Latest news with #HouseBill1360
Yahoo
02-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
North Dakota lawmakers approve Ethics Commission bill with deadline removed
North Dakota Ethics Commissioner Murray Sagsveen, left, and Sen. Tim Mathern, D-Fargo, talk while walking in the hall of the Capitol on May 1, 2025. (Kyle Martin/For the North Dakota Monitor) North Dakota lawmakers on Friday approved an Ethics Commission budget full of major policy changes — though they abandoned a controversial proposal that would have imposed a deadline for ethics complaints. The budget, totaling nearly $1.4 million, was forwarded to both chambers for a vote that morning following final amendments from a six-member conference committee. The Senate approved the budget by a 44-2 vote, while the House passed it 71-19. The Ethics Commission sought money in Senate Bill 2004 for a fourth staff member for the 2025-2027 budget cycle, which the Legislature ultimately rejected. That employee would have focused on education and communications. The Senate initially approved the request, setting aside $250,000 for a two-year salary, benefits as well as other costs. The House later axed this funding — a move the conference committee sustained. Legislators did agree to fund a $50,000 case management system to help the commission track filings, which staff say will help them work more efficiently. Other noteworthy provisions in the budget include a handful of changes intended to fix bottlenecks in the Ethics Commission's complaint process. Some lawmakers who worked on the budget this session complained that the commission sometimes takes years to resolve complaints. Some complaints are more than two years old. Meanwhile, the commission has received a flood of new filings since Jan. 1. As of April 28, the board had received 68 complaints since the start of 2025. That's more than the commission received in all of 2024. Some, though not all, of the policy changes in the budget were originally proposed in bills that died earlier this session, like House Bill 1360 and House Bill 1505. Generally, the Ethics Commission is opposed to adding policy into the budget bill, said Executive Director Rebecca Binstock. She said she worries some of the provisions will add red tape to the commission's work, though she expects at least a few to help the board's work go more smoothly. 'The commission's position has always been that we prefer a clean budget,' Binstock said. Ethics commissioners say bill would impose an arbitrary cutoff for investigations One provision in the bill approved Friday would allow the commission to informally settle ethics complaints directly with the accused. Previously, the commission could only act as a mediator to broker informal resolutions between the accused and the filer — which sometimes doesn't work if that filer's demands were unrealistic. The commission must attempt to mediate between both parties first, however. Another requires the commission to develop time management standards for processing complaints, which Binstock said the commission supports and wanted to pursue anyway. Until Thursday, the budget included a mandate for the Ethics Commission to dismiss complaints after 180 days. It was added as part of an amendment brought by Rep. Mike Nathe, R-Bismarck, who said it is needed to make sure the commission's investigations don't drag on indefinitely. 'It's just a matter of fairness to the accused,' Nathe said previously. 'They shouldn't have to sit there with this hanging over their head for years at a time.' The Ethics Commission opposed the six-month window as a threat to its work, arguing that many complaints cannot be effectively probed within that timeframe and that it would incentivize people accused of ethics violations to obstruct investigations to run out the clock. In place of the deadline, the conference committee added a clause that states an individual accused of a violation may petition the commission at any time to dismiss the complaint against them. The Ethics Commission will have to draft a policy implementing this language. Some lawmakers said the root of the commission's backlog of complaints stems from a lack of resources, and that the budget does not address this problem. Sen. Tim Mathern, D-Fargo, unsuccessfully brought a budget amendment to more than double the commission's staff, arguing that the funding is necessary for the body to do its job effectively. 'I think the activity thus far indicates that we have a lack in that we don't have another staff person,' Mathern said on the floor Friday. 'However, we've made some progress, and hopefully by the next time we meet next session, we can get that other staff person to help us all do a great job.' Voters created an ethics commission in North Dakota. Then the Legislature limited its power. A separate amendment brought by Rep. Karla Rose Hanson, D-Fargo, requires the commission to publish an annual report providing details about its work, including the number of complaints filed and what the commission has done to resolve them. The bill also allows people accused of violations to discuss complaints against them. Another section protects lawmakers from being prosecuted with a conflict of interest crime for voting on bills so long as they observe the proper legislative conflict of interest rules or heed the informal advice of an Ethics Commission staff member. The bill advances to Gov. Kelly Armstrong for his consideration. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
Yahoo
02-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Democratic ND senator proposes doubling Ethics Commission budget, citing Holmberg case
