North Dakota House Bill HB1269

North Dakota 2025-2026 Regular Session

• Introduced: 1/13/25
• Refer: 1/13/25
• Report Pass: 2/13/25
• Engrossed: 2/18/25
• Refer: 2/18/25
• Report Pass: 3/25/25
• Enrolled: 3/28/25
• Passed: 4/4/25

Caption

AN ACT to amend and reenact sections 54-44.4-02 and 54-44.6-02 of the North Dakota Century Code, relating to procurement exemptions and an exemption from forms management requirements for the North Dakota center for distance education.

Summary

HB 1269 amends North Dakota’s procurement law to add the North Dakota Center for Distance Education to the list of entities and transactions exempt from the state’s general purchasing requirements. Specifically, it allows the center to contract directly for educational content, educational technology tools, and related services used to deliver virtual education to K-12 students, rather than routing those purchases through the Office of Management and Budget’s standard procurement process. The bill also updates the state’s forms-management chapter to exclude the center from the definition of “agency,” which removes it from those requirements as well. In practical terms, the bill gives the center more flexibility and administrative independence in obtaining the specialized products and services it needs for distance learning. It does not broadly change procurement rules for other agencies, but it adds another targeted exemption to an already lengthy list of exceptions in state law. The measure is narrow in scope and focused on the operational needs of a single education provider within state government. The overall sentiment around the bill appears strongly favorable. It passed the House unanimously, 89-0, and the Senate by a wide margin, 46-1, indicating broad bipartisan support and little resistance to the policy change. The lack of committee transcript material suggests there was no major public controversy or extended debate recorded in the available materials. The main point of contention, to the extent one exists, is the policy choice to carve out another procurement exemption from centralized oversight. Supporters likely viewed the exemption as a practical way to speed up purchases for virtual education and avoid delays in a specialized program, while any dissent may have reflected concern about reducing uniform procurement controls or creating additional exceptions to state purchasing rules. However, the voting record shows that any such concerns were limited and did not prevent passage.

Impact

HB 1269 amends sections 54-44.4-02 and 54-44.6-02 of the North Dakota Century Code. It adds a procurement exemption for the North Dakota Center for Distance Education for educational content, educational technology tools, and related services used for virtual K-12 instruction, and it excludes the center from the definition of “agency” for forms-management purposes. The bill therefore reduces the center’s reliance on centralized procurement and forms-management processes administered by the Office of Management and Budget.

Sentiment

The bill was received positively overall, with overwhelming support in both chambers. The House passed it 89-0 and the Senate 46-1, suggesting broad agreement that the center needed greater flexibility to procure distance-learning resources efficiently. No committee debate or organized opposition is reflected in the provided materials.

Contention

The only notable policy tension is between administrative efficiency for the North Dakota Center for Distance Education and the state’s general preference for centralized procurement oversight. Critics of such exemptions could argue that carving out specialized purchasing authority may weaken consistency, transparency, or competition in state contracting. In the available record, however, any such concerns were minimal and did not materially affect the bill’s progress.