Title 44, Offices and Officers

The state's attorney, assistant state's attorney, sheriff, deputy sheriff, or peace officer of any county, township, city in this state, having any evidence, knowledge, or notice of any violation of any laws of North Dakota shall investigate and seek evidence of the violation and…

The person in charge of any state department, industry, institution, board, association, or commission shall maintain, or cause to be maintained, a complete and current inventory record of all property of sufficient value and permanence as to render such inventory record practica…

A state official or state employee, in the exercise of that official's or employee's duties, may not serve in a supervisory capacity over, or enter a personal service contract with, that official's or employee's parent by birth or adoption, spouse, son or daughter by birth or ado…

Any moneys paid out, in violation of section 44-04-09, must be deducted from the salary of the hiring or contracting state official or state employee.

Unless otherwise specifically provided by law, every officer elected or appointed under the laws of this state, on going out of office, shall deliver to that officer's successor in office all public moneys, books, records, accounts, papers, documents, and property in that officer…

Upon the death, resignation, suspension, or removal from office of any officer, all books and papers belonging to the office, and all moneys and property in the officer's hands, must be delivered to the officer's successor.

At the end of the term of office of each county officer, or whenever it may seem advisable, the board of county commissioners may secure an examination of the records in that person's office by the state auditor or other competent accountants. Any failure or irregularity discover…

At the end of the term of office of each city, township, or school district officer, the city council or board of city commissioners, board of township supervisors, or school board, as the case may be, shall examine the records of that officer's office in the manner provided by s…

As used in this section through section 44-04-32: 1. "Closed meeting" means all or part of an exempt meeting that a public entity in its discretion has not opened to the public, although any person necessary to carry out or further the purposes of a closed meeting may be admitted…

1. Except as otherwise specifically provided by law, all records of a public entity are public records, open and accessible for inspection during reasonable office hours. As used in this subsection, "reasonable office hours" includes all regular office hours of a public entity. I…

1. Any record of a public employee's medical treatment or use of an employee assistance program is not to become part of that employee's personnel record and is confidential and, except as otherwise authorized by law, may not be used or disclosed without the written authorization…

1. A public entity may not deny a request for an open record on the ground that the record also contains confidential or closed information. 2. Subject to subsection 3 of section 44-04-18, if confidential or closed information is contained in an open record, a public entity shall…

1. Unless disclosure under a court order is otherwise prohibited or limited by law, closed records must be disclosed pursuant to a subpoena issued by a court, administrative law judge, or administrative hearing officer, or other court order. 2. Unless disclosure under a court ord…

A record acquired by the office of attorney general from a governmental agency or a nonpublic entity is exempt if the attorney general determines: 1. The record is necessary to monitor or enforce compliance with a law or order or to further a civil investigation or litigation by …

Any record of a public entity that is a compilation of minor's names, addresses, telephone numbers, or any combination thereof, is exempt.

1. Any private donor or prospective donor name, address, telephone number, electronic mail address, estate planning information, tax record or financial information, or other personal information or correspondence received or retained by a board of higher education or university …

Any patient record of a patient at a state college or university student health service, university of North Dakota medical center or family practice center, or other university system medical center or clinic is confidential.

Personal and financial information submitted to a state agency as part of a consumer complaint, or gathered pursuant to an investigation of a consumer complaint, is an exempt record as defined in subsection 5 of section 44-04-17.1. For purposes of this section, "personal and fina…

An autopsy photograph or other visual image or a video or audio recording of an autopsy taken by the state forensic examiner, the examiner's designee, prosecutor, criminal justice agency, any employee or agent of the criminal justice agency, or any other individual is confidentia…

Records concerning individual applicants or recipients of economic assistance or support administered under the division of community services or a community action agency, including benefits or services, are exempt from section 44-04-18 and section 6 of article XI of the Constit…

The address, telephone number, or any identifying information that, if released, could reasonably be used to locate or identify a victim or alleged victim of domestic violence, of a sex offense under chapter 12.1-20, of sexual performances by a child under chapter 12.1-27.2, or o…

The electronic mail address or telephone number of an individual which is provided to a public entity for the purpose of or in the course of communicating with that public entity is an exempt record. This section may not be used to shield the identity of the individual communicat…

The medical condition of an individual, medical treatment provided to an individual, and the name of an individual who received medical treatment from a public entity during an emergency medical response is an exempt record.

