Bill Would End Anonymous Open Record Requests

HB 1198 seeks to reduce transparency by requiring those requesting information to identify themselves, overturning legal traditions.

Last night, we released our first tracking list of the 2023 Legislative session.

Bill Tracking List As Of January 9th, 2023

One bill posted today that is sure to raise some eyebrows among journalists and advocates of government transparency is House Bill 1198.

This bill would “require an individual who requests an open record to provide the individual's name and contact information.”

This is a huge departure from current law and policy, as the North Dakota Attorney General’s website clearly states:

We’ll have to keep an eye on this bill and see why some legislators including the new House Majority Leader Mike Lefor, who is the prime sponsor of the bill, think this is necessary.

There was a story back in September about a national effort to flood state government agencies with bogus requests regarding the 2020 election. Which, this bill really would do nothing to address that problem.

Stay tuned!