By: Michael Achterling (ND Monitor)
A bill clarifying the state date for North Dakota’s term limits law failed in the House on a 61-28 vote Monday.
The bill was debated over multiple conference committee meetings in recent days. The Senate version contained a Jan. 1, 2023 start date for the term limits, while the House version advanced a Nov. 7, 2022 start date.
North Dakota voters in 2022 approved a ballot measure that limits lawmakers to serving up to eight years in each chamber.
Previously, Rep. Ben Koppelman, R-West Fargo, chief sponsor of House Bill 1300, said the bill was to provide clarity on the start date for term limits approved by the voters.
Rep. Steve Vetter, R-Grand Forks, said the House reconsidered its actions after previously voting against the bill and sent the measure to a conference committee to see if senators would agree to the House’s start date.
“It didn’t look like we kept our position, so I’d ask for a red vote,” Vetter said before voting against the bill.
The failure of the bill in the House leaves Senate Resolution 4008, which passed both chambers of the Legislature, as the only term limit resolution passed by lawmakers during the 2025 session. If approved by the Secretary of State’s Office as a valid resolution it would go to the voters as a ballot measure during the 2026 general election.
The resolution would allow lawmakers to serve four terms, up to 16 years, in a single legislative chamber. It also clarifies that a partial term does not count against the limit.