Sen. Tim Mathern, D-Fargo, speaks on the Senate floor during the organizational session on Dec. 4, 2024. (Michael Achterling/North Dakota Monitor) A state senator wants to more than double the staff for the North Dakota Ethics Commission, arguing the state should be doing more to prevent public corruption. The amendment was brought before the House Appropriations Committee's Education and Environment Division on Wednesday by Sen. Tim Mathern, D-Fargo. He said his proposal was prompted by news coverage of former Republican state Sen. Ray Holmberg's prison sentence. 'It seems like every week, sometimes every day, there's some sort of news story about our former colleague, Sen. Holmberg,' Mathern told lawmakers. Holmberg was sentenced to 10 years in prison last week after he pleaded guilty to traveling to Prague, Czech Republic with the intent to engage in commercial sex with minors. One of Holmberg's trips to Prague was subsidized by taxpayer dollars, according to federal prosecutors. A prosecution sentencing memorandum also alleged that Holmberg arranged for commercial sex 'on countless occasions' while traveling in the U.S. Holmberg sexually exploited others, including people in North Dakota, witnesses say in court Meanwhile, the Ethics Commission faces an unprecedented number of complaint filings. In mid-March, Executive Director Rebecca Binstock told lawmakers that the board had received 59 complaints since the beginning of the year. That's more than the 41 filed in all of 2024. Ethics staff have testified previously that they lack the legal authority and resources to process these complaints as quickly as they would like. Mathern said the state ought to do more to support the commission. He suggested adding four to five new staff members, which would cost North Dakota an additional $1.5 million for the 2025-2027 budget cycle. That would roughly double the size of its budget. 'It's not just the fact that there are all these complaints,' Mathern said. He said not granting additional staff 'will be damaging the Ethics Commission itself because it's bogged down and can't be really acting on much.' Under Mathern's proposal, the commission would have three attorneys, an educational/communications administrator and a paralegal, in addition to an executive director. It would also include an operations manager and an administrative assistant. The Ethics Commission currently has three staff members. The proposed budget for 2025-2027 already includes an additional employee for public education. Binstock said the commission hasn't taken a stance on Mathern's proposal, but that the commissioners do appreciate his support. She said the board's priority for now is securing the education staff member. Earlier in the session, the House rejected House Bill 1360, which sought to make changes the commission said would have helped it address bottlenecks in its complaint process. The Attorney General's Office and Gov. Kelly Armstrong's Office testified against House Bill 1360, expressing concerns that some parts of the bill were unconstitutional. Mathern on Wednesday also brought up the new term limits for state lawmakers, which North Dakotans approved in a ballot measure in 2022. Under the constitutional amendment, many lawmakers will turn over in the coming years. He said the commission will need more resources to ensure it can effectively educate new legislators. He noted that many current lawmakers are still confused about ethics rules. Mathern also cited the need for more public education about the purpose of the commission. 'It's coming at the late hour,' Rep. Mike Nathe, the committee's chair, told Mathern. 'I'm not knocking the idea, I'm just saying it looks like it would need more discussion.' The committee didn't take any action on the budget bill on Wednesday. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
Yahoo
25-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
House defeats bill to streamline North Dakota Ethics Commission
Rebecca Binstock, executive director of the North Dakota Ethics Commission, speaks during a committee hearing on Jan. 31, 2025. (Michael Achterling/North Dakota Monitor) The North Dakota House overwhelmingly defeated a bill that aimed to give the Ethics Commission more freedom over how it investigates potential ethics violations. The Ethics Commission pushed for House Bill 1360 as a way to simplify the rules and laws that govern its work. Commission staff said this would both help reduce the commission's backlog of complaints, as well as make the process easier to navigate for the public. The Attorney General's Office and Gov. Kelly Armstrong's Office testified against the bill. Both agencies said the proposal would give the commission the authority to adopt and enforce its rules without proper checks and balances. Voters created an ethics commission in North Dakota. Then the Legislature limited its power. Referencing that testimony, Rep. Karen Rohr, R-Mandan, said on the floor Monday that House Bill 1360 raises 'significant legal and constitutional concerns for clients, citizens and the state.' 'Although necessary to do their job properly, it is still an example of a system that is ripe for misuse and a broad delegation of this power without guardrails,' Rohr said. House Government and Veterans Affairs Committee Chair Austen Schauer, a West Fargo Republican, noted last week it was unusual for the governor's head attorney to lobby so strongly against a bill before a legislative committee. There was no discussion of the bill after Rohr's speech. Lawmakers voted 81-12 against the proposal. Ethics Commission attorney Logan Carpenter in a letter addressed to Schauer last week pushed back on the claims the bill would give the commission too much power. He stated that the bill would bring the commission more in line with what North Dakotans voted for in 2018, when they approved a constitutional amendment to establish the commission. Carpenter also noted the commission is subject to checks and balances from each of the state's executive, judicial and legislative branches. In a statement last week, Executive Director Rebecca Binstock said the bill is necessary in order for the commission to operate effectively. 'Without HB 1360, the complaint process will continue to impair the Commission's ability to do its work as directed by the citizens,' she said. Ethics Commission to seek legislation to bolster transparency, investigative authority Another ethics-related bill, House Bill 1505, also failed on the floor Monday evening. The bill would have protected lawmakers from being prosecuted for a conflict of interest crime for voting on a bill as long as they properly declare the conflict and/or follow guidance from the Ethics Commission. The proposal was sponsored by House Majority Leader Mike Lefor, R-Dickinson, and Senate Majority Leader David Hogue, R-Minot. Vicky Steiner, R-Dickinson, said lawmakers are already protected from Ethics Commission action if they follow proper conflict disclosure requirements, but that immunity does not extend to criminal prosecution. House Bill 1505 incorporated some elements that were similar to House Bill 1360. For example, it would have allowed the commission to close complaints at any time. It also would have given people under investigation by the commission the freedom to discuss the matter publicly. The Ethics Commission took a neutral stance on House Bill 1505. As with 1360, the commission, Attorney General's Office and Governor's Office had differing views on the proposal, Steiner told lawmakers. 'The GVA committee could not find a path with the contradictory legal advice that we had been given,' she said. The bill failed by a vote of 84-9. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
