Changing Term Limits Targeted in North Dakota Senate Resolution

Voters. (Kyle Martin/For the North Dakota Monitor)

(Jeff Beach – North Dakota Monitor) – Legislators, citizens and outside proponents for term limits last week debated the legitimacy of North Dakota’s term limits law and whether the Legislature can force another statewide vote on the issue.

The debate came during a hearing on Senate Concurrent Resolution 4008, with legislators acknowledging that the proposal appears unconstitutional.

North Dakota voters in 2022 passed a measure that put term limits for state legislators into the North Dakota Constitution. Lawmakers are now limited to serving up to eight years in the House and up to eight years in the Senate.

The resolution that a legislative committee endorsed, seeks a new statewide vote to allow lawmakers to serve four complete terms in the Legislature, or a total of 16 years in office, without requiring them to switch chambers. It also proposes that a partial term would not count against a lawmaker’s limit.