FrankGoortani/open-us-law huggingface dataset:
North Dakota Const. art. 7, § 5 — North Dakota Constitution / Article 7 / Section 5
Methods and standards by which all or any portion of a county or counties may
Status: in_force

Section 5. Methods and standards by which all or any portion of a county or counties may 
be annexed, merged, consolidated, reclassified, or dissolved shall be as provided by law. No 
portion of any county or counties shall be annexed, merged, consolidated, or dissolved unless 
a majority of the electors of each affected county voting on the question so approve.
North Dakota Const. art. 1, § 21 — North Dakota Constitution / Article 1 / Section 21
No special privileges or immunities shall ever be granted which may not be
Status: in_force

Section 21. No special privileges or immunities shall ever be granted which may not be 
altered, revoked or repealed by the legislative assembly; nor shall any citizen or class of 
citizens be granted privileges or immunities which upon the same terms shall not be granted to 
all citizens.
North Dakota Const. art. 10, § 7 — North Dakota Constitution / Article 10 / Section 7
The legislature may by law provide for the levy and collection of an acreage tax
Status: in_force

Section 7. The legislature may by law provide for the levy and collection of an acreage tax 
on lands within the state in addition to the limitations specified in article X, section 1, of the 
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constitution. The proceeds of such tax shall be used to indemnify the owners of growing crops 
against damages by hail, provided that lands used exclusively for public roads, rights of way of 
common carriers, mining, manufacturing or pasturage may be exempt from such tax.
North Dakota Const. art. 13, § 1 — North Dakota Constitution / Article 13 / Section 1
Perfect toleration of religious sentiment must be secured, and no inhabitant of
Status: in_force

Section 1. Perfect toleration of religious sentiment must be secured, and no inhabitant of 
this state may ever be molested in person or property on account of that person's mode of 
religious worship.
North Dakota Const. art. 10, § 5 — North Dakota Constitution / Article 10 / Section 5
Taxes shall be uniform upon the same class of property including franchises
Status: in_force

Section 5. Taxes shall be uniform upon the same class of property including franchises 
within the territorial limits of the authority levying the tax. The legislative assembly may by law 
exempt any or all classes of personal property from taxation and within the meaning of this 
section, fixtures, buildings and improvements of every character, whatsoever, upon land shall 
be deemed personal property. The property of the United States, to the extent immunity from 
taxation has not been waived by an act of Congress, property of the state, county, and 
municipal corporations, to the extent immunity from taxation has not been waived by an act of 
the  legislative  assembly,  and  property  used  exclusively  for  schools,  religious,  cemetery, 
charitable or other public purposes shall be exempt from taxation. Real property used for 
conservation or wildlife purposes is not exempt from taxation unless an exemption is provided 
by the legislative assembly. Except as restricted by this article, the legislative assembly may 
provide for raising revenue and fixing the situs of all property for the purpose of taxation. 
Provided that all taxes and exemptions in force when this amendment is adopted shall remain 
in force until otherwise provided by statute.
North Dakota Const. art. 2, § 1 — North Dakota Constitution / Article 2 / Section 1
The general election of the state shall be held biennially as provided by law.
Status: in_force

Section 1. The general election of the state shall be held biennially as provided by law.
Only a citizen of the United States, who has attained the age of eighteen years and who is 
a North Dakota resident, shall be a qualified elector. When an elector moves within the state, 
he shall be entitled to vote in the precinct from which he moves until he establishes voting 
residence  in  another  precinct.  The  legislative  assembly  shall  provide  by  law  for  the 
determination of residence for voting eligibility, other than physical presence. No elector shall 
lose his residency for voting eligibility solely by reason of his absence from the state.
The legislative assembly shall provide by law for secrecy in voting, for absentee voting, for 
administration of elections and for the nomination of candidates.
North Dakota Const. art. 3, § 2 — North Dakota Constitution / Article 3 / Section 2
A petition to initiate or to refer a measure must be presented to the secretary of
Status: in_force

