Senate approves Attorney General budget with litigation pool, cybercrime agents and vaping registry

The North Dakota Senate on April 9 passed House Bill 1003, approving appropriations for the Office of the Attorney General that add two Bureau of Criminal Investigation (BCI) agents focused on cybercrime, establish an electronic smoking device registry with fees, and provide a one-time litigation pool appropriation. The final roll call recorded 41 ayes, 5 nays and 1 absent; the bill passed.

House Bill 1003, carried on the floor by Senator Sickler, funds divisions across the attorney general’s office and makes several budget and footnote adjustments. "House Bill 1003 provides the appropriations for the office of the attorney general. This office represents the state in all legal matters where the state is named as a party or the state may have an interest in the outcome of the litigation," Senator Sickler said during floor remarks summarizing the measure.

The amendments adopted by the Senate Appropriations Committee removed four full-time equivalent positions from the House version, added two BCI agents to focus on cybercrime in northeastern North Dakota, and included a contingent FTE for another BCI agent tied to potential additional duties arising from Senate Bill 2029 related to guardianship reform. The bill also moved certain program costs between funds via footnotes (including moving some children's forensic interview and medical examination costs subject to Senate Bill 2292) and provided about $254,000 for salary equity adjustments.

A litigation pool for outside counsel and experts is funded with a $5,000,000 one-time Strategic Investment Fund appropriation in this bill; combined with an earlier $3,000,000 deficiency appropriation, the committee described roughly $8,000,000 being available for litigation-related needs. Senator Sickler described the pool as dollars the attorney general "uses to hire outside attorneys and outside experts to help with litigation in which the state might be a party or have an interest."

The bill also creates a new chapter in Title 51 to set up an electronic smoking device directory and associated manufacturing fee and fund. The registry would require sellers of electronic smoking products to register and pay a one-time and annual fee; revenue from those fees would help fund at least a tobacco compliance officer in the attorney general’s office. The bill also contains language about the 24/7 sobriety program fees, preventing judges or judicial referees from waiving those particular fees.

Questions on the floor focused on how certain line items were classified as one-time or ongoing, and on how human-trafficking related grants and education were funded. Senator Powers asked for clarification on multiple human-trafficking grant line items; Senator Sigler explained that some amounts were one-time and others ongoing and that $685,000 in one line was intended to fund education tied to a separate Senate bill requiring human-trafficking education in schools.

The Appropriations Committee reported a 13-to-1 due-pass recommendation on the bill before final passage.