North Dakota Constitutional Measure 3, Legacy Fund Transfers Amendment (2024)

North Dakota Legacy Fund Transfers Amendment
Election date November 5, 2024
Topic State and local government budgets, spending and finance
Status a Approved
Type Constitutional amendment	Origin State legislature

The North Dakota Legacy Fund Transfers Amendment was on the ballot in North Dakota as a legislatively referred constitutional amendment on November 5, 2024. It was approved.

A "yes" vote supported decreasing the amount of money that can be expended from the state legacy fund, a fund that receives 30% of tax revenue from oil and gas production, from 15% to 5% of the principal of the fund over a period of two years, and provides for a distribution to be made from the state legacy fund to a legacy earnings fund rather than have the accrued earnings be sent to the general fund.

A "no" vote opposed decreasing the amount of money that can be expended from the state legacy fund, a fund that receives 30% of tax revenue from oil and gas production, from 15% to 5% of the principal of the fund over a period of two years, and provides for a distribution to be made from the state legacy fund to a legacy earnings fund rather than have the accrued earnings be sent to the general fund.

Election results

North Dakota Constitutional Measure 3
Result		Votes	Percentage
Yes		174,994	52.01%
No		161,496	47.99%

Results are officially certified.

Source

Overview

What would the amendment do?

The amendment decreased the amount of money that can be expended from the state legacy fund during a two-year period from 15% to 5% of the principal of the fund. The state legacy fund is a fund that receives 30% of tax revenue from oil and gas production each month. The amendment provided for a distribution to be made from the state legacy fund to a legacy earnings fund rather than have the accrued earnings be sent to the state general fund.

What is the history and current status of the legacy fund?

See also: Background

The legacy fund was created through voter approval of a constitutional amendment on the 2010 ballot. The amendment established the fund to receive 30% of tax revenue from oil and natural gas extraction. The first transfer from the fund to the state general fund was made in 2019 for the 2017-2019 biennium in the amount of $455,263,216. In the 2019-2021 biennium, the fund received $871,687,384. In the 2021-2023 biennium, $486,568,637 was deposited.

As of May 2023, the fund was valued at $9.15 billion and had earned $2.83 billion in investment income.

How did this amendment get on the ballot?

See also: Path to the ballot

The amendment, House Concurrent Resolution 3033, was introduced in the House by six Republican and two Democratic legislators on February 21, 2023, and passed the House for the first time on March 14 by a vote of 67-24. The North Dakota State Senate amended the measure and passed it on April 10 by 45-1. The House approved the amendment in a vote of 92-1 on April 25, 2023. The single no votes in the House and Senate came from Republican legislators. Representative Corey Mock (D-18) is one of the sponsors of the amendment. He said, “Give generations well into the future a chance to reap some benefit off of North Dakota’s mineral resources. The wealth under our feet is something our legislators here 20, 30, 40 years ago never dreamed of.”

Text of measure

Ballot title

The ballot title for the amendment was as follows:

“

This constitutional measure would amend and reenact section 26 of article X of the Constitution of North Dakota, relating to spending and transfers from the legacy fund. The measure intends to decrease the amount of principal available for spending each biennium and clarify the distributions from the legacy fund. The proposed amendments would require transfers and earnings accruing prior to July 1, 2017 to be deemed as the principal of the legacy fund; reduce the amount of the principal of the legacy fund available to be expended during a biennium from fifteen percent to five percent; require the state investment board to invest the moneys in the legacy fund, not limited to the principal; and on July first of odd-numbered years, require the state treasurer to make a distribution of the legacy fund earnings into a legacy earnings fund. The estimated fiscal impact of this measure is none. Yes – Means you approve the measure as summarized above. No – Means you reject the measure as summarized above.

”

Constitutional changes

See also: Article X, North Dakota Constitution

The measure amended section 26 of Article X of the state constitution. The following struck-through text was deleted and underlined text was added.

1. Thirty percent of total revenue derived from taxes on oil and gas production or extraction must be transferred by the state treasurer to a special fund in the state treasury known as the legacy fund. The legislative assembly may transfer funds from any source into the legacy fund and such transfers become part of. Transfers under this subsection and earnings accruing prior to July 1, 2017, are the principal of the legacy fund.

2. The principal and earnings of the legacy fund may not be expended until after June 30, 2017, but an and an expenditure of principal after that date requires a vote of at least two-thirds of the members elected to each house of the legislative assembly. Not more than fifteen five percent of the principal of the legacy fund may be expended during a biennium.