Section 2. A petition to initiate or to refer a measure must be presented to the secretary of 
state for approval as to form. A request for approval must be presented over the names and 
signatures of twenty-five or more electors as sponsors, one of whom must be designated as 
chairman of the sponsoring committee. The secretary of state shall approve the petition for 
circulation if it is in proper form and contains the names and addresses of the sponsors and 
the full text of the measure.
The legislative assembly may provide by law for a procedure through which the legislative 
council may establish an appropriate method for determining the fiscal impact of an initiative 
measure and for making the information regarding the fiscal impact of the measure available to 
the public.
North Dakota Const. art. 12, § 2 — North Dakota Constitution / Article 12 / Section 2
All corporations existing or hereafter chartered hold the charter subject to the
Status: in_force

Section 2. All corporations existing or hereafter chartered hold the charter subject to the 
provisions of this constitution. The legislative assembly may provide by general laws for the 
organization and regulation of corporations, and any law, so enacted, is subject to future repeal 
or amendment.
North Dakota Const. art. 8, § 2 — North Dakota Constitution / Article 8 / Section 2
The legislative assembly shall provide for a uniform system of free public
Status: in_force

Section 2. The legislative assembly shall provide for a uniform system of free public 
schools throughout the state, beginning with the primary and extending through all grades up 
to  and  including  schools  of  higher  education,  except  that  the  legislative  assembly  may 
authorize tuition, fees and service charges to assist in the financing of public schools of higher 
education.
North Dakota Const. art. 10, § 20 — North Dakota Constitution / Article 10 / Section 20
The legislative assembly is hereby authorized and empowered to provide by
Status: in_force

Section 20. The legislative assembly is hereby authorized and empowered to provide by 
law for the erection, purchasing or leasing and operation of one or more terminal grain 
elevators in the state of North Dakota, to be maintained and operated in such manner as the 
legislative assembly shall prescribe, and provide for inspection, weighing and grading of all 
grain received in such elevator or elevators.
North Dakota Const. art. 6, § 13 — North Dakota Constitution / Article 6 / Section 13
1.
Status: in_force

Section 13.
1.
A judicial nominating committee must be established by law. The governor shall fill 
any  vacancy  in  the  office  of  supreme  court  justice  or  district  court  judge  by 
appointment  from  a  list  of  candidates  nominated  by  the  committee,  unless  the 
governor calls a special election to fill the vacancy for the remainder of the term. 
Except as provided in subsection 2, an appointment must continue until the next 
general election, when the office must be filled by election for the remainder of the 
term.
2.
An appointment must continue for at least two years. If the term of the appointed 
judgeship expires before the judge has served at least two years, the judge shall 
continue in the position until the next general election immediately following the 
service of at least two years.
3.
Notwithstanding sections 7 and 9 of this article, the term of the judge elected at the 
subsequent general election provided for in subsection 2 is reduced to the number of 
years remaining in the subsequent term after the appointee has served at least two 
years.
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North Dakota Const. art. 4, § 8 — North Dakota Constitution / Article 4 / Section 8
The house of representatives shall elect one of its members to act as presiding
Status: in_force

Section 8. The house of representatives shall elect one of its members to act as presiding 
officer at the beginning of each organizational session.
North Dakota Const. art. 11, § 16 — North Dakota Constitution / Article 11 / Section 16
The reserve militia of this state consists of all able-bodied individuals eighteen
Status: in_force

Section 16. The reserve militia of this state consists of all able-bodied individuals eighteen 
years of age and older residing in the state, unless exempted by the laws of the United States 
or of this state. The active militia is the national guard of this state and consists of individuals 
who volunteer and are accepted unless exempted by the laws of the United States or of this 
state. An individual whose religious tenets or conscientious scruples forbid that individual to 
bear arms may not be compelled to do so in times of peace, but that individual shall pay an 
equivalent for a personal service.
North Dakota Const. art. 8, § 4 — North Dakota Constitution / Article 8 / Section 4
The legislative assembly shall take such other steps as may be necessary to
Status: in_force

