North Dakota Senate Bill SB2072

North Dakota 2025-2026 Regular Session

• Introduced: 1/7/25
• Refer: 1/7/25
• Report Pass: 1/10/25
• Engrossed: 1/13/25
• Refer: 2/13/25
• Report Pass: 3/10/25
• Enrolled: 3/14/25
• Passed: 3/18/25

Caption

AN ACT to amend and reenact subsection 5 of section 32-12.2-15 of the North Dakota Century Code, relating to contracts limiting liability to the state.

Summary

SB 2072 amends North Dakota law governing when state agencies may accept adhesive contract terms found in shrink-wrap, click-through, or end-user license agreements when purchasing routine or standardized products. Under current law, agencies can buy such products only if they determine, in consultation with the Attorney General’s office and the Office of Management and Budget, that the purchase poses no reasonable risk of an improper contractual obligation or uncapped loss to the state. The bill keeps that framework but updates the definition of “routine or standardized products” to include commercially available products costing up to $20,000, replacing the prior lower threshold. The practical effect is to give state agencies more flexibility to purchase off-the-shelf software and other commercially available products without needing to reject common vendor terms solely because they are embedded in standard electronic agreements, so long as the required risk review is satisfied. The bill specifically references data and system security as part of the risk assessment, signaling that technology purchases are a key focus of the statute.

Impact

The bill amends subsection 5 of section 32-12.2-15 of the North Dakota Century Code, which limits when state agencies may accept contractual liability terms that are not otherwise consistent with state law. By raising the dollar cap for qualifying routine or standardized products to $20,000, SB 2072 expands the range of purchases that can be made under the statute’s exception for adhesive contract terms. The change affects state agencies, the Attorney General’s office, and the Office of Management and Budget, all of whom are involved in the required determination that the purchase presents no unreasonable contractual or financial risk.

Sentiment

The bill appears to have been broadly supported and noncontroversial. It passed the Senate 46-0 and the House 91-0, with only a small number of absences in each chamber. The unanimous votes suggest legislators generally agreed with the need to modernize the purchasing threshold and provide agencies more practical flexibility for standard commercial and technology purchases.

Contention

There is little evidence of substantive opposition in the available record. The main policy issue embedded in the bill is the balance between procurement flexibility and protection against unintended liability from vendor boilerplate terms. Any concern would likely center on whether increasing the cap to $20,000 could expose the state to greater contractual risk, but the bill preserves the consultation requirement with the Attorney General and OMB and retains the no-reasonable-risk standard, which likely reduced controversy.