North Dakota Const. art. 14, § 2 — North Dakota Constitution / Article 14 / Section 2
1.
Status: in_force

Section 2. 
1.
A lobbyist may not knowingly give, offer, solicit, initiate, or facilitate a gift to a public 
official. A public official may not knowingly accept a gift from a lobbyist. These 
prohibitions do not apply if the lobbyist is an immediate family member of the public 
official. "Gift," as used in this subsection, means any item, service, or thing of value 
not  given  in  exchange  for  fair  market  consideration,  including  gifts  of  travel  or 
recreation.  However,  "gift"  does  not  mean  any  purely  informational  material, 
campaign  contribution,  or,  in  order  to  advance  opportunities  for  North  Dakota 
residents to meet with public officials in educational and social settings inside the 
state, any item, service, or thing of value given under conditions that do not raise 
ethical concerns, as determined by rules adopted by the ethics commission. Such 
rules must be adopted within two years after the effective date of this article. So as to 
allow for the adoption of these rules, these prohibitions shall take effect two years 
after the effective date of this article. Appropriate civil and criminal sanctions for 
violations of this subsection shall be set by the legislative assembly. 
2.
An elected public official may not be a lobbyist while holding office or for two years 
after holding office. Appropriate civil and criminal sanctions for violations of this 
subsection shall be set by the legislative assembly.
3.
A lobbyist may not knowingly deliver a campaign contribution made by another 
individual or entity. "Deliver," as used in this subsection, means to transport, transfer, 
or otherwise transmit, either physically or electronically. This prohibition does not 
apply  to  a  person  who  delivers  a  campaign  contribution  to  the  person’s  own 
campaign,  or  to  the  campaign  of  the  person’s  immediate  family  member.  This 
prohibition shall not be interpreted to prohibit any person from making a campaign 
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contribution  or from  encouraging  others  to  make  a  campaign  contribution  or  to 
otherwise support or oppose a candidate. Appropriate civil and criminal sanctions for 
violations of this subsection shall be set by the legislative assembly. 
4.
A statewide candidate, candidate for the legislative assembly, or public official may 
not  knowingly  use  a  campaign  contribution  for  personal  use  or  enrichment. 
Appropriate civil and criminal sanctions for violations of this subsection shall be set 
by the legislative assembly. 
5.
Directors, officers, commissioners, heads, or other executives of agencies shall avoid 
the  appearance  of  bias,  and  shall  disqualify  themselves  in  any  quasi-judicial 
proceeding in which monetary or in-kind support related to that person’s election to 
any office, or a financial interest not shared by the general public as defined by the 
ethics commission, creates an appearance of bias to a reasonable person. The 
legislative  assembly  and  the  ethics  commission  shall  enforce  this  provision  by 
appropriate legislation and rules, respectively. So as to allow for the adoption of such 
legislation or rules, this subsection shall take effect three years after the effective 
date of this article. 
6.
Governments  of  foreign  countries,  foreign  nationals  not  lawfully  admitted  for 
permanent residence in the United States, and corporations organized under the 
laws of or having their principal place of business in a foreign country, are prohibited 
from making contributions or expenditures in connection with any statewide election, 
election for the legislative assembly, or statewide ballot-issue election.