Nondisclosure ban fails

By Amy Dalrymple | Editor

By Jeff Beach

North Dakota legislators on Thursday rejected a push to ban the use of nondisclosure agreements between government entities and developers of data centers and other industrial projects.

Bill sponsor Sen. Tim Mathern, D-Fargo, tried to persuade lawmakers that the bill was needed to preserve trust in government in the face of multi-billion dollar data center development projects that are popping up around the state. 

Senators voted 32-15 to reject the bill, which included penalties for companies that enter a nondisclosure agreement, also known as an NDA, with a government agency or official. 

Republican Gov. Kelly Armstrong on Tuesday testified that the state’s transparency laws were already sufficient, though he said enforcement could be debated. Sen. Dale Patten, R-Watford City, added that local governments are free to pass their own restrictions on nondisclosure agreements.

By Jacob Orledge

The North Dakota Senate passed a $20 million construction loan to restart work on the stalled Military Gallery, though several are disappointed no one is being held accountable for the project’s failures. 

Members approved Senate Bill 2407 by a vote of 39-8 on Thursday during a special session called to address the lack of kratom regulation in the state. 

Legislative leaders emphasized the special session was not the appropriate venue to hold officials accountable for past mistakes on the project. But that can’t be a permanent attitude, multiple lawmakers said. 

“We have to look back to have accountability,” said Sen. Jose Castaneda, R-Minot. “Something needs to be done because this was atrocious and unacceptable.”

By Jack Dura

Two bills with different approaches to restricting kratom in North Dakota cleared their first hurdles Thursday in the Legislature, but they appear to conflict and might complicate the special session as lawmakers look to leave Friday.

House Bill 1628, which would allow but strictly regulate pure-leaf kratom for people 21 and older, passed the House in an 86-6 vote. Senate Bill 2408, which would permanently ban natural and synthetic forms of kratom, passed the Senate in a 46-1 vote. 

The chambers now swap the bills for their second votes on Friday. It’s unclear how much support exists in the House for a total kratom ban, a key vote that could either resolve the special session’s main issue or complicate the matter as lawmakers are eyeing the exits before the Labor Day weekend.

The state is working with an archaeologist and funeral home to investigate human remains found near the North Dakota governor’s residence and relocate them to Bismarck cemeteries.

Reporter Michael Achterling talks to host Craig Blumenshine about the anomalies discovered while crews were installing a fence and driveway extension on the Capitol grounds. One Bismarck historian questions why the state didn’t investigate sooner, as the area was known to be the site of one of the capital city’s oldest cemeteries.

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