Senate hearing: Ethics Commission seeks additional staff, case‑management system and funds for rule implementation

Bismarck — The North Dakota Ethics Commission told the Senate Appropriations Committee on Wednesday that the agency has expanded education and enforcement activity since 2019 and is asking the legislature to approve additional staff and funding for the 2025–27 biennium.

Rebecca Binstock, executive director of the North Dakota Ethics Commission, said the commission has shifted from a near‑entirely volunteer operation to a small professional staff and has seen a rise in filings and enforcement work. "The Ethics Commission was established as an independent constitutional entity in 2018," Binstock said, and the panel has adopted a strategic plan focused on education, relationships and communications, rules review, a positive work culture and "meaningful enforcement."

Binstock told the committee staff conducted 28 educational and training sessions during 2024 that reached an estimated 1,000 residents and offered a webinar series called "Dakota Dilemmas." She said the commission moved many disclosure and meeting‑notice forms online through work with the state information technology office (NDIT) and has launched a Prairie Principles newsletter, a Facebook page and a YouTube channel to improve outreach.

Why it matters: Committee members and commission staff framed the request as part of the agency's work to increase transparency and to process a growing volume of complaints and disclosures. The commission presented statistics showing a rise in advisory opinions, meeting notices and complaints since 2019 and argued that additional staffing, upgraded case management and one‑time funds for rules implementation are needed to meet constitutional and statutory duties.

Details and discussion

Complaints and enforcement: Binstock said complaints increased beginning in late 2022. She told the committee the commission received 41 complaints in 2024, of which 21 were summarily dismissed and about 20 remained pending as of Dec. 31, 2024. "We currently have approximately 31 complaints pending," she said at one point while reviewing multi‑year charts; later she reiterated the 2024 counts. The commission described bottlenecks in its complaint process and said it plans to propose legislation to change that process and to improve internal case handling.

Budget and staffing requests: Binstock said the commission's 2023–25 legislative appropriation included roughly $1.21 million in general funds and that, as of Dec. 31, 2024, the commission had spent $851,450 with a remaining balance of about $362,019. For 2025–27, the commission is seeking additional funds — including an added full‑time equivalent position dedicated to education and outreach — and called for roughly $679,000 in additions that would bring the total request to about $1.8 million and one additional FTE. Key components cited by staff:

- A new FTE focused on preventative education and outreach to shift those duties away from legal staff so attorneys can concentrate on enforcement and investigations. - A case‑management system budgeted at $195,000 (commission figures) with $135,000 one‑time costs and $60,000 ongoing maintenance; Binstock said demonstrations and vendor discussions are pending. - One‑time funding (the commission requested $50,000) to support rule implementation if the commission adopts new or revised rules. - Additional professional fees to cover outside special assistant attorney general (SAG) work, investigators or other external experts; staff said actual professional services spending rose during the last biennium and the commission requested an increase above the base to cover ongoing needs.

Operations and administrative changes: The commission reported it moved from one part‑time/temporary staff structure to three full‑time staffers and that it reclassified and regraded an executive assistant position to operations manager. The commission said it has added a general counsel and an operations administrator (Alicia Meyer) and has no current vacancies or staff turnover during the 2023–25 biennium. Binstock also described a pilot internship partnership with the University of North Dakota School of Law.

Rules and transparency: The commission referenced Article 14 of the North Dakota Constitution as the source of its duties to adopt rules on transparency, corruption, elections and lobbying and to investigate alleged violations. Binstock said the commission has drafted disclosure rules (including travel and financial/disclosure rules) and is coordinating with the Secretary of State on campaign‑finance related proposals. She described a proposal to address perceived defects in the complaint process before adopting further substantive rules.

Committee questions and clarifications: Senators asked whether staff must seek commission approval for routine administrative decisions; Binstock said staff has been delegated some monthly spending authority but brings policy items and strategic changes to the full commission for approval. Committee members also questioned the likely effect of increased education on complaint volume; Binstock said better education should reduce some violations but acknowledged it could also raise reporting and thus increase the need for efficient processing.

Other items: Staff said the commission moved meeting‑notice filings online and is working with NDIT to make meeting notices available to legislators and the public online. The commission reported creation of a more robust website and an updated Frequently Asked Questions resource.

Ending

Binstock closed by noting that additional legislative proposals could affect the commission's duties and budget, and she said the commission looks forward to working with the committee on the final 2025–27 appropriation. The committee opened and then closed the public hearing on Senate Bill 2004; no final vote on the bill was recorded during the hearing.

Quotes used in this article are taken from the committee hearing transcript and are attributed to the speaker who made them.