BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) - North Dakota’s Republican-led Legislature approved a GOP-written bill Thursday that sets rules to comply with a voter-approved constitutional amendment aimed at ethics reform.
Legislators have for months been considering competing Republican and Democratic proposals on how to comply with voters’ wishes. The House and Senate approved the bill on day 75 of the session that’s capped at 80 days.
Backers of the citizen initiative have signaled a lawsuit if the bill crafted by Republican majority leaders becomes law. GOP Gov. Doug Burgum has not spoken publicly about the legislation.
The so-called anti-corruption amendment has provisions to restrict lobbying and create an independent ethics commission, among other things. The voter-approved initiative calls for the five-member commission to be chosen by Senate majority and minority leaders and the governor. It may not contain lawmakers or lobbyists.
Nine people have applied ahead of the May 24 deadline.
Critics of the measure said it continues to restrict transparency, despite months of debate and work by bipartisan committees.
Democratic Sen. Tim Mathern has said the measure has “big, gaping holes” and may actually create more loopholes for lobbyists and gift-giving.
“Transparency about money - where the money is - is not in this bill,” Mathern told fellow lawmakers.
The Democratic bill never had a chance in the GOP-led Legislature, even though it better reflects the constitutional amendment’s intent, said Dina Butcher, a Republican and spokeswoman for North Dakotans for Public Integrity, the group behind the constitutional amendment to toughen ethics rules.
“We saw the writing on the wall from the get-go,” Butcher said.
Republican Senate Majority Leader Rich Wardner and House counterpart Chet Pollert have maintained their bill “enacts the will of the voters.”
Under the GOP bill, a complaint can’t be made anonymously or it won’t be investigated, and someone under investigation for wrongdoing must be informed of the identity of the person making the allegations.
Backers of the legislation call it due process, while opponents say it will prevent people from coming forward.
The citizen initiative was spurred after the Legislature rebuffed repeated attempts for such a commission, saying lawmakers always have followed high standards of conduct.
North Dakota is one of only a handful of states without an ethics commission.
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