New Ethics Commission Complaint Filed Against Legislator

Complaint filed to determine whether State Representative Emily O'Brien neglected to disclose her paid role representing the Bioscience Industry in lobbying that would *only* benefit that industry.

Previously, I wrote about how State Representative Emily O’Brien has been working for the Bioscience Association of North Dakota, which is a trade association that is being funded by the State of North Dakota through grants dispersed by the North Dakota Department of Agriculture.

To review:

1. State Representative Emily O’Brien is the COO (Chief Operating Officer) of the Bioscience Association of North Dakota, and has had that title since at least March 2022. (She does not disclose this role on her legislative biography page as it only lists her as “self-employed”.)

2. The Bioscience Association of North Dakota received an $870,000 grant from the North Dakota Department of Agriculture to “continue” its work of building a trade association for the bioscience industry and to help facilitate the creation of that industry.

3. North Dakota statute grants the Bioscience Association of North Dakota a seat on the Bioscience Innovation Grant selection committee, that approves which companies will receive m…