Committee rejects broad Ethics Commission overhaul, advances several narrower bills; immunity and pension measures debated

BISMARCK — Lawmakers on the House committee on ethics and government on Tuesday refused to advance a bill that would broaden the North Dakota Ethics Commission’s enforcement procedures, while approving a mix of other measures ranging from legislator conflict‑of‑interest protections to pension eligibility and procurement changes.

The committee voted 9–3 to recommend “do not pass” on House Bill 1360 after protracted testimony about whether the measure would allow the commission to “define, execute, and interpret its own rules.” Chris Joseph, general counsel for the governor, testified that "as written, however, House Bill 13 60 is overbroad and there are unintended consequences our office believes will occur if the bill passes," arguing the language as drafted could delegate enforcement authority that, in the governor’s view, belongs to the legislative assembly. "By allowing the enforcement action language and new enforcement process, the Ethics Commission is defining, executing, and interpreting its own rules," Joseph said.

Rebecca Binstock, executive director of the North Dakota Ethics Commission, told the committee the commission interprets its authority as "to adopt rules" but said the panel’s proposed changes would make the process less punitive and more educational. She described a multi‑stage case process that she said can leave matters open for long periods and said the commission supports some changes to speed up resolution while preserving due process.

Committee members repeatedly raised concerns about checks and balances. Representative Steiner, who moved the do‑not‑pass recommendation, said the bill appeared to dilute statutory guardrails the legislature has already set and that "the ethics commission kinda sits a little bit outside the three" branches. After debate the committee approved the do‑not‑pass recommendation by roll call.

Aside from HB 1360, the committee acted on multiple other measures. Lawmakers adopted significant amendments to House Bill 1505 — which would add criminal‑prosecution immunity in narrow circumstances for legislators who disclose conflicts of interest — but ultimately sent the amended measure forward with a committee recommendation of do not pass (vote 8–4–1). Chris Joseph said the governor’s office would accept only the bill’s first two sections (the narrowly drawn immunity provisions) and not the broader enforcement changes that were also attached in earlier drafts; ethics officials told the committee they support parts of the amendment aimed at allowing respondents to speak publicly and at reducing administrative delay.

The committee approved a substantial procurement bill (House Bill 10 28) as amended, advancing language to tighten how design and fee information is used in selecting construction managers at risk. Representative Ben Koppelman, the bill sponsor, and Russ Hanson of the Associated General Contractors discussed the changes; Hanson said the amendments did not change his organization’s opposition but would not alter their overall view.

Pension and benefit changes also moved. The panel gave a do‑pass recommendation to House Bill 14 19, expanding eligibility for the state public safety retirement plan to include state radio dispatchers and allowing political subdivisions to offer the plan to local dispatchers and emergency personnel. Derek Holbein of the Public Employees Retirement System told members the fiscal note estimates roughly 460 political‑subdivision employees could opt in and that the state cost in the biennium is about $87,000. Holbein emphasized the defined‑benefit public safety plans include disability protections that do not exist under the defined‑contribution option.

A related measure, House Bill 12 74, would move state correctional officers into the state public safety plan. The committee adopted a technical correction and recommended the bill be sent forward as amended. Fiscal estimates show the change would shift liabilities between plans and raise the state public safety plan contribution rate by an estimated 0.12 percentage point.

The committee also approved an amended organizational‑session bill (House Bill 12 57) that expands orientation for new legislators and requires the session agenda to include specified briefings; the panel amended the language to let legislative counsel arrange legal orientation and to leave scheduling and topic timing to legislative management. Lawmakers debated whether some orientation content should be delivered in short video form for convenience.

Other outcomes: the committee voted no on a bill expanding raffle authority for political organizations (do‑not‑pass, vote 11–1–1) and voted not to advance a proposal to change how circulator pay is calculated for initiative petitions (do‑not‑pass, vote 8–4–1).

Votes at a glance - HB 13 60 (Ethics Commission enforcement changes): Do not pass (9–3). Major testimony: Chris Joseph, Office of the Governor; Rebecca Binstock, Ethics Commission. Committee concerns: delegation of enforcement authority, checks and balances. - HB 15 05 (legislator immunity/conflict procedures), as amended: Amendments adopted; Do not pass as amended (8–4–1). Committee adopted Legislative Counsel‑drafted amendments affecting immunity, appeal venues, and confidentiality. Governor’s counsel said sections 1–2 would be acceptable; remainder not supported. - HB 10 28 (construction selection / CMAR procurement), as amended: Do pass (8–4–1). Sponsor: Rep. Ben Koppelman. Fiscal/administrative debate centered on federal funding constraints and closing a loophole about fee disclosure. - HB 14 19 (public safety retirement: dispatchers): Do pass (7–5–1). PERS fiscal note: state cost about $87,000 for the biennium; political‑subdivision impact estimated at roughly $700,000 over the same period in the fiscal note. PERS cautioned employers would choose to participate. - HB 12 74 (state correctional officers into public safety plan), amended: Do pass as amended (7–4–2). Actuarial estimates: moved ~442 individuals; main plan actuarial improvement estimated $12.2M; public safety plan liability increase estimated $17.4M; employer rate increase ~0.12%. - HB 12 57 (organizational session amendments), amended: Do pass as amended (7–5–1). Committee added language to let legislative counsel arrange legal orientation, allowed legislative management to set time limits for constitutional officers’ briefings, and removed a requirement tying adoption of rules to the end of orientation. - Raffle/party fundraising bill (expansion of “public‑spirited” definition / raffles for political parties): Do not pass (11–1–1). Committee members expressed concern about expanding raffle authority for political committees. - Initiative circulator pay change (per‑signature vs. per‑hour): Do not pass (8–4–1). Testimony included debate over fraud prevention and the effect on grassroots organizing.

What happened next and what to watch The committee split on major ethics‑related policy, advancing narrow and procedural changes while rejecting HB 1360’s broader enforcement scheme. Committee members asked for further negotiation among the governor’s office, the attorney general, the ethics commission and legislative counsel; several members suggested converting remaining disputes to a study or interbranch working group. Multiple fiscal notes and technical corrections will carry forward with bills to later floor consideration. No final floor outcomes were recorded in the committee transcript; bills advanced or recommended here will be scheduled by House leadership for subsequent action.

Reporting note: quotes in this article come from the committee transcript and from public testimony recorded at the Feb. 11 committee meeting.