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2022 North Dakota legislative session
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| 2022 North Dakota legislative session |
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| General information |
| Session start: No regular legislative session. Session end: N/A |
| Leadership |
| Senate President Brent Sanford (R) House Speaker |
| Elections |
| Next Election: November 8, 2022 Last Election: November 3, 2020 |
| Previous legislative sessions |
| 2021 • 2020 • 2019 • 2018 |
| Other 2022 legislative sessions |
North Dakota held no regular legislative session in 2022.
Leadership in 2022
North Dakota State Senate
- Senate president: Brent Sanford (R)
- Majority leader: Rich Wardner (R)
- Minority leader: Joan Heckaman (D)
North Dakota House of Representatives
- Speaker of the House: Kim Koppelman (R)
- Majority leader: Chet Pollert (R)
- Minority leader: Joshua Boschee (D)
Partisan control in 2022
- See also: State government trifectas
North Dakota was one of 23 Republican state government trifectas at the start of 2022. 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 16 state legislatures where Republicans 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 State Legislature as of January 2022.
North Dakota State Senate
| Party | As of January 2022 | |
|---|---|---|
| Democratic Party | 7 | |
| Republican Party | 40 | |
| Total | 47 | |
North Dakota House of Representatives
| Party | As of January 2022 | |
|---|---|---|
| Democratic Party | 14 | |
| Republican Party | 79 | |
| Vacancies | 1 | |
| Total | 120 | |
Standing legislative committees
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 2022, there were 25 standing committees in North Dakota's state government, including zero joint legislative committees, 11 state Senate committees, and 14 state House committees.
Joint legislative committees
There are no joint committees of the North Dakota Legislative Assembly.
Senate committees
- Senate Agriculture Committee
- Senate Appropriations Committee
- Senate Education Committee
- Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee
- Senate Finance and Taxation Committee
- Senate Government and Veterans Affairs Committee
- Senate Human Services Committee
- Senate Industry, Business and Labor Committee
- Senate Judiciary Committee
- Senate Political Subdivisions Committee
- Senate Transportation Committee
House committees
- Appropriations - Education and Environment Committee
- Appropriations - Government Operations Division Committee
- Appropriations - Human Resources Division Committee
- House Agriculture Committee
- House Appropriations Committee
- House Education Committee
- House Energy and Natural Resources Committee
- House Finance and Taxation Committee
- House Government and Veterans Affairs Committee
- House Human Services Committee
- House Industry, Business and Labor Committee
- House Judiciary Committee
- House Political Subdivisions Committee
- House Transportation Committee
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:
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
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
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 |
Historical Senate control
Between 1992 and 2020, 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 2020 elections, Republicans maintained a 40-7 majority. The table below shows the partisan history of the North Dakota State Senate following every general election from 1992 to 2020. 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: 1992-2020
| Year | '92 | '94 | '96 | '98 | '00 | '02 | '04 | '06 | '08 | '10 | '12 | '14 | '16 | '18 | '20 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democrats | 25 | 20 | 19 | 18 | 18 | 16 | 15 | 21 | 21 | 12 | 13 | 15 | 9 | 10 | 7 |
| Republicans | 24 | 29 | 30 | 31 | 31 | 31 | 32 | 26 | 26 | 35 | 33 | 32 | 38 | 37 | 40 |
There were three major changes to the partisan balance of the state Senate between 1992 and 2020. 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 increase their majority to 35-12.
Democrats then gained three seats between the two elections in 2012 and 2014. In 2016, Republicans gained six seats and increased their majority to 38-9 but lost one seat in 2018. They gained three seats in 2020, increasing their majority to 40-7.
Historical House control
Between 1992 and 2020, 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. After the 2020 elections, Republicans held 80 seats, or 85 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 2020. 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: 1992-2020
| Year | '92 | '94 | '96 | '98 | '00 | '02 | '04 | '06 | '08 | '10 | '12 | '14 | '16 | '18 | '20 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democrats | 33 | 23 | 26 | 34 | 29 | 28 | 26 | 33 | 36 | 25 | 23 | 23 | 13 | 15 | 14 |
| Republicans | 65 | 75 | 72 | 64 | 69 | 66 | 68 | 61 | 58 | 69 | 71 | 71 | 81 | 79 | 80 |
The 10 seats gained by Republicans in the 2016 elections represented that party's most significant gains between 1992 and 2020. 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 have increased since 2008. 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 80-14 after the 2020 elections.
See also
| Elections | North Dakota State Government | State Legislatures | State Politics |
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External links
Footnotes
