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2019 North Dakota legislative session

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North Dakota Legislative Assembly

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General information
Type:   State legislature
Term limits:   None
Session start:   January 3, 2019
Session end:   April 26, 2019
Website:   Official Legislature Page
Leadership
Senate President:   Brent Sanford (R)
House Speaker:  Lawrence Klemin (R)
Majority Leader:   Senate: Rich Wardner (R)
House: Chet Pollert (R)
Minority Leader:   Senate: Joan Heckaman (D)
House: Joshua Boschee (D)
Structure
Members:  47 (Senate), 94 (House)
Length of term:   4 years (Senate), 4 years (House)
Authority:   Art IV, North Dakota Constitution
Salary:   $172/day + per diem
Elections
Last election:  November 6, 2018
Senate
House
Next election:  November 3, 2020
Senate
House
Redistricting:  North Dakota Legislature has control

North Dakota convened its legislative session on January 3, 2019, and legislators remained in session until April 26, 2019. Republicans had a veto-proof supermajority this legislative session, just as they did in 2018. Following the 2018 election, Republicans had a 37-10 majority in the Senate and a 79-15 majority in the House. The party also controlled the governorship, creating a Republican state government trifecta.

At the beginning of the 2019 legislative session:
  • Republicans held a veto-proof supermajority in the North Dakota state House and state Senate.
  • North Dakota was one of 22 Republican state government trifectas.
  • North Dakota's governor was Republican Doug Burgum.

    • Black.png Click the links to read more about the 2020 state Senate and state House elections.
    Black.png Click the links to read more about the 2018 state Senate and state House elections.

    Partisan control in 2019

    See also: State government trifectas

    North Dakota was one of 22 Republican state government trifectas at the start of 2019 legislative sessions. A state government trifecta occurs when one political party holds the governor's office, a majority in the state Senate, and a majority in the state House. For more information about state government trifectas, click here.

    North Dakota was also one of 22 state legislatures where one party had a veto-proof supermajority in both chambers. Veto overrides occur when a legislature votes to reverse a veto issued by an executive such as a governor or the president. If one party has a majority in a state legislature that is large enough to override a gubernatorial veto without any votes from members of the minority party, it is called a veto-proof majority or, sometimes, a supermajority. To read more about veto-proof supermajorities in state legislatures, click here.

    The following tables show the partisan breakdown of the North Dakota Legislative Assembly in the 2019 legislative session.

    North Dakota State Senate

    Party As of January 2019
         Democratic Party 10
         Republican Party 37
    Total 47

    Between 1992 and 2018, partisan control of the North Dakota State Senate shifted in favor of the Republican Party. After the 1992 elections, Democrats held a 25-24 majority in the state Senate. Republicans would gain control of the chamber in 1994 elections, and would continue to grow their majority to the point where, as a result of the 2018 elections, Republicans maintained a 37-10 majority. The table below shows the partisan history of the North Dakota State Senate following every general election from 1992 to 2018. All data from 2006 or earlier comes from Michael Dubin's Party Affiliations in the State Legislatures (McFarland Press, 2007). Data after 2006 was compiled by Ballotpedia staff.

    North Dakota State Senate election results: 1992-2018

    Year '92 '94 '96 '98 '00 '02 '04 '06 '08 '10 '12 '14 '16 '18
    Democrats 25 20 19 18 18 16 15 21 21 12 13 15 9 10
    Republicans 24 29 30 31 31 31 32 26 26 35 33 32 38 37

    There were three major changes to the partisan balance of the state Senate between 1992 and 2018. The first was in 1994, when Republicans gained five seats and took control of the chamber. In 2006, Democrats gained six seats, moving the balance to 26-21 in favor of Republicans. That balance would stand until 2010, when Republicans would gain nine seats and move their majority to 35-12. Democrats would gain three seats between the two elections in 2012 and 2014. In 2016, Republicans gained six seats and moved their majority to 38-9 but lost one seat in 2018.

