Legislature

Secretary of State Al Jaeger says more than 29,000 signatures were tossed, for a number of reasons

On this date in 1890, sparks were flying on the floor of the senate during North Dakota's first legislative session. The attorney general was called a brainless parrot, and two senators were censured for insults. Republican Senators Frederick Barlow, of Barlow, and David Dodds, of Lakota, had opposed a bill, and in doing so, they compared other senators to “unprincipled demagogues, political deadbeats and shysters of every stamp and affiliation.”

One of the most dramatic punishments meted out in the North Dakota Legislature was against a life insurance agent convicted of attempting to bribe state lawmakers.

Heated moments and hostile politics have often gripped North Dakota’s Legislature. In 1890, the state’s first legislative session included the censure of two senators for insults. One of them was replaced as president pro tempore.

North Dakota’s Nonpartisan League is remembered for the populist surge in state politics a century ago. Among the most well-known of the League’s legacy are the state-owned Bank of North Dakota and the State Mill and Elevator, overseen by the Industrial Commission. The League-controlled Legislature also passed a law banning vaccination mandates, which stood for more than 50 years.

The Dickinson Republican has served 32 years in the Legislature.

North Dakota lawmakers will likely be back in Bismarck in early November for the special redistricting session.But that may not be the only special…

North Dakota's Senate Majority Leader believes the number of Legislative districts should remain at 47.A special committee on redistricting will start its…

North Dakota’s Legislative Management Committee has chosen the issues lawmakers will study over the 2021-2022 interim."We have 50 studies that were…

The 1987 North Dakota Legislative session was historic. Democrats, who already controlled most state offices and the congressional delegation, won control…