23.0349.01000
Sixty-eighth
Legislative Assembly HOUSE BILL NO. 1230
of North Dakota
Introduced by
Representatives Nathe, Bosch, Boschee, Dockter, Hagert, Heinert, Lefor, Stemen
Senators Hogue, Meyer, Patten
1 A BILL for an Act to amend and reenact section 16.1-01-10 of the North Dakota Century Code,
2 relating to invalid signatures on an initiated petition; and to provide a penalty.
3 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY OF NORTH DAKOTA:
4 SECTION 1. AMENDMENT. Section 16.1-01-10 of the North Dakota Century Code is
5 amended and reenacted as follows:
6 16.1-01-10. Secretary of state to pass upon sufficiency of petitions - Method - Time
7 limit - Penalty.
8 1. The secretary of state shall have a reasonable period, not to exceed thirty-five days, in
9 which to pass upon the sufficiency of any petition mentioned in section 16.1-01-09.
10 The secretary of state shall conduct a representative random sampling of the
11 signatures contained in the petitions by the use of questionnaires, postcards,
12 telephone calls, personal interviews, or other accepted information-gathering
13 techniques, or any combinations thereof, to determine the validity of the signatures.
14 Signatures determined by the secretary of state to be invalid may not be counted and
15 all violations of law discovered by the secretary of state must be reported to the
16 attorney general for prosecution.
17 2. In addition to the penalties prescribed in subsection 2 of section 16.1-01-12, any
18 member of a measure committee, including an initiative or referendum sponsoring
19 committee, who is found to have willfully submitted an invalid initiative or referendum
20 petition, is subject to a fine of not less than one thousand dollars.
21 3. In addition to the penalties prescribed in subsection 2 of section 16.1-01-12, a
22 measure committee, including an initiative or referendum sponsoring committee that is
23 found to have willfully submitted an invalid initiative or referendum petition, is subject
24 to a fine of not less than ten thousand dollars and is banned from conducting business
Page No. 1 23.0349.01000
 Sixty-eighth
Legislative Assembly
1 in North Dakota for five years following the entry of judgment for the offense under
2 section 16.1-01-12.
Page No. 2 23.0349.01000


Statutes affected:
INTRODUCED: 16.1-01-10
Prepared by the Legislative Council staff for Representative Vetter: 16.1-01-12
FIRST ENGROSSMENT: 16.1-01-12
Enrollment: 16.1-01-12