AN ACT to provide an appropriation for defraying the expenses of the office of the secretary of state; to amend and reenact sections 46-03-11, 46-04-01, 46-04-03, 46-04-04, 46-04-10, 46-04-14, 46-04-18, 46-04-19, and 54-09-05 of the North Dakota Century Code, relating to public printing and the salary of the secretary of state; to provide for a transfer; and to provide an exemption.
HB 1002 is the biennial appropriations bill for the North Dakota Secretary of State’s office for the 2025-27 biennium. It provides funding for salaries and wages, operating expenses, election reform activities, grants, petition review, and a new-and-vacant FTE pool, while eliminating the separate public printing appropriation as a standalone line item. The bill also identifies one-time funding for election pollpads and cradle points, information technology enhancements, an election security grant, and Help America Vote Act-related costs.
In addition to appropriations, the bill amends several Century Code provisions governing publication and distribution of session laws, compilations, and codifications. These changes shift multiple duties from the secretary of state to the legislative council, including supervision of publication, distribution, pricing, and disposal of printed laws, and they update the statutory salary schedule for the secretary of state. The bill also authorizes transfers related to election funding and preserves access to previously appropriated but unspent federal and strategic investment funds for election-management and technology projects.
HB 1002 increases and restructures funding for the Secretary of State’s office, with a total appropriation of $23.5 million from all funds and $9.44 million from the general fund for the biennium. It also creates authority for specific fund transfers, including up to $600,000 from the general fund election reform line to the election fund to match federal funds, and it exempts certain prior appropriations from normal lapse provisions so unspent money can continue to be used for election systems, FirstStop upgrades, campaign system work, website redesign, and related IT enhancements. Statutorily, it reassigns several public-printing and law-publication responsibilities from the secretary of state to the legislative council and updates the secretary of state’s salary statute.
The bill appears to have been broadly supported and noncontroversial in the legislature. It passed the House 86-1 and the Senate 46-0, indicating strong bipartisan approval. The absence of recorded committee testimony or floor debate in the provided materials suggests limited public contention or, at minimum, no significant opposition that affected final passage.
The main substantive issues likely centered on the size and purpose of election-related spending, especially funding for pollpads, cradle points, election security, and information technology enhancements, as well as the shift of public-printing duties from the secretary of state to the legislative council. Another potential point of discussion is the salary increase for the secretary of state and the use of one-time funds and exemptions to carry forward unspent money from prior appropriations. However, the voting record shows little visible opposition, so any concerns were not strong enough to prevent overwhelming approval.