Senate panel backs due-pass for bill requiring public website for investment board

The Senate Industry and Business Committee voted 5-0 to recommend a due pass for engrossed House Bill 1319, a bill that would require the state investment board to maintain a publicly accessible website with certain investment disclosures.

Supporters said the website would reduce the number and cost of open-records requests by letting people look up key legacy-fund information online. "We could redirect people to this website," Jody Smith, interim executive director of the Retirement and Investment Office, told the committee. She said the office manages 31 funds and that the legacy fund is just one of them, and that a searchable site would reduce staff time spent fulfilling requests currently provided as lengthy PDFs.

Why it matters: The legacy fund is a sovereign wealth fund created by constitutional amendment in 2010; it receives 30% of oil and gas revenue. Committee members said publicly available information could ease the administrative burden of repeated open-records requests and give the public easier access to legacy-fund details.

Smith told the committee she preferred the House-drafted version of the bill over a later, more prescriptive amendment. "We're not in support of those [green-line] additions," she said of the amendment text. "They're a bit prescriptive, and we have some concerns that they would be in compliance with the state law. We also have contracts in place that we feel would be out of compliance, if this went into effect. So the version that was sent over from the house... is the one that we would recommend."

Smith estimated initial costs to build the website could reach about $500,000, based on a range provided by the North Dakota Information Technology (NDIT) office. She said those costs should fall after launch because later work could be automated when the agency's legacy systems are replaced in 2029.

Committee discussion referenced the fiscal note and the cost of responding to open-records requests. Smith said the office charges $25 per hour after the first hour for some requests but estimated the true internal cost at about $100 an hour for staff time to gather and scrub records. She said roughly 30% of the office's open-records requests relate to the legacy fund.

Action at committee: Senator Klein moved a due-pass recommendation on engrossed House Bill 1319 and that the bill be referred to the Appropriations Committee; Senator Kessel seconded. The clerk recorded a roll call: Klein, Kessel, Chairman Barta, Vice Chair Baim and Senator Engett all voted "Aye." The committee recorded a 5-0 "due pass" recommendation and Senator Klein agreed to be the carrier.

Background and next steps: Committee members said the website could be phased and improved over several years. Smith said staff would propose larger IT funding during the next legislative session to modernize systems and reduce manual uploads. The bill will move to the Appropriations Committee per the committee recommendation.

Ending: With the committee's unanimous endorsement, House Bill 1319 will proceed toward consideration by the Legislature with a due-pass recommendation and an appropriations referral.