Senate narrowly approves adding position to North Dakota Ethics Commission

The North Dakota Ethics Commission may grow its staff by one after the Senate on Tuesday narrowly approved the agency’s budget bill.

Senate Bill 2004, if adopted without further changes, sets aside roughly $250,000 for a new employee focused on education and communications.

In January written testimony to the Senate Appropriations Committee, Executive Director Rebecca Binstock said the new staff member would help free up time for the commission’s other staff to focus on handling complaints and other responsibilities. The commission currently has three employees.

“This role is critical to the Ethics Commission’s role in supporting an open, ethical and accountable government,” Binstock stated in her testimony.

Complaints to the ethics commission increased considerably last year. The commission received roughly 40 complaints in 2024, compared to 17 in 2023.

Binstock added that since legislative term limits will soon cause more turnover of lawmakers, there will be a demand for ethics training in the coming years.

The Legislature rejected a previous request for the additional staff member during the 2023 session.

The proposed budget also earmarks $50,000 for a new case management system.

There was no discussion of the bill on the Senate floor on Tuesday. The bill passed by a vote of 25-21.

Two requests from the commission didn’t make it into the budget: $50,000 for implementing rules — which will include costs for IT and professional services — and $32,000 to pay for workload increases to the administrator staff position.

Several other Ethics Commission related bills are making their way through the statehouse.

The House Political Subdivisions Committee last week heard a bill supported by the commission and the Secretary of State’s Office to require public officials to file financial interest disclosure forms on an annual basis. House Bill 1469 would also have the Secretary of State’s Office publish the forms online.