3. Statutory programs, in existence as a result of legislation enacted through 2009, providing for impact grants, direct revenue allocations to political subdivisions, and deposits in the oil and gas research fund must remain in effect but the legislative assembly may adjust statutory allocations for those purposes.

4. The state investment board shall invest the principal of the North Dakota moneys in the legacy fund. The

5. On July first of each odd-numbered year, the state treasurer shall transfer earnings of the North Dakota make a distribution from the legacy fund accruing after June 30, 2017, to the state general fund at the end of each biennium to a legacy earnings fund as provided by law, but a distribution may not result in an expenditure of principal.

Readability score

See also: Ballot measure readability scores, 2024

Using the Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level (FKGL) and Flesch Reading Ease (FRE) formulas, Ballotpedia scored the readability of the ballot title for this measure. Readability scores are designed to indicate the reading difficulty of text. The Flesch-Kincaid formulas account for the number of words, syllables, and sentences in a text; they do not account for the difficulty of the ideas in the text. The secretary of state wrote the ballot language for this measure.

The FKGL for the ballot title is grade level 12, and the FRE is 43. The word count for the ballot title is 164.

Support

Supporters

Officials

• State Sen. Sean Cleary (R)
• State Sen. Scott Meyer (R)
• State Rep. Jared Hagert (R)
• State Rep. Zac Ista (D)
• State Rep. Keith Kempenich (R)
• State Rep. Gary Kreidt (R)
• State Rep. Corey Mock
• State Rep. Mike Schatz (R)

Arguments

• State Representative Corey Mock (D-18), the sponsor of the amendment: “Give generations well into the future a chance to reap some benefit off of North Dakota’s mineral resources. The wealth under our feet is something our legislators here 20, 30, 40 years ago never dreamed of.

Opposition

Ballotpedia did not locate a campaign in opposition to the ballot measure.

Campaign finance

See also: Campaign finance requirements for North Dakota ballot measures

If you are aware of a committee registered to support or oppose this measure, please email editor@ballotpedia.org.

	Cash Contributions	In-Kind Contributions	Total Contributions	Cash Expenditures	Total Expenditures
Support	$0.00	$0.00	$0.00	$0.00	$0.00
Oppose	$0.00	$0.00	$0.00	$0.00	$0.00
Total	$0.00	$0.00	$0.00	$0.00	$0.00

Polls

See also: 2024 ballot measure polls

Are you aware of a poll on this ballot measure that should be included below? You can share ballot measure polls, along with source links, with us at editor@ballotpedia.org.

North Dakota Constitutional Measure 3, Legacy Fund Transfers Amendment (2024)
Poll	Dates	Sample size	Margin of error	Support	Oppose	Undecided

North Dakota News Cooperative, WPA Intelligence	09/28/2024-9/30/2024	500 RV	± 4.4%	33%	20%	47%
	Question: "A Constitutional measure that would decrease the amount of principal that the state could spend from the Legacy Fund."

Note: LV is likely voters, RV is registered voters, and EV is eligible voters.

Background

North Dakota legacy fund amendment, 2010

See also: North Dakota State Legacy Fund Establishment, Measure 1 (2010)

The Legacy Fund was created through voter approval of a constitutional amendment on the 2010 ballot. The amendment established the fund to receive 30% of tax revenue from oil and natural gas extraction. The first transfer from the fund to the state general fund were made in 2019 for the 2017-2019 biennium in the amount of $455,263,216. In the 2019-2021 biennium, the fund received $871,687,384. In the 2021-2023 biennium, $486,568,637 was deposited.

As of May 2023, the fund was valued at $9.15 billion and had earned $2.83 billion in investment income.

Legacy fund analysis, 2019-21 and 2021-23 bienniums

An analysis of the legacy fund for the 2019-21 and 2021-23 bienniums prepared by the North Dakota Legislative Council can be read below.

Referred amendments on the ballot

From 1996 through 2022, the state legislature referred 37 constitutional amendments to the ballot. Voters approved 24 and rejected 13 of the referred amendments. All of the amendments were referred to the ballot during even-numbered election years. The average number of amendments appearing on the ballot was about three. The approval rate of referred amendments at the ballot box was 64.86% from 1996 through 2022. The rejection rate was 35.14%. The following table contains data for referred amendments during even-numbered election years from 1996 through 2022:

Legislatively-referred constitutional amendments, 1996-2022
Total number	Approved	Percent approved	Defeated	Percent defeated	Even-year average	Even-year median	Even-year minimum	Even-year maximum
37	24	64.86%	13	35.14%	3	2	0	8

Path to the ballot

See also: Amending the North Dakota Constitution

To put a legislatively referred constitutional amendment before voters, a simple majority vote is required in both the North Dakota State Senate and the North Dakota House of Representatives.

