North Dakota House Bill HB1286

North Dakota 2025-2026 Regular Session

• Introduced: 1/13/25
• Refer: 1/13/25
• Report DNP: 2/12/25

Caption

A BILL for an Act to create and enact sections 16.1-08.1-09, 16.1-08.1-10, 16.1-08.1-11, and 16.1-08.1-12 of the North Dakota Century Code, relating to reporting the ultimate and true source of funds; to amend and reenact sections 16.1-08.1-01 and 16.1-10-04.1 of the North Dakota Century Code, relating to political advertisements and reporting the ultimate and true sources of funds; to repeal section 16.1-08.1-08 of the North Dakota Century Code, relating to identifying the ultimate and true source of funds; and to provide a penalty.

Summary

HB 1286 would substantially expand North Dakota campaign-finance disclosure rules by requiring certain “covered persons” who spend more than $200 in an election cycle to keep detailed tracing records showing the original source of funds used for political expenditures. The bill defines “ultimate and true source” and “traceable funds,” requires covered persons to notify donors that their funds may be used for expenditures, gives donors an opt-out opportunity, and requires disclosure of intermediaries and major original funders. It also directs the secretary of state to make these filings publicly available in a searchable, machine-readable format and authorizes investigations and complaints regarding violations. The bill also changes political advertising disclosure requirements. Advertisements supporting or opposing candidates or measures would have to identify not only the sponsor, but also the top three ultimate and true sources of traceable funds used to pay for the ad, with special rules for visual and audio ads. The bill repeals an existing section on identifying the ultimate and true source of funds, adds enforcement provisions and civil action language for resident taxpayers, and creates penalties for structuring transactions to evade reporting requirements.

Impact

If enacted, HB 1286 would have amended North Dakota’s election and campaign-finance statutes in Chapter 16.1-08.1 and related advertising disclosure law, imposing new recordkeeping, donor-notice, public reporting, and enforcement obligations on covered political spenders, political committees, and certain organizations making election-related expenditures. It would have broadened public disclosure of funding sources behind political ads and expenditures, while also creating a class A misdemeanor for intentional evasion and allowing fines of two to three times the value of the violation. The bill would have affected candidates, political committees, political parties, measure committees, and organizations engaged in election-related spending, as well as the secretary of state’s administration of campaign-finance disclosures.

Sentiment

The bill appears to have been framed as a transparency and accountability measure, with its core purpose focused on revealing the original sources of money used in election spending and political advertising. However, the floor vote indicates it did not receive majority support in the House, failing 32-53 on second reading on February 13, 2025. With no committee transcript available, the available record suggests the proposal was controversial enough to be rejected at the chamber level despite support from its sponsors.

Contention

The likely points of contention were the breadth and complexity of the disclosure regime, especially the requirement to trace funds through intermediaries and identify top donors in political ads. Opponents may have viewed the bill as burdensome for political committees, nonprofits, and other covered persons, or as an intrusion into donor privacy and political speech, while supporters likely emphasized transparency and anti-circumvention goals. The bill’s enforcement provisions, including public searchable reporting, complaint-driven investigations, and enhanced penalties for structuring transactions to evade disclosure, were also likely to be debated as either necessary safeguards or overly punitive regulation.