Title 44, Offices and Officers

Every elector is eligible to the office for which that person is an elector, except when otherwise specially provided. No person is eligible who is not such an elector.

Any person elected or appointed to any position or office in this state, or in any political subdivision thereof, in which length of service is one of the qualifications necessary to election or appointment, must be given credit for service in the army of the United States betwee…

Except when otherwise specially provided, all state and district officers shall qualify on the first day of January next succeeding their election and on said first day of January shall enter upon the discharge of the duties of their respective offices, provided that when a perso…

The agriculture commissioner, attorney general, auditor, insurance commissioner, public service commissioners, secretary of state, superintendent of public instruction, tax commissioner, and treasurer shall qualify on the first day of December next succeeding their election and s…

If any person elected to any state, district, county, or other political subdivision office fails to qualify and enter upon the duties of such office within the time fixed by law, such office must be deemed vacant and must be filled by appointment as provided by law. If there is …

Each civil officer in this state before entering upon the duties of that individual's office shall take and subscribe the oath prescribed in section 4 of article XI of the Constitution of North Dakota. The oath must be endorsed upon the back of, or attached to, the commission, ap…

The appointment of any civil officer may be rescinded by the appointing authority if the appointed civil officer fails to file an oath of office at the place of filing required by section 44-05-04.

Each civil officer who gives a bond shall render a true account of all moneys and property of every kind that come into that person's hands as such officer and shall pay and deliver over the same according to law.

No officer or board charged by law with the duty of approving official bonds may approve any bond made in violation of this chapter. No bond given or approved in contravention of section 44-01-14 may be held to be invalid by reason thereof.

The bond of each civil officer must be construed to cover duties imposed by laws passed subsequent to the execution of such bond as well as to those duties imposed at the time of the execution of the bond. No bond is void because of its failure to comply with the law as to matter…

No officer or employee of the state who is bonded in the state bonding fund may become a surety upon any bond or undertaking while that person's coverage in such fund is effective. No officer or employee of any municipality, political subdivision, or public corporation may become…

An office becomes vacant if the incumbent shall: 1. Die in office; 2. Be adjudged mentally ill; 3. Resign from office; 4. Be removed from office; 5. Fail to discharge the duties of office, when the failure has continued for sixty consecutive days, except when prevented from disch…

The resignation of an officer must be in writing and must be made as follows: 1. The governor and lieutenant governor, to the legislative assembly, if it is in session, and if not, to the secretary of state. 2. Any other state or district officer, to the governor. 3. A member of …

Any vacancy in a state or district office, except in the office of a member of the legislative assembly, must be filled by appointment by the governor. The governor may not fill a vacancy in the office of a member of the legislative assembly. A vacancy in the office of a supreme …

1. If a vacancy in the office of a member of the legislative assembly occurs, the secretary of state shall notify the chairman of the legislative management of the vacancy. The secretary of state need not notify the chairman of the legislative management of the resignation of a m…

A vacancy in any county office, other than that of county commissioner, must be filled by the board of county commissioners, with the exception that if a vacancy has occurred in the office of state's attorney by reason of removal under section 44-11-01, the appointment must be ma…

When a vacancy occurs in the board of county commissioners, the remaining members of the board immediately shall appoint some suitable person to fill the vacancy from the district in which the vacancy occurred. If a majority of the officers fails to agree upon a person to fill th…

If a vacancy occurs within ninety-five days previous to an election at which it may be filled, no appointment may be made unless it is necessary to carry out such election and the canvass of the same according to law. In such case an appointment may be made at any time previous t…

Any appointment to fill a vacancy under this chapter must be made in writing, and, except as otherwise expressly provided by law, continues in force until the first general election that occurs at least ninety-five days after the vacancy, when the vacancy will be filled by electi…

A person appointed to office as provided in this chapter shall qualify within the time and in the manner required of a person elected or appointed to such office for a full term.

When the incumbent of any elective office in this state is unable to discharge the duties of the incumbent's office by reason of service in the armed forces of the United States, an acting official who shall have the powers of the incumbent must be appointed in the same manner th…

The secretary of state, state auditor, state treasurer, insurance commissioner, agriculture commissioner, commissioner of labor, district assessor, and city assessor each may appoint a deputy. The appointment must be in writing and is revocable in writing at the pleasure of the p…

No state officer can appoint as deputy any other state or district officer. A state treasurer may not appoint as deputy any county treasurer, recorder, sheriff, or county commissioner.

Each deputy shall take and subscribe the same oath as the deputy's principal, naming the deputyship, which must be endorsed upon and filed with the deputy's certificate of appointment.

No person may be appointed as deputy in any state office nor as a member or officer upon any official board of the state, or of any county or municipality of the state, who is not a citizen of the United States and who is not a bona fide resident of the state.

All county, township, and city officers, except such as are required to make their reports at some other specified time, who are required by law to make annual reports for any purpose to any state officer, shall prepare and transmit the same on or before the fifteenth day of Augu…

Upon the willful neglect of any public officer to make any report required by law, the officer or board to whom such report should be made promptly shall notify the attorney general or the state's attorney of such failure to report. The attorney general or state's attorney shall …

Whenever any person convicted of a felony or adjudged mentally ill is committed to the custody of the department of corrections and rehabilitation, a county jail, or to any other county institution that is supported wholly or in part by public funds, the warden, superintendent, s…

Upon the official request of the United States immigration officer in charge of the territory or district in which is located any court committing an alien, for the commission of a felony, to any state institution supported wholly or in part by public funds, the clerk of such cou…

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…