Senate lawmakers Jerry Klein, clockwise from left, Kyle Davison and David Hogue attend a floor session May 1, 2025. The Legislature is studying the impact of lawmaker term limits. (Photo by Kyle Martin/For the North Dakota Monitor)
BISMARCK, N.D. (North Dakota Monitor) – A new survey of 600 North Dakotans shows 80% support term limits for state lawmakers, though many expressed confusion over the 2022 ballot measure that established them.
The survey results, part of a 116-page report on the impact of legislative term limits, will be discussed Wednesday by the Legislative Procedure and Arrangements Committee.
North Dakota voters passed a constitutional ballot measure in 2022 with 63% voter support that prohibits state lawmakers from serving more than eight years in the House and eight years in the Senate. The amendment also limits the North Dakota governor to two terms in office.
After the ballot measure was passed, some state lawmakers said they believed North Dakotans thought they were voting for term limits for members of Congress, not the state Legislature.
The survey, compiled for the legislative committee by Garty Consulting, found that 40% of respondents incorrectly believed the term limit measure affected North Dakota members of Congress with an additional 30% saying they were unsure if it affected Congress.
Fifty-nine percent of those surveyed believed term limits affect state legislators and 48% said the limit also applies to the North Dakota governor. About a third of those surveyed were unsure about whether the limits included state lawmakers and the governor.
The survey also showed 62% of respondents said eight years in each legislative chamber is “just about right.” However, 49% of those surveyed also said 16 total years in the Legislature was “too long,” with an additional 36% saying that amount of total service time was “just about right.”
The survey respondents were from across the state and included residents of cities and rural areas. The survey has a margin of error of plus or minus 4%.
Lawmakers hired a consultant to study the impact of term limits as they prepare for legislators to start hitting those limits in 2028 and 2030.
Sen. Sean Cleary, R-Bismarck, a member of the Legislative Procedure and Arrangements Committee, said he thinks legislators will be able to adjust to the new tenure limits.
“I think 16 years is a pretty healthy amount of time to serve in the state Legislature,” Cleary said.
Sen. Kathy Hogan, D-Fargo, also a member of the committee, said she thinks the state’s part-time lawmakers need more time than 80-day legislative sessions every two years to get up to speed.
Hogan, who is retiring after 17 years in the Legislature, said complex discussions on school funding, health care, housing, child care and public safety require more time to understand fully.
The survey found 70% of respondents would support state lawmakers holding annual sessions. Some advantages cited in the survey include making lawmakers more responsive to the public and helping legislators gain experience faster.
In 2025, a bill that would have allowed the Legislature to meet every year passed the House but failed in the Senate.
Hogan is among lawmakers who supports annual sessions.
“There have been so many federal changes coming now that we can’t wait two years to look at,” Hogan said.
The survey also asked the respondents to weigh in on possible changes to state government that might be needed due to term limits.
The North Dakota Legislature does not limit the number of bills a lawmaker can introduce. Every bill is required to have a committee hearing and a floor vote. In 2025, lawmakers introduced 1,089 bills and resolutions and held floor votes on each one over the course of 74 days.
The survey showed 52% of respondents support limiting the number of bills that a lawmaker can introduce. Fifty-two percent also opposed allowing legislative leadership to decide which bills move forward to a public hearing.
Hogan said allowing public hearings and floor votes for any bill protects the minority party.
“Whether we’re a superminority or not, we can still enter bills to do things,” she said.
Cleary said he appreciates that any bill that he sponsors receives a public hearing and a floor vote, but the downside is an increased workload for lawmakers and legislative staff.
“It’s a lot to ask folks to parse through every single one, especially when they start to be similar to one another,” Cleary said. “I’d be open to taking a look at changing that, but what I wouldn’t want to be lost is the ability for individual members to have their voice heard on things that are important to them and their constituents.”
Lawmakers approved up to $225,000 for the term limits study.
Meanwhile, North Dakota voters may soon weigh in again on term limits.
Lawmakers in 2025 passed a resolution that proposes modifying term limits to allow legislators to serve up to 16 years in either chamber of the Legislature, rather than eight years in the House and eight in the Senate. It also clarifies that partial terms don’t count toward the term limit. That proposal is set to go to voters in November, though a lawsuit from term limits supporters seeks to block it from going to the ballot. It’s under consideration by the North Dakota Supreme Court.
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