23.0931.02000
Sixty-eighth
Legislative Assembly SENATE BILL NO. 2343
of North Dakota
Introduced by
Senators Lee, J. Roers, Schaible
Representatives Sanford, Stemen, Swiontek
1 A BILL for an Act to create and enact a new section to chapter 44-04 of the North Dakota
2 Century Code, relating to records of a public entity governing body; and to amend and reenact
3 sections 15-10-17 and 44-04-17.1 of the North Dakota Century Code, relating to defining a
4 public entity governing body and state board of higher education policy.
5 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY OF NORTH DAKOTA:
6 SECTION 1. AMENDMENT. Section 15-10-17 of the North Dakota Century Code is
7 amended and reenacted as follows:
8 15-10-17. Specific powers and duties of the state board of higher education.
9 The state board of higher education has all the powers and shall perform all the duties
10 necessary to the control and management of the institutions described in this chapter. The state
11 board of higher education shall establish a policy ensuring transparent communication between
12 members of the board on all topics relating to the specific powers and duties under section 6 of
13 article VIII of the Constitution of North Dakota and this section. Each member must have equal
14 access to all current and historic information relating to the specific powers and duties under
15 section 6 of article VIII of the Constitution of North Dakota and this section. In addition to the
16 powers and duties specified in section 6 of article VIII of the Constitution of North Dakota, the
17 board may:
18 1. a. Appoint and remove the president or other faculty head, and the professors,
19 instructors, teachers, officers, and other employees of the several institutions
20 under the board's control, fix the salaries for those positions within the limits of
21 legislative appropriations; and fix the terms of office and prescribe the duties of
22 the positions.
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1 b. Appoint and remove the commissioner of higher education, fix the
2 commissioner's salary within the limits of legislative appropriations, and prescribe
3 the commissioner's duties.
4 c. Appoint and remove all university system office personnel, fix their salaries within
5 the limits of legislative appropriations, fix their terms of office, and prescribe their
6 duties.
7 d. The board may hold an executive session to consider the appointment or
8 removal of the commissioner of higher education, or a president or other faculty
9 head, professor, instructor, teacher, officer, or other employee of an institution
10 under the board's control unless the individual involved requests the meeting be
11 open to other individuals or the public.
12 2. Authorize the employment of law enforcement officers having jurisdiction on property
13 owned or leased by the state board of higher education to enforce laws and
14 regulations at its institutions, or as otherwise provided in this subsection.
15 a. A law enforcement officer employed by North Dakota state university has
16 jurisdiction on all property owned or leased by the state board of higher education
17 and property on and within the boundaries of the intersection of nineteenth
18 avenue north and Dakota drive south to eighth avenue north, eighth avenue north
19 east to tenth street north, tenth street north north to nineteenth avenue north,
20 nineteenth avenue north west to Dakota drive.
21 b. A law enforcement officer employed by the university of North Dakota has
22 jurisdiction on all property owned or leased by the state board of higher education
23 and property on and within the boundaries of the intersection of demers avenue
24 and north fifty-fifth street, north fifty-fifth street north to university avenue,
25 university avenue east to north forty-second street, north forty-second street
26 north to gateway drive, gateway drive east to north columbia road, north
27 columbia road south to tenth avenue north, tenth avenue north east to north
28 twenty-fifth street, north twenty-fifth street south to sixth avenue north, sixth
29 avenue north east to north twentieth street, north twentieth street south to fifth
30 avenue north, fifth avenue north west to north twenty-third street, north
31 twenty-third street south to university avenue, university avenue east to north
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1 twenty-first street, north twenty-first street south to dyke avenue, dyke avenue
2 east to north washington street, north washington street south to demers avenue,
3 and demers avenue west to north fifty-fifth street. Jurisdiction under this
4 subdivision includes Grand Forks international airport.