Section 4. The legislative assembly shall take such other steps as may be necessary to 
prevent illiteracy, secure a reasonable degree of uniformity in course of study, and to promote 
industrial, scientific, and agricultural improvements.
North Dakota Const. art. 4, § 10 — North Dakota Constitution / Article 4 / Section 10
No member of the legislative assembly, expelled for corruption, and no person
Status: in_force

Section 10. No member of the legislative assembly, expelled for corruption, and no person 
convicted  of  bribery,  perjury  or  other  infamous  crime  shall  be  eligible  to  the  legislative 
assembly, or to any office in either branch thereof.
North Dakota Const. art. 1, § 12 — North Dakota Constitution / Article 1 / Section 12
In criminal prosecutions in any court whatever, the party accused shall have
Status: in_force

Section 12. In criminal prosecutions in any court whatever, the party accused shall have 
the right to a speedy and public trial; to have the process of the court to compel the attendance 
of witnesses in his behalf; and to appear and defend in person and with counsel. No person 
shall be twice put in jeopardy for the same offense, nor be compelled in any criminal case to 
be a witness against himself, nor be deprived of life, liberty or property without due process of 
law.
North Dakota Const. art. 9, § 12 — North Dakota Constitution / Article 9 / Section 12
The following public institutions of the state are permanently located at the
Status: in_force

Section 12. The following public institutions of the state are permanently located at the 
places hereinafter named, each to have the lands specifically granted to it by the United States 
in the Act of Congress approved February 22, 1889, to be disposed of and used in such 
manner as the legislative assembly may prescribe subject to the limitations provided in the 
article on school and public lands contained in this constitution.
1.
The seat of government at the city of Bismarck in the county of Burleigh.
2.
The state university and the school of mines at the city of Grand Forks, in the county 
of Grand Forks.
3.
The North Dakota state university of agriculture and applied science at the city of 
Fargo, in the county of Cass.
4.
A state normal school at the city of Valley City, in the county of Barnes, and the 
legislative assembly, in apportioning the grant of eighty thousand acres of land for 
normal schools made in the Act of Congress referred to shall grant to the said normal 
school at Valley City, as aforementioned, fifty thousand (50,000) acres, and said 
lands are hereby appropriated to said institution for that purpose.
5.
The school for the deaf and hard of hearing at the city of Devils Lake, in the county of 
Ramsey.
6.
A state training school at the city of Mandan, in the county of Morton.
7.
A state normal school at the city of Mayville, in the county of Traill, and the legislative 
assembly in apportioning the grant of lands made by Congress in the Act aforesaid 
for state normal schools shall assign thirty thousand (30,000) acres to the institution 
hereby located at Mayville, and said lands are hereby appropriated for said purpose.
8.
A state  hospital  for  the  care  of  individuals  with  mental  illness  at  the  city  of 
Jamestown, in the county of Stutsman. And the legislative assembly shall appropriate 
twenty thousand acres of the grant of lands made by the Act of Congress aforesaid 
for other educational and charitable institutions to the benefit and for the endowment 
of said institution, and there shall be located at or near the city of Grafton, in the 
county of Walsh, a facility for individuals with developmental disabilities, on the 
grounds purchased by the secretary of the interior for a penitentiary building.
North Dakota Const. art. 11, § 27 — North Dakota Constitution / Article 11 / Section 27
Hunting, trapping, and fishing and the taking of game and fish are a valued
Status: in_force

Section 27. Hunting, trapping, and fishing and the taking of game and fish are a valued 
part of our heritage and will be forever preserved for the people and managed by law and 
regulation for the public good.
North Dakota Const. art. 10, § 12 — North Dakota Constitution / Article 10 / Section 12
1.
Status: in_force

