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Committee hears bill to adjust campaign contribution reporting threshold for inflation
Summary
Representative Dan Ruby proposed adjusting the $200 minimum reportable contribution for campaign finance filings to account for inflation; Secretary of State Michael Howe told the committee legal guidance limited prior automatic adjustments and the office has a new reporting system coming that would make future changes easier to implement.
Representative Dan Ruby told the Finance and Taxation Committee House Bill 1377 would implement the inflation adjustments to the minimum reportable contribution amount that were written into prior ethics legislation but never applied.
"One of the provisions ... was the intent to have the portion that we have to claim, or to report the entity that gave us a contribution of at least ... $200 ... adjusted for inflation," Representative Dan Ruby said, recounting conversations dating to the ethics measure’s enactment.
Ruby said his draft would make the process clearer and allow the secretary of state to apply cumulative adjustments going back to January 5, 2021, in $5 increments rather than waiting for larger thresholds. He said the goal is to "follow the law that we put in, and follow what the people put in, the ethics."
Michael Howe, North Dakota secretary of state, told the committee the office first learned the requirement in March 2023 and sought guidance from the attorney general’s office. Howe said the AG interpreted the language as requiring an adjustment only when the inflation during a single 12-month period reached the statutory increment, rather than by cumulative increases going back several years. He said the secretary of state's office is implementing a new campaign-finance reporting system for the 2026 cycle that will make programming adjustments simpler.
Committee members discussed alternatives, including adjusting the threshold on a periodic schedule (every four or eight years) rather than annually. Representative Anderson suggested less-frequent updates would reduce confusion for candidates and the public. Ruby and committee members said drafting a bill that aligns the campaign-disclosure code with the constitutional "true source of funds" language and synchronizes adjustments across related provisions could be appropriate.
The committee closed the hearing without taking a vote and asked for follow-up drafting to clarify mechanics and timing of any adjustment.
Ending: Committee members suggested an amendment to set a clear lookback date and a regular update cadence; no committee vote was taken.
