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Ethics commission seeks one‑word caption change to clarify lobby restriction applies to elected officials; opponents point to possible free‑speech challenge
Summary
The North Dakota Ethics Commission asked the Judiciary Committee to add the word "elected" to a code caption so the constitutional prohibition on elected officials acting as lobbyists is clearer; a lobbyist opposed the change and warned of a potential federal constitutional challenge but the committee voted to recommend the bill.
The North Dakota Ethics Commission asked the Senate Judiciary Committee to change a caption in state code to clarify that the constitutional prohibition on public officials serving as lobbyists applies to elected public officials.
Rebecca Binstock, executive director of the Ethics Commission, described Senate Bill 2052 as a narrow drafting change: the commission seeks to add the word "elected" to the caption so readers clearly understand that subsection 2 of section 2 of Article XIV of the North Dakota Constitution — which prohibits an "elected public…
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