    North Dakota House of Representatives

    Party As of January 2019
         Democratic Party 15
         Republican Party 79
    Total 94

    Between 1992 and 2018, partisan control of the North Dakota House of Representatives shifted to further the advantage of the Republican Party. The 2010 redistricting process reduced the number of seats in the chamber from 98 to 94. As such, it can be helpful to compare partisan control in terms of percentages. In 1992, Republicans controlled 66 percent of the chamber. Republicans gained 10 seats in the 2016 elections, moving their majority to 86 percent of the chamber. The table below shows the partisan history of the North Dakota House of Representatives following every general election from 1992 to 2018. All data from 2006 or earlier comes from Michael Dubin's Party Affiliations in the State Legislatures (McFarland Press, 2007). Data after 2006 was compiled by Ballotpedia staff.

    North Dakota House of Representatives election results: 1992-2018

    Year '92 '94 '96 '98 '00 '02 '04 '06 '08 '10 '12 '14 '16 '18
    Democrats 33 23 26 34 29 28 26 33 36 25 23 23 13 15
    Republicans 65 75 72 64 69 66 68 61 58 69 71 71 81 79

    The 10 seats gained by Republicans in the 2016 elections represented that party's most significant gains between 1992 and 2018. The shift favoring Democrats more than any other occurred as a result of the 1998 elections, when Democrats gained eight seats.

    Republican majorities in the state House increased from 2010 to 2016, although the party did not gain any seats in 2014. The partisan balance of the chamber as a result of the 2008 elections was 58-36 in favor of Republicans. The Republican majority grew to 81-13 after the 2016 elections.

    Leadership in 2019

    North Dakota State Senate

    North Dakota House of Representatives

    Regular session

    The following widget shows up to 25 pieces of legislation in the 2019 legislative session that most recently passed both chambers of the legislature, were signed by the governor, or were approved by the legislature in a veto override. If no bills are displayed below, no legislation met these criteria in 2019. This information is provided by BillTrack50.

    Standing legislative committees

    See also: Standing committee and List of committees in North Dakota state government


    A standing committee of a state legislature is a committee that exists on a more-or-less permanent basis, from legislative session to session, that considers and refines legislative bills that fall under the committee's subject matter.

    At the beginning of the 2019 legislative session, there were 23 standing committees in North Dakota's state government, including 11 state Senate committees and 12 state House committees.

    Senate committees


    House committees


    Legislatively referred constitutional amendments

    In every state but Delaware, voter approval is required to enact a constitutional amendment. In each state, the legislature has a process for referring constitutional amendments before voters. In 18 states, initiated constitutional amendments can be put on the ballot through a signature petition drive. There are also many other types of statewide measures.

    The methods by which the North Dakota Constitution can be amended:

    See also: Article III and Section 16, Article IV, of the North Dakota Constitution and Laws governing ballot measures in North Dakota

    The North Dakota Constitution provides three mechanisms for amending the state's constitution—a citizen-initiated process, a legislative process, and a state constitutional convention. North Dakota requires a simple majority vote (50% plus 1) for voters to approve constitutional amendments.

    Initiative

    See also: Initiated constitutional amendment

    An initiated constitutional amendment is a citizen-initiated ballot measure that amends a state's constitution. Eighteen (18) states allow citizens to initiate constitutional amendments.

    In North Dakota, the number of signatures required for an initiated constitutional amendment is equal to 4% of the state's population reported by the last decennial census. Each initiative has its own unique deadline of one year after it was approved to circulate. The completed petition must be submitted at least 120 days prior to the election.

    Legislature

    See also: Legislatively referred constitutional amendment

    A simple majority vote is required during one legislative session for the North Dakota State Legislature to place a constitutional amendment on the ballot. That amounts to a minimum of 48 votes in the North Dakota House of Representatives and 24 votes in the North Dakota State Senate, assuming no vacancies. Amendments do not require the governor's signature to be referred to the ballot.

    Convention

    See also: Convention-referred constitutional amendment

    According to Section 1 of Article III of the North Dakota Constitution, the state's initiative petition process is used to call a constitutional convention.


    Historical partisan control

    The table below depicts the historical trifecta status of North Dakota.

    North Dakota Party Control: 1992-2024
    No Democratic trifectas  •  Thirty-one years of Republican trifectas
    Scroll left and right on the table below to view more years.

    Year 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 00 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25
    Governor D R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R
    Senate D D D R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R
    House R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R

    See also

    Elections North Dakota State Government State Legislatures State Politics
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    External links

    Footnotes

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