship to the person under guardianship and why the restriction is unreasonable or arbitrary. The court must notify the person filing and the r…
- Guardians gain personal financial protections: mixed, low. Guardians owe a duty to act for the person in their care, but need not spend their own money. They are not liable for that person’s acts unless they are grossly negligent. Guardians also avoid liability for a provider’s wrongful conduct when they used reasonable care in choosing the provider.

## Sponsors and cosponsors

- Sponsor: Michael Dwyer (Republican), Senate
- Cosponsor: Karla Rose Hanson (Democratic), House
- Cosponsor: Lawrence R. Klemin (Republican), House
- Cosponsor: Diane Larson (Republican), Senate
- Cosponsor: Jonathan Sickler (Republican), Senate
- Cosponsor: Kent Weston (Republican), Senate

## Roll call votes

| Date | Chamber | Motion | Result | Yes | No | Other |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 2025-04-22 | House | Second reading, passed as amended, yeas 92 nays 1 | pass | 92 | 1 |   |
| 2025-04-16 | Senate | Second reading, passed, yeas 47 nays 0 | pass | 47 | 0 |   |
| 2025-03-14 | House | Second reading, passed as amended, yeas 86 nays 2 | pass | 86 | 2 |   |
| 2025-02-14 | Senate | Second reading, passed, yeas 44 nays 0 | pass | 44 | 0 |   |

## Actions (26)

- 2025-05-02: Filed with Secretary Of State 04/30 (House)
- 2025-05-01: Signed by Governor 04/29 (Senate)
- 2025-04-28: Sent to Governor (Senate)
- 2025-04-28: Signed by President (Senate)
- 2025-04-25: Signed by Speaker (House)
- 2025-04-22: Second reading, passed as amended, yeas 92 nays 1 (House)
- 2025-04-22: Conference committee report adopted (House)
- 2025-04-16: Reported back from conference committee, in place of, placed on calendar (House)
- 2025-04-16: Second reading, passed, yeas 47 nays 0 (Senate)
- 2025-04-16: Conference committee report adopted (Senate)
- 2025-04-08: Reported back from conference committee, in place of, placed on calendar (Senate)
- 2025-04-01: Conference committee appointed Holle Dobervich Kiefert (House)
- 2025-03-31: Conference committee appointed Paulson Castaneda Braunberger (Senate)
- 2025-03-31: Refused to concur (Senate)
- 2025-03-17: Returned to Senate (12) (Senate)
- 2025-03-14: Second reading, passed as amended, yeas 86 nays 2 (House)
- 2025-03-12: Amendment adopted, placed on calendar (House)
- 2025-03-11: Reported back amended, do pass, amendment placed on calendar 12 0 1 (House)
- 2025-03-10: Committee Hearing 09:30 (House)
- 2025-02-18: Introduced, first reading, referred Human Services Committee (House)
- 2025-02-17: Received from Senate (House)
- 2025-02-14: Second reading, passed, yeas 44 nays 0 (Senate)
- 2025-02-13: Amendment adopted, placed on calendar (Senate)
- 2025-02-12: Reported back amended, do pass, amendment placed on calendar 7 0 0 (Senate)
- 2025-01-29: Committee Hearing 02:30 (Senate)
- 2025-01-20: Introduced, first reading, referred Judiciary Committee (Senate)