Yahoo
21-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Bill promoted by North Dakota Ethics Commission gets ‘11th hour' opposition from Gov. Armstrong
Rebecca Binstock, left, executive director of the North Dakota Ethics Commission, Logan Carpenter, center, general counsel for the Ethics Commission, and Alisha Maier, right, operations manager for the Ethics Commission, listen during a committee hearing on Jan. 31, 2025. (Michael Achterling/North Dakota Monitor) A bill that aims to streamline how the Ethics Commission operates hit a roadblock Thursday when the governor's attorney testified against it. The testimony came about three weeks after the bill's hearing and just days before a legislative deadline, leaving lawmakers little time to weigh amendments to the proposal. House Bill 1360, supported by the Ethics Commission, is intended to simplify and streamline the rules and laws governing its complaint process. The Ethics Commission says the bill would help make its procedures easier for the public to understand. Ethics Commission to seek legislation to bolster transparency, investigative authority Chris Joseph, general counsel for Armstrong's office, testified Thursday that the bill would grant the commission too much power — allowing it to define and execute its own rules without meaningful checks from other areas of government. The Ethics Commission says the bill doesn't fundamentally change its authority. 'The Legislative Assembly must have a broader conversation regarding the scope of the commission's perceived ability to enforce,' Joseph told the House Government and Veterans Affairs Committee. Committee Chair Austen Schauer, a West Fargo Republican, said that it's 'quite unusual' for the governor's office's lead counsel to speak so strongly against a bill before a legislative committee. He said Joseph's testimony could be an indication Armstrong would veto the bill if it passes. 'There's a bit of a poison pill that you're delivering here, you understand that, don't you?' Schauer asked Joseph. House Bill 1360 would give the commission significantly more autonomy over when and how it conducts investigations. Members of the public could share information with the commission without having to submit a formal complaint, for instance. The bill also eliminates language in state law that is mirrored in the Ethics Commission's rules. The Governor's Office says this would grant the commission overbroad enforcement authority. Joseph said Thursday that the North Dakota Constitution tasks the Legislature with setting civil and criminal penalties for violations of ethics rules and laws. The Attorney General's Office has voiced similar concerns with the proposal. Chief Deputy Attorney General Claire Ness told the committee last month that the state could be sued over the amendments proposed by House Bill 1360. 'The constitution does not allow the Legislative Assembly to delegate this kind of enforcement authority,' she said. Voters created an ethics commission in North Dakota. Then the Legislature limited its power. Representatives of the governor did not testify during the bill's public hearing on Jan. 31, or submit written testimony until Thursday. Joseph emphasized in his testimony that the governor does not oppose the Ethics Commission. Ethics Commission Executive Director Rebecca Binstock said the agencies misunderstand the purpose of the bill. '1360 simply affirms recognition of the Commission's constitutional authority to create rules,' she wrote in a letter addressed to Schauer. She added that when the bill talks about enforcement action, it refers to the commission's investigation process. The Ethics Commission is still subject to checks and balances from the other three branches of government, Binstock said. The Legislature sets the agency's budget, while the governor's office, Senate majority leader and Senate minority work together to appoint the commissioners. The commission's enforcement actions can also be appealed to district court, she added. Members of the legislative committee signaled on Thursday they were unsure what to do with the bill after receiving mixed messages from state agencies. 'I think we are in the last 11th hour on this bill, and I think there's some significant issues with it,' Rep. Vicky Steiner, R-Dickinson, said during the hearing. Rep. Bernie Satrom, R-Jamestown, asked Joseph if amendments could be proposed to find a solution. 'There's obviously some issues that need to be worked out,' Satrom said. 'I'm just wondering if we can have some proposals to find some middle ground where everybody's happy.' Schauer reiterated comments he made three weeks ago that he wishes there had been more communication among the Ethics Commission, the Attorney General's Office and the Governor's Office on the bill. No one offered any proposed amendments Thursday. The committee voted 9-1 to give the bill a do-not-pass recommendation. The committee also voted against House Bill 1505, sponsored by House Majority Leader Mike Lefor and Senate Majority Leader David Hogue, which would protect lawmakers from being prosecuted for a conflict of interest crime if they follow conflict of interest guidelines and/or the guidance of the Ethics Commission. The immunity would only apply to prosecution for casting the vote; it wouldn't cover any other actions taken by that lawmaker related to an alleged conflict of interest, Legislative Council Attorney Liz Fordahl said during the hearing. Both bills will advance to the House floor for votes. The Ethics Commission was established in 2018 by a voter-initiated constitutional amendment. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
