NORTH DAKOTA (KXNET) — It appears North Dakota state lawmakers may have to return to the capitol next month to bring back a sizeable bill.
This week, the state supreme court ruled that the legislature violated the rules when passing Senate Bill 2015, which is the $134 million Office of Management and Budget bill.
The justices ruled that the passage of the bill was unconstitutional, including language relating to state lawmakers serving on the Public Employee Retirement System or PERS board.
Lawmakers KX News talked with say right now, they have three weeks to figure out the next step. But the attorney general’s office is expected to file for a stay, giving House and Senate leaders 30 days to figure out when they can return to the capitol and take up the matter again.
Fargo state Senator Kathy Hogan says she has concerns about the timeline and just how soon lawmakers could be called back to Bismarck.
“Mostly for technical reasons and getting bills out. Who then decides which sections of this bill will be considered at this special session?” Sen. Hogan said. “You know, because there are many sections of that bill that you probably shouldn’t even look at. But the things that we have to look at are the essential financial things that are legitimately in the OMB budget.”
State lawmakers adjourned on April 30 and didn’t use all 80 legislative days allowed by the state. But legislators say if the governor calls for a special session, those days don’t apply.
Lawmakers we asked say they expect it’ll take around five days at the capitol for them to reconvene and vote on the bills again.