By: Michael Achterling (North Dakota Monitor)
A bill that sought to clarify the start date for North Dakota’s legislative term limits failed in the House Monday on a 48-42 vote.
House Bill 1300, sponsored by Rep. Ben Koppelman, R-West Fargo, aimed to clear up confusion about the term limits initiative passed by North Dakota voters in 2022.
Under the bill, which was amended in the Senate, the clock would start on lawmaker term limits for appointments or elections after Jan. 1, 2023.
The original version of the bill had a Nov. 7, 2022, start date and would have given lawmakers elected in 2020 in even-numbered districts an additional two years in the Legislature. The Senate version also would have increased the terms for legislators in odd-numbered districts elected in 2022.
Under the term limits section of the state constitution, each lawmaker is able to serve up to two, four-year terms in each chamber of the Legislature. The law also limits the members of the Legislature from amending or repealing the term limits section of the constitution, which can only be amended by an “initiative petition of the people.”
Senate Resolution 4008 passed both chambers of the Legislature and could be put on the 2026 general election ballot, if approved by the Secretary of State’s Office as a valid resolution. The resolution would allow lawmakers to serve four terms, up to 16 years, in a single legislative chamber.
