Every session, the legislature has to race through 1500 pieces of legislation, often without even reading the bills. They simply don't have time to read all of it, so they rely on committee reports when deciding how to vote.
Yet between 50-65% of all those bills the legislature votes on are "agency" bills. North Dakota is the only state in the union that allows agencies to write and introduce their own legislation without a legislative sponsor. While only 60-65% of legislators' bills get passed, a whopping 85-90% of agency bills get passed, with an average 90% “yes” vote. The legislature has given the power to write, sponsor, defend, and enact bills to the Executive Branch.
Sign the petition below asking your legislator to restore the checks and balances we expect in our government.
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Dear Senator/Representative:
The legislature already has a full plate without allowing agencies to introduce their own bills. It is a violation of the separation of powers, as well as the principle of checks and balances, to allow the Executive Branch so much legislative power. These bills nearly double the workload of the legislature and puts the rest of the voters at a disadvantage.
Regular citizens must have a legislative sponsor for their bills. Regular citizens must often travel hundreds of miles and spend a day's wages to testify and lobby on behalf of bills that are important to them. Meanwhile, agencies not only get to introduce bills without a legislative sponsor, they only need to walk down the hall to testify - while on the taxpayer's clock - to testify and lobby for their bills.
It's time to stop this preferential treatment of state employees, cut the legislators' workload, and restore checks and balances in our state government. I urge you to support legislation to change the legislative rules that allow agencies to introduce bills without a legislative sponsor.