Section 12.
1.
All public moneys, from whatever source derived, shall be paid over monthly by the 
public official, employee, agent, director, manager, board, bureau, or institution of the 
state receiving the same, to the state treasurer, and deposited by him to the credit of 
the state, and shall be paid out and disbursed only pursuant to appropriation first 
made by the legislature; provided, however, that there is hereby appropriated the 
necessary funds required in the financial transactions of the Bank of North Dakota, 
and required for the payment of losses, duly approved, payable from the state hail 
insurance fund, state bonding fund, and state fire and tornado fund, and required for 
the payment of compensation to injured employees or death claims, duly approved, 
payable  from  the  workmen's  compensation  fund,  and  required  for  authorized 
investments made by the board of university and school lands, and required for the 
financial operations of the state mill and elevator association, and required for the 
payment of interest and principal of bonds and other fixed obligations of the state, 
and required for payments required by law to be paid to beneficiaries of the teachers' 
insurance and retirement fund, and required for refunds made under the provisions of 
the Retail Sales Tax Act, and the State Income Tax Law, and the State Gasoline Tax 
Law, and the Estate and Succession Tax Law, and the income of any state institution 
Page No. 2

derived from permanent trust funds, and the funds allocated under the law to the 
state  highway  department  and  the  various  counties  for  the  construction, 
reconstruction, and maintenance of public roads.
This constitutional amendment shall not be construed to apply to fees and 
moneys received in connection with the licensing and organization of physicians and 
surgeons,  pharmacists,  dentists,  osteopaths,  optometrists,  embalmers,  barbers, 
lawyers, veterinarians, nurses, chiropractors, accountants, architects, hairdressers, 
chiropodists, and other similarly organized, licensed trades and professions; and this 
constitutional amendment shall not be construed to amend or repeal existing laws or 
Acts amendatory thereof concerning such fees and moneys.
2.
No bills, claims, accounts, or demands against the state or any county or other 
political subdivision shall be audited, allowed, or paid until a full itemized statement in 
writing shall be filed with the officer or officers whose duty it may be to audit the 
same, and then only upon warrant drawn upon the treasurer of such funds by the 
proper officer or officers.
3.
This amendment shall become effective on July 1, 1939.
North Dakota Const. art. 6, § 3 — North Dakota Constitution / Article 6 / Section 3
The supreme court shall have authority to promulgate rules of procedure,
Status: in_force

Section 3. The supreme court shall have authority to promulgate rules of procedure, 
including appellate procedure, to be followed by all the courts of this state; and, unless 
otherwise provided by law, to promulgate rules and regulations for the admission to practice, 
conduct, disciplining, and disbarment of attorneys at law.
The chief justice shall be the administrative head of the unified judicial system. He may 
assign judges, including retired judges, for temporary duty in any court or district under such 
rules and regulations as may be promulgated by the supreme court. The chief justice shall 
appoint a court administrator for the unified judicial system. Unless otherwise provided by law, 
the powers, duties, qualifications, and terms of office of the court administrator, and other court 
officials, shall be as provided by rules of the court.
North Dakota Const. art. 1, § 10 — North Dakota Constitution / Article 1 / Section 10
Until otherwise provided by law, no person shall, for a felony, be proceeded
Status: in_force

Section 10. Until otherwise provided by law, no person shall, for a felony, be proceeded 
against criminally, otherwise than by indictment, except in cases arising in the land or naval 
Page No. 1

forces, or in the militia when in actual service in time of war or public danger. In all other cases, 
offenses shall be prosecuted criminally by indictment or information. The legislative assembly 
may change, regulate or abolish the grand jury system.
North Dakota Const. art. 11, § 1 — North Dakota Constitution / Article 11 / Section 1
The name of this state shall be "North Dakota."  The state of North Dakota shall
Status: in_force

Section 1. The name of this state shall be "North Dakota."  The state of North Dakota shall 
consist of all the territory included within the following boundary, to wit: Commencing at a point 
in the main channel of the Red River of the North, where the forty-ninth degree of north latitude 
crosses the same; thence south up the main channel of the same and along the boundary line 
of the state of Minnesota to a point where the seventh standard parallel intersects the same; 
thence west along said seventh standard parallel produced due west to a point where it 
intersects the twenty-seventh meridian of longitude west from Washington; thence north on 
said meridian to a point where it intersects the forty-ninth degree of north latitude; thence east 
along said line to place of beginning.
North Dakota Const. art. 10, § 21 — North Dakota Constitution / Article 10 / Section 21
Not less than fifteen percent of the tax imposed for severing coal shall be
Status: in_force