5 c. A law enforcement officer employed by the North Dakota state college of science
6 has jurisdiction on all property owned or leased by the state board of higher
7 education and property on and within the boundaries of the intersection of
8 seventh avenue north and eleventh street north, eleventh street north to sixteenth
9 avenue north, sixteenth avenue north west to fourth street north, and fourth street
10 north south to seventh avenue north.
11 d. A law enforcement officer employed by Bismarck state college has jurisdiction on
12 all property owned or leased by the state board of higher education and property
13 on and within the boundaries of the area delineated by the intersections of
14 schafer street and canary avenue, canary avenue and edwards avenue, edwards
15 avenue and schafer street, edwards avenue and ward road, ward road and
16 college drive, and college drive and schafer street.
17 e. A law enforcement officer employed by an institution under the control of the state
18 board of higher education who is in "fresh pursuit" may continue beyond the
19 jurisdictional boundaries of each institution to make an arrest, in compliance with
20 a warrant or without a warrant under the conditions of section 29-06-15, if
21 obtaining the aid of peace officers having jurisdiction beyond that limit would
22 cause a delay permitting escape. As used in this subdivision, "fresh pursuit" has
23 the same meaning as in section 29-06-07.
24 f. The state board of higher education may enter a joint powers agreement with a
25 political subdivision to enable law enforcement from the political subdivision and
26 law enforcement from the institution to provide secondary response to each other
27 outside the jurisdictional boundaries provided in this subsection.
28 g. Notwithstanding any other provision of law or joint powers agreement, any
29 misdemeanor or felony violation of law occurring in or on property owned or
30 leased by the state board of higher education or within the extraterritorial
31 jurisdiction must be filed in district court unless the primary law enforcement
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1 officer involved is not employed by the state board of higher education. An
2 infraction or noncriminal offense occurring in or on property owned or leased by
3 the state board of higher education or within the extraterritorial jurisdiction may
4 be filed in municipal court.
5 3. Set tuition and fees.
6 4. a. Establish a retirement program as an alternative to chapter 15-39.1 for university
7 system employees subject to the following guidelines:
8 (1) Benefits under the program must be provided through annuity contracts
9 purchased by the board but which become the property of the participants;
10 (2) The cost of the annuity contracts must be defrayed by contributions made
11 pursuant to rules of the state board of higher education;
12 (3) Eligible employees appointed before July 1, 1973, shall participate in the
13 alternate retirement program only by their individual election. When the
14 electing eligible employee is a member of the teachers' fund for retirement,
15 the employee's assessments and employer's contributions together with
16 interest credited at the current rate for one-year certificates then being paid
17 by the Bank of North Dakota must be transferred to the employee's account
18 in the alternate program. The election must be made before July 1, 1980,
19 and shall relinquish all rights the eligible employee or the employee's
20 beneficiary may have to benefits provided in chapters 15-39 and 15-39.2;
21 and
22 (4) Employees of the university system who are members of the public
23 employees retirement system under chapter 54-52 or 54-52.6 and who
24 become entitled to participate in the alternate retirement program are
25 entitled to a special annuity purchase in the alternate retirement program in
26 accordance with this subdivision. An eligible employee who consents to
27 have that employee's contribution included is entitled to have that
28 employee's contribution and employer's contribution, with interest, in the
29 public employees retirement system fund, used by the retirement board of
30 the public employees retirement system to purchase for that employee an
31 annuity in the alternate retirement program in lieu of any other rights under
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1 the public employees retirement fund. However, before the employer's
2 contribution may be used for an annuity purchase, the employee's
3 combined years of service with the public employees retirement system and
4 the alternate retirement program must equal or exceed the years of service
5 necessary to be eligible for retirement benefits under the public employees
6 retirement system. An employee who transferred from the public employees
7 retirement system before March 30, 1987, and who received a refund of that
8 employee's contribution is entitled to have the employer's contribution, with
9 interest, used to purchase an annuity even if that employee did not
10 purchase an annuity in the alternate employee program with the employee's
11 contribution. If an employee makes the election allowed under this
12 subdivision, that employee relinquishes all rights the employee or any of the
13 employee's beneficiaries may have had to benefits provided under chapters
14 54-52 and 54-52.6.
