A BILL for an Act to create and enact a new section to chapter 54-11 of the North Dakota Century Code, relating to the creation of a state fiscal transparency online portal.
HB 1620 would require the state treasurer, working with the tax commissioner and state auditor, to create and maintain a public online portal showing how state funds are distributed and used. The portal would be hosted on the treasurer’s website and would provide taxpayers with information about each distribution of state funds, including the recipient’s identity, the amount distributed, and the purpose or intended use of the money.
The bill also authorizes the treasurer, tax commissioner, or state auditor to request timely data from recipients of state funds, as well as from state departments, agencies, and institutions, in whatever form and manner they prescribe. The bill includes a privacy safeguard requiring protection of personally identifiable information as required by law. It defines “recipient” broadly as any recipient of state funds and “state funds” as public moneys raised under state authority and available for state expenditure.
If enacted, HB 1620 would add a new transparency requirement to chapter 54-11 of the North Dakota Century Code and expand the administrative responsibilities of the state treasurer, tax commissioner, and state auditor. It would create a statewide public reporting system for state spending and could require agencies and funding recipients to collect, organize, and submit additional data about the use of public money. The bill would affect any entity receiving state funds, while preserving existing legal protections for personally identifiable information.
No committee transcript or recorded vote information was provided, so there is no direct evidence of debate or support levels in the available materials. The bill’s purpose suggests a generally pro-transparency, accountability-focused approach to state spending, but the measure ultimately failed on February 19, 2025. Based on the text alone, the proposal appears aimed at increasing public visibility into government expenditures rather than changing funding levels or program eligibility.
The main likely point of contention is the administrative burden the portal could place on state agencies and funding recipients, since the bill requires timely submission of data in a prescribed format. Another possible concern is the breadth of the reporting requirement, because it applies to any recipient of state funds and to all public moneys raised under state authority. Supporters would likely emphasize taxpayer transparency and accountability, while opponents may worry about implementation costs, duplicative reporting, and privacy or data-management issues despite the bill’s PII safeguard.