A BILL for an Act to create and enact chapter 16.1-08.2 of the North Dakota Century Code, relating to campaign disclosure statements; to amend and reenact sections 15.1-09-08, 15.1-09-19, 16.1-01-12, and 16.1-10-04.1, and subdivision f of subsection 8 of section 51-28-01 of the North Dakota Century Code, relating to campaign disclosure statements; to repeal chapter 16.1-08.1 of the North Dakota Century Code, relating to campaign disclosure statements; to provide a penalty; to provide for application; and to provide an effective date.
SB2156 would overhaul North Dakota’s campaign finance disclosure laws by repealing chapter 16.1-08.1 and replacing it with a new chapter 16.1-08.2. The bill rewrites definitions and reporting rules for candidates, candidate committees, political parties, multicandidate committees, measure committees, corporations, associations, conduits, and federally registered committees that make independent expenditures or disbursements in North Dakota. It sets detailed registration requirements, reporting periods, supplemental 48-hour reporting for larger contributions near elections, year-end reports, and special rules for state party convention accounts and building funds.
The bill also expands and reorganizes disclosure obligations for ballot-measure activity, including lower reporting thresholds for measure committees and additional disclosure of the ultimate and true source of funds in certain circumstances. It requires dedicated campaign accounts, public online availability of most reports, and disclosure of occupation and employer information for larger individual contributions. The measure also updates political advertising disclaimer rules, adjusts a telecommunications restriction to exempt text messages, and makes conforming changes in school district election filing rules and election-offense provisions.
If enacted, SB2156 would substantially replace the existing campaign disclosure framework in the North Dakota Century Code and shift many filing, reporting, and enforcement provisions into a new chapter effective January 1, 2026. It would affect candidates for state and local office, political parties, political committees, measure committees, corporations and associations making political expenditures, conduits, and federally registered committees that spend in North Dakota. The bill also creates new penalties, audit authority, late fees, and inflation adjustments for reporting thresholds, while preserving 2025 reporting under the repealed law for that year’s filing periods.
The bill appears to have been framed as a comprehensive modernization and consolidation of campaign finance rules, with a strong emphasis on transparency, source disclosure, and enforcement. The text itself suggests a policy preference for more detailed reporting and stricter oversight of political money, especially in ballot-measure campaigns and independent expenditures. However, the bill ultimately failed, indicating it did not secure sufficient support to become law.
The most likely points of contention are the bill’s expanded disclosure burdens and enforcement mechanisms, particularly the new reporting requirements for measure committees, the “ultimate and true source” provisions, the 48-hour supplemental reporting triggers, and the detailed disclosure of contributors’ occupations and employers. Another likely area of dispute is the treatment of corporations, associations, and federally registered committees, since the bill imposes specific limits and reporting obligations on their political spending. The failure of the bill suggests that at least some legislators may have viewed the proposal as too expansive, too complex, or too burdensome for political participants and election administrators.