State and Local Government Committee hears organizational session, campaign finance, AI disclosure and election bills; advances several measures

The State and Local Government Committee met in hearing to consider a series of bills affecting legislative procedure, campaign finance, political advertising and election administration. Committee members closed hearings, adopted amendments and voted to advance several measures to the full Senate.

The session covered six substantive items: House Bill 1257 on an expanded organizational session for incoming legislators; House Bill 1377 on inflationary adjustments to campaign finance reporting thresholds; House Bill 1167 requiring disclosure when political communications are generated in whole or in part by artificial intelligence; House Bill 1204 adding social media to prohibitions against publishing false information in political advertisements; House Bill 1158 clarifying access to petition signature records in the secretary of state’s possession; and House Bill 1138 aligning bonding-election timing with other election deadlines. Committee members also debated constitutional and statutory items related to charitable gaming and term limits.

Why it matters: The bills would change how new legislators are oriented, how small campaign contributions and expenditures are reported, how AI-generated political material is labeled, and how election and petition materials are handled. Those changes affect transparency, voter information and administrative workload for election officials.

Representative Jared Hendricks (R‑Fargo) introduced House Bill 1257, a proposal to expand the “organizational session” that orients newly elected lawmakers. Hendricks described additions including more detailed orientation to rules and procedures, a crash course on basic legal concepts for freshmen, better explanation of the budget process and a requirement that statewide constitutional officers present reports “as determined by legislative management.” Hendricks told the committee the expanded session could last “up to 5 days” and that some orientation components would be required only for freshmen. Brian Johnson, an attorney for the Public Service Commission, cautioned that the bill’s current wording could be read to require every constitutional officer (for example, all three public service commissioners) to appear individually; he urged clarifying language so legislative management could direct which officeholders appear. After amendment and discussion the committee voted a do-not-pass recommendation on the measure as amended, 5‑1 (do not pass as amended), sending it back with that recommendation.

Representative Dan Ruby (R‑District 38) presented House Bill 1377, which clarifies and updates the campaign finance reporting thresholds originally adopted in an ethics measure in 2018. Ruby said the intent is to implement the ballot-authorized inflation adjustment so disclosure thresholds do not remain at historic dollar amounts. The House committee had raised the fixed-threshold option: in the version discussed, the threshold would move immediately to $50 and then increase by fixed increments (the House language set a $100 rise every ten years); Ruby said he preferred a more frequent smaller increment but would accept amendments. Erica White, state election director in the secretary of state’s office, told the committee the office supports clarified thresholds and urged an effective date after the 2025 filing year so reporting thresholds do not change mid‑reporting year. The committee did not vote to advance HB 1377 during this hearing; members said they would hold it to reconcile related campaign finance language from other bills.

Representative Jonathan Warrie introduced House Bill 1167, a narrowly written bill requiring political communications to disclose if images, graphics, video, audio, text or other digital content were generated in whole or in part by artificial intelligence “and would visually or audibly impersonate a human.” The sponsor and the secretary of state’s office said the bill intentionally excludes routine editing or grammar tools and was drafted with input from TechND and the secretary of state’s office. Erica White (Secretary of State’s office) said the office supports the measure and suggested leaving detailed formatting and placement of the label to administrative rulemaking so the agency can adapt to rapid technological change. The committee adopted a technical amendment to capitalize the disclosure language, then voted to give HB 1167 a due-pass recommendation as amended, 6‑0.

Representative Mike Schatz presented House Bill 1204, a short bill adding social media and commercial mediums to an existing statute that penalizes publication of false information in political advertisements. Schatz said the bill is intended to address misleading or deceptive campaigning on online platforms. Committee members discussed enforcement and free‑speech limits; Schatz acknowledged the measure would have to be prosecuted by a state’s attorney in specific cases. The committee gave HB 1204 a due-pass recommendation (tally reported as 5‑0‑1) and indicated it would carry the bill forward.

Representative Greg Stevens (House sponsor) and Secretary of State Michael Howe presented House Bill 1158, which would allow the secretary of state’s office to complete its statutory 35‑day signature validation on initiative and referendum petitions before making the paper signatures public under open-records law. Secretary Howe explained that paper signatures can number in the tens of thousands, copying them while validation is underway could damage originals and copying can consume staff time that cuts into the office’s validation window. The committee voted to advance HB 1158 with a do‑pass recommendation, 6‑0.

Representative Brandy Pyle introduced House Bill 1138 to align the timeline for political‑subdivision bond elections with the 64‑day notice used for most other elections. Secretary Howe testified in support, citing uniformity and the administrative burdens created by shorter notice. The committee voted to advance HB 1138 with a due‑pass recommendation, 6‑0.

Other actions: committee members adopted an amendment to a charitable‑gaming constitutional amendment (excluding raffles from the ban for charitable groups) and passed that amendment 6‑0. The committee discussed two separate term‑limits measures and made procedural votes; members expressed differing views on whether term limits belong in statute or the constitution.

What’s next: Bills that received due‑pass or do‑pass recommendations will be scheduled for floor action. Several items (notably the campaign finance threshold bill) were held temporarily so related language in other bills can be reconciled.

Committee quotes (selected)

• Representative Jared Hendricks: “For the record, my name is Jared Hendricks, State Representative District 10 out of Fargo.”

• Erica White, State Election Director: “We support the increased fees outlined in this bill as well as the plan provided for future inflationary increases… We are requesting the effective date be after the 12/31/2025 deadline so reporting thresholds do not change mid reporting year.”

• Secretary Michael Howe: “House Bill 11 58 simply says the Secretary of State’s office must complete the validation and then those signatures are available for review or after that 35‑day period, whichever happens first.”

Ending: The committee’s actions advance several administrative and transparency reforms to the Senate. Lawmakers and agency staff said technical fixes and clearer statutory language remain necessary on some items; the committee held or delayed a few measures to coordinate related bills and to allow the secretary of state’s office and other stakeholders to refine implementation details.