State Capitol in Bismarck (Tasha Carvell, KFGO News)
BISMARCK, N.D. (KFGO) – A ruling by the North Dakota Supreme Court Thursday morning has invalidated and voided a key funding bill passed by the state legislature at the end of the last session. The court’s finding will require the legislature to go into special session, likely within the next 30 days, to again pass the massive Office and Management and Budget bill.
The Public Employees Retirement System Board challenged the legislature in court after an amendment was added to Senate Bill 2015 allowing legislators to serve on the board.
Gov. Doug Burgum issued a statement following the state’s high court’s opinion.
“As acknowledged by the Supreme Court, this decision has far-reaching consequences that will require a special session of the Legislative Assembly to enact the nearly 70 sections of the OMB bill that have now been voided,” Burgum said. “We’re arranging meetings with legislative leaders today to determine the best course of action for the Legislature to address the business at hand in the most efficient and effective manner possible.”
In the unanimous ruling, the state Supreme Court says, “under North Dakota Constitution Article IV, § 13, ‘[n]o bill may embrace more than one subject, which must be expressed in its title.’ When a bill embraces multiple subjects, all of which are expressed in its title, the whole bill is void due to the manifest impossibility of choosing which parts of the bill are valid and which are void. A court’s attempt to choose between the provisions would improperly inject it into the Legislature’s domain.”
Attorney General Drew Wrigley called the ruling and its implications “seismic.” He says his office is seeking clarification from the court about when its judgment will be officially entered. He says it appears the court instituted a stay of 30 days on its judgment, which would give the legislature until October 28 to go into special session and address the issues in the bill that violate the state constitution before the funding as appropriated by the bill would be voided.
Wrigley says a number of legislators are farmers who are still in the fields for harvest and other legislators have identified travel and family conflicts that could be problematic in getting a special session scheduled quickly. He says he’s working with legislative leaders to determine whether a special session could be convened in the 30-day timeframe or if his office needs to request an additional stay from the court.
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