Bill would require more frequent financial disclosure reporting from North Dakota officials
North Dakota Secretary of State Michael Howe speaks in opposition to a bill to require voter registration in North Dakota on Jan. 23, 2025. Howe is supporting a bill that would require annual financial disclosures from officials. (Mary Steurer/North Dakota Monitor)
The North Dakota Ethics Commission and Secretary of State's Office presented a bill Friday to require North Dakota officials to file financial disclosure forms on an annual basis.
House Bill 1469 would also require the Secretary of State's Office to publish the forms online.
Right now, officials only need to submit one form when they file for candidacy or when they're appointed to office. The documents aren't available online.
Rep. Glenn Bosch, R-Bismarck, told the House Political Subdivisions Committee that the bill will help make it easier for officials to track their own possible conflicts of interest, as well as increase public transparency.
The bill would also add the following reporting requirements:
A list of any local governments or state agencies that the individual or their spouse have provided more than $5,000 worth of goods or services to
A list of any employer, business or trust in which the individual or their spouse has more than a 10% stake in
Currently, candidates or appointees must only report the following information:
The employer and principal source of income of that individual and their spouse.
The name of any businesses or trusts in which the individual and their spouse have a financial interest.
A list of associations with which the individual or spouse 'are closely associated' or of which either is an officer or director.
Business offices, directorships or fiduciary relationships held by the individual and their spouse within the past year.
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Under the proposal, an official must refile a form annually even if their disclosures do not change.
Testifying in support of the bill, Secretary of State Michael Howe called the measure the 'right balance of transparency without burdensome requirements for filers.'
State officials would still file with the Secretary of State's Office, and local government officials would still file with their respective local offices.
The bill as proposed establishes Jan. 15 as the annual deadline.
Ethics Commission Executive Director Rebecca Binstock said that 47 other states already require officials to submit financial disclosures annually.
She said the bill 'affirms the integrity of our state institutions, and ensures citizens that decisions are being made with their best interest.'
Howe proposed an amendment to only require his agency to publish forms filed by state officials.
Kory Peterson, representing the League of Cities, said he wants to make sure local governments won't be required to publish their forms online. He said this could be difficult for smaller towns that still mostly keep everything on paper.
'These guys, they don't publish a lot of things online,' Peterson, a former mayor of Horace, said. 'I want to make sure we're not overwhelming people with paperwork'
He also suggested only requiring people to file if they have changes to report.
The committee did not take any action on the bill on Friday.
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