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House approves ethics commission budget with process changes; 180‑day time requirement removed
Summary
Senate Bill 2,004, containing the Ethics Commission budget and statutory changes to complaint processing, was adopted by the House. The conference report replaces 'accused individual' with 'respondent', allows the commission to resume review if law enforcement takes no action within 60 days, and removes a 180‑day statutory completion requirement.
The North Dakota House adopted the conference committee report and passed Senate Bill 2,004 by a final vote of 71 yeas and 19 nays, approving the Ethics Commission’s budget and several statutory changes to complaint processing.
Representative Lowther, reading the conference committee amendments on the floor, said the committee replaced the phrase “accused individual” with “respondent” throughout the bill and described changes to the informal resolution process. “If the informal resolution process between the respondent and the complainant is unsuccessful, the commission may work with the respondent to settle and close the matter,” Lowther said as he read the text of the adopted amendments.
The conference report also adds language allowing the commission to resume investigation if a law enforcement agency referred an allegation for prosecution but takes no action on the referral within 60 days. The report moves an executive director's authority to report closures into an appropriate subsection and adds a provision allowing respondents to petition the commission at any time to dismiss a complaint under rules the commission prescribes. Representative Louder, presenting the final version, said the measures add “process enhancements and efficiency improvements to the ethics process.”
The conference committee removed a previously proposed statutory requirement that complaints be completed within 180 days; representatives discussed timeliness and rejected an amendment that would have eliminated any end date for some complaints. The House also maintained its position not to fund an additional FTE for education and outreach that the Senate had requested.
The bill makes several amendments and additions to chapters 54-03 and 54-66 of the North Dakota Century Code as read on the House floor. After debate, the House approved the conference committee report and the engrossed bill; the emergency clause also carried.