15 b. Provide for the administration of the alternate retirement program and establish
16 rules for the program consistent with this subsection. This subsection does not
17 derogate any existing retirement programs approved by the board.
18 5. Determine policy for purchasing by the university system in coordination with the office
19 of management and budget as provided by law.
20 6. Establish by rule an early retirement program for faculty and officers of the board as
21 defined by the board. The limitations on severance pay pursuant to section 54-14-04.3
22 and on requiring the employee to pay contributions to continue on the state uniform
23 group insurance program upon retirement or upon termination of employment
24 pursuant to section 54-52.1-03 do not apply to the early retirement program.
25 7. Adopt rules to protect the confidentiality of student records, medical records, and,
26 consistent with section 44-04-18.4, trade secret, proprietary, commercial, and financial
27 information.
28 8. Authorize and encourage university system entities to enter into partnerships, limited
29 liability companies, joint ventures, or other contractual arrangements with private
30 business and industry for the purpose of business or industrial development or
31 fostering basic and applied research or technology transfer.
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1 9. Adopt rules promoting research, encouraging development of intellectual property and
2 other inventions and discoveries by university system employees, and protecting and
3 marketing the inventions and discoveries. The rules must govern ownership or transfer
4 of ownership rights and distribution of income that may be derived from an invention or
5 discovery resulting from research or employment in the university system. The rules
6 may provide for transfer of ownership rights or distribution of income to a private,
7 nonprofit entity created for the support of the university system or one of its
8 institutions.
9 SECTION 2. AMENDMENT. Section 44-04-17.1 of the North Dakota Century Code is
10 amended and reenacted as follows:
11 44-04-17.1. Definitions.
12 As used in this section through section 44-04-32:
13 1. "Closed meeting" means all or part of an exempt meeting that a public entity in its
14 discretion has not opened to the public, although any person necessary to carry out or
15 further the purposes of a closed meeting may be admitted.
16 2. "Closed record" means all or part of an exempt record that a public entity in its
17 discretion has not opened to the public.
18 3. "Confidential meeting" or "confidential record" means all or part of a record or meeting
19 that is either expressly declared confidential or is prohibited from being open to the
20 public.
21 4. "Executive session" means all or part of a meeting that is closed or confidential.
22 5. "Exempt meeting" or "exempt record" means all or part of a record or meeting that is
23 neither required by law to be open to the public, nor is confidential, but may be open in
24 the discretion of the public entity.
25 6. "Governing body" means the multimember body responsible for making a collective
26 decision on behalf of a public entity. "Governing body" also includes any group of
27 persons, regardless of membership, acting collectively pursuant to authority delegated
28 to that group by the governing body.
29 7. "Information technology resources" includes data processing hardware and software
30 or technology support services necessary to facilitate a response to a request for
31 electronic records.
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1 8. "Law" includes federal statutes, applicable federal regulations, and state statutes.
2 9. a. "Meeting" means a formal or informal gathering or a work session, whether in
3 person or through any electronic means, of:
4 (1) A quorum of the members of the governing body of a public entity regarding
5 public business; or
6 (2) Less than a quorum of the members of the governing body of a public entity
7 regarding public business, if the members attending one or more of the
8 smaller gatherings collectively constitute a quorum and if the members hold
9 the gathering for the purpose of avoiding the requirements of section
10 44-04-19.
11 b. "Meeting" does not include:
12 (1) A chance or social gathering at which public business is not considered;
13 (2) Emergency operations during a disaster or emergency declared under
14 section 37-17.1-10 or an equivalent ordinance if a quorum of the members
15 of the governing body are present but are not discussing public business as
16 the full governing body or as a task force or working group;
17 (3) The attendance of members of a governing body at meetings of any
18 national, regional, or state association to which the public entity, the
19 governing body, or individual members belong;
20 (4) Training seminars at which no other public business is considered or
21 discussed; and
22 (5) Administration of examinati