Bill Promoted by North Dakota Ethics Commission gets 11th Hour Opposition From Gov. Armstrong

Ethic Commission members.  (Michael Achterling/North Dakota Monitor

(Mary Steurer – North Dakota Monitor) – A bill that aims to streamline how the Ethics Commission operates hit a roadblock when the governor’s attorney testified against it.

The testimony came about three weeks after the bill’s hearing and just days before a legislative deadline, leaving lawmakers little time to weigh amendments to the proposal.

House Bill 1360, supported by the Ethics Commission, is intended to simplify and streamline the rules and laws governing its complaint process.

The Ethics Commission says the bill would help make its procedures easier for the public to understand.

Chris Joseph, general counsel for Armstrong’s office, testified Thursday that the bill would grant the commission too much power allowing it to define and execute its own rules without meaningful checks from other areas of government. The Ethics Commission says the bill doesn’t fundamentally change its authority