A public library, archive, or museum may designate a donated record as an exempt record if the donor of the record requests as a condition of the donation that the record not be released to the public for a specific amount of time, which may not exceed twenty years beyond the dea…

Any record maintained within a legislative bill tracking system administered or operated by a public entity is an exempt record.

A record of the value of property paid or delivered to the administrator of the state abandoned property office under section 47-30.2-21 is an exempt record.

Notwithstanding section 44-04-18.6, any record of the legislative council relating to a request for public records made by the legislative council on behalf of a member of the legislative assembly is a public record. The legislative council shall maintain a written or digital rec…

If a public entity or any person delegated authority by a public entity to review applications or make hiring decisions receives applications from three or more applicants who meet the minimum qualifications for a vacant position, the public entity or other person shall designate…

Any record related to a complaint or investigation under title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 [Pub. L. 92-318; 20 U.S.C. 1681 et seq.] at an institution under the control of the state board of higher education which contains personally identifiable information about a par…

A record received by the board of university and school lands from a private entity for purposes of the board's audit of the entity's coal, oil, gas, or other royalty payments to the board is confidential. However, the board may furnish information to the attorney general, other …

1. Except as provided in subsection 5, a telephone number and the home address of a prosecutor, justice of the United States, federal judge, magistrate judge, supreme court justice, district court judge, judicial referee, juvenile court director or probation officer, an employee …

1. For purposes of this section: a. "Human services" means services provided to an individual or an individual's family in need of services to assist the individual or the individual's family in achieving and maintaining basic self-sufficiency, including physical health, mental h…

Any record revealing the substance of, or the individual interviewed in, a background interview conducted as part of the consideration of an applicant for a position as a law enforcement officer is an exempt record. For purposes of this section, "background interview" means an in…

Unless otherwise provided by law, a medical record or a record containing medical information in the possession of a public entity is an exempt record.

A record received by the secretary of state, which is related to a request for approval of a petition to initiate or refer a measure, is an exempt record until the secretary of state has passed upon the sufficiency of the petition under section 16.1-01-10, or thirty-five days hav…

A record related to an individual's application for admission to an institution of higher education under the administration of the state board of higher education is exempt, except as otherwise provided by law. Subject to the retention requirements under section 15-10-44, the re…

1. Trade secret, proprietary, commercial, and financial information is confidential if it is of a privileged nature and it has not been previously publicly disclosed. 2. Under this section, unless the context otherwise requires: a. "Commercial information" means information perta…

Any computer software program or component of a computer software program contracted, developed, or acquired by a public entity or state agency, institution, department, or board and for which the public entity or state agency, institution, department, or board acquires a license…

1. The following records, regardless of form or characteristic, of or relating to the legislative council, the legislative management, the legislative assembly, the house of representatives, the senate, or a member of the legislative assembly are not subject to section 44-04-18 a…

1. Active criminal intelligence information and active criminal investigative information are not subject to section 44-04-18 and section 6 of article XI of the Constitution of North Dakota. A criminal justice agency shall maintain a list of all files containing active criminal i…

The following records are not subject to section 44-04-18 and section 6 of article XI of the Constitution of North Dakota: examination or test questions, scoring keys, and other data used to administer any licensing, employment, academic, or certification examination or test, if …

Any credit, debit, or electronic fund transfer card or account number and any financial institution account number that a public entity, elected official, or appointed official uses or has available for making electronic or other deposits, transfers, or payments is not an open re…

Except as otherwise specifically provided by law, all meetings of a public entity must be open to the public. That portion of a meeting of the governing body of a public entity as defined in subdivision c of subsection 13 of section 44-04-17.1 which does not regard public busines…

1. Attorney work product is exempt from section 44-04-18. Attorney work product and copies thereof shall not be open to public inspection, examination, or copying unless specifically made public by the public entity receiving such work product. 2. Attorney consultation is exempt …

1. A governing body may hold an executive session to consider or discuss closed or confidential records. 2. Unless a different procedure is provided by law, an executive session that is authorized by law may be held if: a. The governing body first convenes in an open session and,…

A caucus of members of either house of the legislative assembly may meet in an executive session that is not subject to section 44-04-19.2 if the meeting is not held on public property.