This amendment was introduced as House Concurrent Resolution 3033 on February 21, 2023. The House approved the amendment by a vote of 67-24 on March 14, 2023. The Senate passed an amended version by 45-1 on April 10, 2023. The House adopted the amendment on April 25, 2023, in a vote of 92-1 with one member absent.

Vote in the North Dakota State Senate April 10, 2023
Requirement: Simple majority vote of all members in each chamber
Number of yes votes required: 24  a
	Yes	No	Not voting
Total	45	1	0
Total percent	95.7%	2.1%	2.1%
Democrat	4	0	0
Republican	41	1	1

Vote in the North Dakota House of Representatives April 25, 2023
Requirement: Simple majority vote of all members in each chamber
Number of yes votes required: 48  a
	Yes	No	Not voting
Total	92	1	1
Total percent	97.87%	1.06%	1.06%
Democrat	12	0	0
Republican	80	1	1

How to cast a vote

See also: Voting in North Dakota

See below to learn more about current voter registration rules, identification requirements, and poll times in North Dakota.

How to vote in North Dakota

Poll times

In North Dakota, voting hours at polling locations vary by county. According to statute, all polls must open between 7:00 a.m. and 9:00 a.m. local time, and they must close between 7:00 p.m. and 9:00 p.m. North Dakota is divided between the Central and Mountain time zones. Hours for specific polling places are available online through the state's Polling Place Search. A voter who is standing in line at the time the polls close will be allowed to vote.

Registration

Check your voter information here.

North Dakota is the only state that does not require voter registration.

“	Although North Dakota was one of the first states to adopt voter registration prior to the turn of the century, it abolished it in 1951. It is also worth noting that North Dakota law still provides cities with the ability to register voters for city elections. North Dakota is a rural state and its communities maintain close ties and networks. North Dakota's system of voting, and lack of voter registration, is rooted in its rural character by providing small precincts. Establishing relatively small precincts is intended to ensure that election boards know the voters who come to the polls to vote on Election Day and can easily detect those who should not be voting in the precinct.	”
—North Dakota Secretary of State

Voter ID requirements

North Dakota requires voters to present identification while voting. Identification must include the voter’s name, current North Dakota residential address, and date of birth.

Acceptable forms of voter identification include:

• Driver’s license
• Nondriver’s identification card
• Tribal government-issued identification (including those issued by the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) for a tribe located in North Dakota, any other tribal agency or entity, or any other document that sets forth the tribal member’s name, date of birth, and current North Dakota residential address)
• Long-term care identification certificate (provided by North Dakota facility)

If a voter does not have a form of identification that includes his or her current North Dakota residential address or date of birth, the voter can present the following supplemental documents:

• Current utility bill
• Current bank statement
• Check or a document issued by a federal, state, local, or tribal government (including those issued by BIA for a tribe located in North Dakota, any other tribal agency or entity, or any other document that sets forth the tribal member’s name, date of birth, and current North Dakota residential address)
• Paycheck
• Student photo ID card from a North Dakota institution containing the student's photograph and legal name. A printed document on school letterhead containing the student’s name, address, and date of birth must also be presented.
• North Dakota residents living outside of the United States can submit a U.S. Passport or Military ID if they do not have another valid form of identification.

According to the secretary of state's office, "An applicant without an acceptable form of identification may use an attester. The attester must provide his or her name, North Dakota driver’s license, nondriver’s, or tribal identification number, and sign the absentee/mail ballot application form to attest to the applicant’s North Dakota residency and voting eligibility."

Voters who cast absentee/mail-in ballot must include a valid form of identification with their ballot. A voter who has a disability that prevents them from leaving his or her home and is unable to obtain a valid form of identification "must provide his or her name, North Dakota driver’s license, nondriver’s, or tribal identification number, and sign the absentee/mail ballot application form to attest to the applicant’s North Dakota residency and voting eligibility."

See also

2024 measures

• 2024 ballot measures
• Budgets on the ballot

North Dakota

• North Dakota ballot measures
• North Dakota ballot measure laws

News and analysis

• Ballot measure lawsuits
• Ballot measure readability
• Ballot measure polls

External links

• House Concurrent Resolution 3033