North Dakota Attorney General
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The North Dakota Attorney General is the chief legal counsel and adviser to the North Dakota government. He/she acts as the representative of the state, its interests and its people in criminal and civil actions. The attorney general also issues opinions on questions of law to state officials and agencies.
The current officeholder is Wayne Stenehjem.
Divisions
The office of the attorney general includes the following offices:
- Attorney General Administration
- Bureau of Criminal Investigation
- Civil Litigation
- Consumer Protection
- Crime Lab
- Criminal & Regulatory
- Finance & Administration
- Fire Marshal
- Gaming
- Information Technology
- Licensing
- Lottery
- Natural Resources and Indian Affairs
- State & Local
Role in the initiative and referendum process
The attorney general has a limited role in the state's initiative and referendum process. A final draft of the petition is submitted by the sponsoring committee to the state Secretary of State. The final draft must contain a ballot title, which is a brief statement that adequately represents the focus of the petition. The secretary of state then submits the petition and corresponding materials to the attorney general.
The attorney general and the secretary of state have 5-7 business days to deny or approve the petition on grounds of "style and legal form." Once approved the petition may be circulated for signatures. Thus failure to follow procedure can jeopardize placing the issue in dispute on the ballot. This is specially true with referrals, since only 90 days are allotted for the whole petition process to occur.
The attorney general also plays an indirect role in the signature verification process undertaken by the Secretary of State after the collection of the required amount of signatures for a petition. If the secretary of state encounters any violations of North Dakota law, these are reported to the attorney general for further investigation and prosecution.
Role in open meetings and records laws
The people of North Dakota have the right to access government meetings and records. This, along with the initiative and referendum, is an important tool with which to monitor local and state governments' actions. However, there are a few statutes and limitations on access to certain meetings and records. For example, the courts are exempt from open meetings and records laws. It is best to check with Sections 44-04-17.1 through 44-04-31 of the North Dakota Century Code for a more thorough explanation of limits on access to meetings and records.
If an individual is denied the opportunity of attending a meeting or accessing records, he or she can ask the attorney general for an advisory opinion. Usually only state officials and agencies can ask for opinions from the attorney general, but in regards to open meetings and records laws this sphere is expanded to cover all individuals. The request must occur within 30 days of being denied access to records and within 90 days after being denied the opportunity of attending a meeting. The opinion is issued to the entity who denied the individual access to the meetings or records and a copy of the opinion is also issued to the aggrieved party. If the Attorney General affirms a violation of the open meetings and records laws, the "entity has seven days to take corrective action."
Contact information
State Capitol
600 E. Boulevard Ave.
Dept. 125
Bismarck, ND 58505
Phone:701-328-2210
E-Mail:ndag@nd.gov
See also
- North Dakota Attorney General Wayne Stenehjem
- North Dakota Governor
- North Dakota Lieutenant Governor
- North Dakota Secretary of State
External links
- Office of the North Dakota Attorney General
- About the office of the North Dakota Attorney General
- Agency Divisions ND Attorney General
- Initiating and Referral Law in North Dakota
- North Dakota Century Code
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