North Dakota RFID-Implant Bill Sent to Governor

April 6, 2007—The following are news announcements made during the week of April 2.
A bill banning required tag implants was sent to North Dakota's governor this week. On March 16, the state's House of Representatives approved the bill, 60-2007/bill-text/HBPJ0200.pdf SB 2415, which would make it illegal for anyone to require that an RFID tag be implanted into another person's body. Such an act, the bill states, would be punishable as a class-A misdemeanor. Introduced to the North Dakota Senate on Jan. 22, the bill moved quickly to the house after a nearly unanimous vote on Feb. 9. Governor John Hoeven has until the end of day on Monday to either sign the bill into law or veto it. North Dakota Senator Randel Christmann, one of the bill's sponsors, says SB 2415 is designed to protect citizens from ever being required to be implanted with an RFID tag, whether for location tracking or any other purpose. If a party were to voluntarily subject himself to such implantation, Christmann says, that would be fine. The bill is similar to a law passed in Wisconsin last summer, imposing a fine of up to $10,000 for implanting a tag in a person against his or her will (see Wisconsin Governor Signs 'Chip Implant' Bill).