Lawmakers Attempt to Clear up Unanswered Questions Over Attorney General Building Lease

Rep. Emily O’Brien, vice chair of the Legislative Audit and Fiscal Review Committee. (Mary Steurer/North Dakota Monitor)

(North Dakota Monitor) Financial discrepancies related to an Attorney General’s Office building project have been resolved, staff with the office said , but some lawmakers questioned why the agency hasn’t provided documentation backing that up.

A committee of lawmakers since 2022 has ordered several investigations to settle lingering questions about the project — and whether any taxpayer money is still unaccounted for.

The building was selected by former Attorney General Wayne Stenehjem’s administration around 2019 to become new office space for several agency divisions. The agency ordered extensive renovations to the property on Burlington Drive in Bismarck.

The project raised eyebrows for exceeding projected costs by at least $1.7 million, and because a state lawmaker and partial owner of the property — Rep. Jason Dockter, a Bismarck Republican — was convicted of a conflict of interest misdemeanor related to the deal.