03-04-2025
North Dakota legislative committee advances resolution prompted by Holmberg case
Rep. Nico Rios, R-Williston, speaks in favor of a resolution that would make public officials mandatory reporters of child abuse at an April 3, 2025, hearing. (Mary Steurer/North Dakota Monitor)
A House committee on Thursday advanced a resolution that advises the 2027 Legislature to make lawmakers mandatory reporters of child abuse.
The proposal is sponsored by Rep. Nico Rios, R-Williston, and was drafted by the North Dakota Young Republicans.
Rios said the organization is bringing the proposal, House Concurrent Resolution 3037, in light of news surrounding former Republican Sen. Ray Holmberg's prison sentence.
A federal judge last week sentenced Holmberg to 10 years in prison after the former senator pleaded guilty to traveling abroad with the intent to have commercial sex with minors. Holmberg served in the state Legislature for more than four decades and held the powerful position of Senate Appropriations Committee chair.
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Rios said the Young Republicans were particularly struck by a sentencing memo filed by a federal prosecutor last month that alleged Holmberg had a pattern of exploiting boys and young men. Mark Friese, Holmberg's defense attorney, denied many of the allegations in the memo and said there's no evidence Holmberg had sex with minors.
Rios said that he gets questions from constituents asking whether other public officials in state government knew about Holmberg's conduct but stayed quiet.
'That is why we need mandatory reporting, we should be held to a higher standard,' Rios told the House Political Subdivisions Committee on Thursday morning.
Current mandatory reporters of child abuse include medical professionals, social workers, law enforcement and teachers, according to the North Dakota Department of Health and Human Services website.
The resolution also urges lawmakers to seek additional ways for the state to root out crimes against children by public officials, including by establishing new penalties.
The North Dakota Young Republicans suggest that the Legislature consider studying the issue during the upcoming interim session.
'We believe this study can begin to answer the question so many in our state are asking: How did this happen, and more importantly, how can we prevent it from ever happening again?' Derek Turbide, national committeeman for the North Dakota Young Republicans, said in testimony in support of the proposal.
The proposal originally contained verses from the Bible, which committee members voted to remove.
Some lawmakers also expressed concerns that the resolution ignores systems the state already has in place to combat child exploitation and neglect.
'I would support the study to make legislators mandatory reporters, but I think the rest is unnecessary,' said Rep. Jonathan Warrey, R-Casselton.
The committee gave the resolution a do-pass recommendation. The proposal is headed to the House floor for a vote.
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