## Bill text

- Adopted by the House Human Services Committee: [PDF](https://ndlegis.gov/assembly/69-2025/regular/documents/25-1110-02002m.pdf)
- Adopted by the Senate Judiciary Committee: [PDF](https://ndlegis.gov/assembly/69-2025/regular/documents/25-1110-01001m.pdf)
- Enrollment: [PDF](https://ndlegis.gov/assembly/69-2025/regular/documents/25-1110-05000.pdf)
- FIRST ENGROSSMENT: [PDF](https://ndlegis.gov/assembly/69-2025/regular/documents/25-1110-02000.pdf)
- FIRST ENGROSSMENT with Conference Committee Amendments: [PDF](https://ndlegis.gov/assembly/69-2025/regular/documents/25-1110-04000.pdf)
- FIRST ENGROSSMENT with House Amendments: [PDF](https://ndlegis.gov/assembly/69-2025/regular/documents/25-1110-03000.pdf)
- INTRODUCED: [PDF](https://ndlegis.gov/assembly/69-2025/regular/documents/25-1110-01000.pdf)
- Prepared by the Legislative Council staff for Senator Paulson: [PDF](https://ndlegis.gov/assembly/69-2025/regular/documents/25-1110-02004m.pdf)

## Related bills

- HB 1229: AN ACT to create and enact a new subdivision to subsection 2 of section 39-06.1-06 and section 39-10-71.1 of the North Dakota Century Code, relating to statuto… (signed)
- SB 2390: AN ACT to create and enact three new sections to chapter 54-40.1 of the North Dakota Century Code, relating to a rural catalyst committee, grant program, and f… (signed)
- HB 1298: AN ACT to amend and reenact sections 39-06.1-06, 39-09-02, 39-09-04, and 39-09-07.1, and subsection 2 of section 40-05-06 of the North Dakota Century Code, rel… (signed)
- SB 2113: AN ACT to create and enact two new sections to chapter 50-06 of the North Dakota Century Code, relating to certified community behavioral health clinics and th… (signed)
- SB 2147: AN ACT to create and enact a new subsection to section 15-10-38.4, a new subsection to section 15-62.4-03, a new section to chapter 15-62.4, and a new subsecti… (signed)
- SB 2018: AN ACT to provide an appropriation for defraying the expenses of the department of commerce; to provide an appropriation to the attorney general; to provide an… (signed)

## Sources
- [Adopted by the House Human Services Committee (PDF)](https://ndlegis.gov/assembly/69-2025/regular/documents/25-1110-02002m.pdf)
- [Adopted by the Senate Judiciary Committee (PDF)](https://ndlegis.gov/assembly/69-2025/regular/documents/25-1110-01001m.pdf)
- [Enrollment (PDF)](https://ndlegis.gov/assembly/69-2025/regular/documents/25-1110-05000.pdf)
- [FIRST ENGROSSMENT (PDF)](https://ndlegis.gov/assembly/69-2025/regular/documents/25-1110-02000.pdf)
- [FIRST ENGROSSMENT with Conference Committee Amendments (PDF)](https://ndlegis.gov/assembly/69-2025/regular/documents/25-1110-04000.pdf)
- [FIRST ENGROSSMENT with House Amendments (PDF)](https://ndlegis.gov/assembly/69-2025/regular/documents/25-1110-03000.pdf)
- [INTRODUCED (PDF)](https://ndlegis.gov/assembly/69-2025/regular/documents/25-1110-01000.pdf)
- [Prepared by the Legislative Council staff for Senator Paulson (PDF)](https://ndlegis.gov/assembly/69-2025/regular/documents/25-1110-02004m.pdf)

## Related
- [HB 1229: AN ACT to create and enact a new subdivision to subsection 2 of section 39-06.1…](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/ND-HB1229-202501)
- [SB 2390: AN ACT to create and enact three new sections to chapter 54-40.1 of the North D…](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/ND-SB2390-202501)
- [HB 1298: AN ACT to amend and reenact sections 39-06.1-06, 39-09-02, 39-09-04, and 39-09-…](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/ND-HB1298-202501)
- [SB 2113: AN ACT to create and enact two new sections to chapter 50-06 of the North Dakot…](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/ND-SB2113-202501)
- [SB 2147: AN ACT to create and enact a new subsection to section 15-10-38.4, a new subsec…](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/ND-SB2147-202501)
- [SB 2018: AN ACT to provide an appropriation for defraying the expenses of the department…](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/ND-SB2018-202501)
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Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/ND-SB2291-202501 (as of 2026-10-19).