Section 21. Not less than fifteen percent of the tax imposed for severing coal shall be 
placed into a permanent trust fund in the state treasury to be held in trust and administered by 
the board of university and school lands, which shall have full authority to invest said trust 
funds as provided by law, and may loan moneys from the fund to political subdivisions as 
provided by law. The interest earned on the moneys in said trust fund shall be used first to 
replace uncollectable loans made from the fund, and the balance shall be credited to the 
general fund of the state. Up to fifty percent of the taxes collected and deposited in the 
permanent trust fund during a biennium may be appropriated by the legislative assembly for 
lignite research, development, and marketing as provided by law. An additional twenty percent 
of the taxes collected and deposited in the permanent trust fund during a biennium may be 
appropriated by the legislative assembly for clean coal demonstration projects approved by the 
industrial commission.
North Dakota Const. art. 9, § 9 — North Dakota Constitution / Article 9 / Section 9
No law shall ever be passed by the legislative assembly granting to any
Status: in_force

Section 9. No law shall ever be passed by the legislative assembly granting to any 
person, corporation or association any privileges by reason of the occupation, cultivation or 
improvement of any public lands by said person, corporation or association subsequent to the 
survey  thereof  by  the  general  government.  No  claim  for  the  occupation,  cultivation  or 
improvement  of  any  public  lands  shall  ever  be  recognized,  nor  shall  such  occupation, 
cultivation or improvement of any public lands ever be used to diminish either directly or 
indirectly, the purchase price of said lands.
North Dakota Const. art. 12, § 1 — North Dakota Constitution / Article 12 / Section 1
The term "corporation", as used in this article, does not embrace municipalities
Status: in_force

Section 1. The term "corporation", as used in this article, does not embrace municipalities 
or political subdivisions of the state unless otherwise expressly stated.
North Dakota Const. art. 16, § 4 — North Dakota Constitution / Article 16 / Section 4
This article shall take effect immediately and apply to any nomination for, or
Status: in_force

Section 4. This article shall take effect immediately and apply to any nomination for, or 
election to, a federal legislative office held at any election or by any other nominating method 
held after the effective date of this law.
1.
Any elector shall have standing to enforce this article. To expedite legal review, any 
otherwise eligible person may file to appear on the primary election ballot or to use 
alternate statutory nomination methods for a federal legislative office for the 2026 
elections immediately after this law takes effect. Any denial of a filing under the terms 
of this article during the 2026 early filing period shall provide immediate standing in 
the courts of this state to challenge the limited question of whether the denial violates 
Article 1 of the United States Constitution.
2.
Any action filed under this section shall be advanced on the docket and a final 
judgment shall be entered within sixty days. Any appeal of the judgment shall be 
noticed  within  ten  days.  The  North  Dakota  State  Supreme  Court  shall  have 
jurisdiction over the appeal and shall issue its order and mandate within sixty days of 
the filing of the notice of appeal.
3.
The Attorney General shall zealously defend all portions of this section, in the courts 
of this state or of the United States, as an exercise of an important and fundamental 
state interest. In any action commenced in a court of this state, any elector residing 
within the district of an applicable office shall be permitted to timely join in the 
defense of this section as a real party in interest.
North Dakota Const. art. 16, § 2 — North Dakota Constitution / Article 16 / Section 2
Notwithstanding  any  judicial  determination  regarding  the  enforceability  of
Status: in_force

Section  2.  Notwithstanding  any  judicial  determination  regarding  the  enforceability  of 
section 1, no candidates who would be barred from service under section 1 shall be permitted 
to appear on the ballot to be nominated for, or elected to, such offices.