North Dakota House Bill HB1134

North Dakota 2025-2026 Regular Session

• Introduced: 1/7/25
• Refer: 1/7/25
• Report Pass: 1/23/25
• Engrossed: 1/28/25
• Refer: 2/13/25
• Report Pass: 3/10/25
• Enrolled: 3/14/25
• Passed: 3/24/25

Caption

AN ACT to amend and reenact section 12.1-17-07 of the North Dakota Century Code, relating to harassment of another.

Summary

HB 1134 amends North Dakota’s harassment statute, section 12.1-17-07 of the Century Code, to update and expand the conduct that can constitute harassment. The bill keeps existing prohibitions on threatening communications, anonymous or offensively coarse phone calls, repeated communications with no legitimate purpose, and false written or electronic statements that cause mental anguish. It also expressly includes communications made by electronic means and clarifies that electronically transmitted messages count as “in writing.” A major change is the addition of a new harassment offense for communicating, publishing, posting, or otherwise disclosing a person’s personal identifying information on a public internet site or public forum with intent to frighten or harass. The bill also addresses misuse of emergency systems by making it an offense to contact 911, a public safety answering point, or an emergency responder communication system with intent to annoy or harass, or to make a false report to a public safety agency. A conviction under this subsection can also require payment of costs for any unnecessary emergency response.

Impact

The bill amends criminal law by broadening the definition of harassment and clarifying that electronic communications, including email and similar digital transmissions, are covered by the statute. It also creates or reinforces misdemeanor liability for doxxing-like conduct involving public disclosure of personal identifying information, and for false or harassing use of emergency response systems. Depending on the subsection violated, the offense remains a class A or class B misdemeanor, with class A treatment applying to threats, disclosure of personal identifying information, and certain emergency-line violations.

Sentiment

The bill appears to have received strong bipartisan support and little visible opposition. It passed the House 90-2 and the Senate unanimously 47-0, suggesting broad agreement that the statute should be updated to address modern electronic harassment and misuse of emergency systems. The lack of committee transcript discussion in the provided materials also suggests the measure was relatively noncontroversial in the legislative process.

Contention

The main policy issues implicit in the bill are the balance between protecting people from online harassment and preserving lawful speech, as well as the scope of criminal liability for digital communications. The new provision covering publication of personal identifying information could raise concerns about overbreadth or First Amendment implications, while the emergency-line provisions target false or harassing calls that burden public safety agencies. However, the recorded votes indicate these concerns did not generate significant opposition among legislators.