Sen. Tim Mathern (D-Fargo) North Dakota Monitor
BISMARCK, N.D. (NORTH DAKOTA MONITOR) – A state senator wants to more than double the staff for the North Dakota Ethics Commission, arguing the state should be doing more to prevent public corruption.
The amendment was brought before the House Appropriations Committee’s Education and Environment Division on Wednesday by Sen. Tim Mathern, D-Fargo.
He said his proposal was prompted by news coverage of former Republican state Sen. Ray Holmberg’s prison sentence.
“It seems like every week, sometimes every day, there’s some sort of news story about our former colleague, Sen. Holmberg,” Mathern told lawmakers.
Holmberg was sentenced to 10 years in prison last week after he pleaded guilty to traveling to Prague, Czech Republic with the intent to engage in commercial sex with minors. One of Holmberg’s trips to Prague was subsidized by taxpayer dollars, according to federal prosecutors. A prosecution sentencing memorandum also alleged that Holmberg arranged for commercial sex “on countless occasions” while traveling in the U.S.
Meanwhile, the Ethics Commission faces an unprecedented number of complaint filings. In mid-March, Executive Director Rebecca Binstock told lawmakers that the board had received 59 complaints since the beginning of the year. That’s more than the 41 filed in all of 2024.
Ethics staff have testified previously that they lack the legal authority and resources to process these complaints as quickly as they would like.
Mathern said the state ought to do more to support the commission. He suggested adding four to five new staff members, which would cost North Dakota an additional $1.5 million for the 2025-2027 budget cycle. That would roughly double the size of its budget.
“It’s not just the fact that there are all these complaints,” Mathern said. He said not granting additional staff “will be damaging the Ethics Commission itself because it’s bogged down and can’t be really acting on much.”
Under Mathern’s proposal, the commission would have three attorneys, an educational/communications administrator and a paralegal, in addition to an executive director. It would also include an operations manager and an administrative assistant.
The Ethics Commission currently has three staff members. The proposed budget for 2025-2027 already includes an additional employee for public education.
Binstock said the commission hasn’t taken a stance on Mathern’s proposal, but that the commissioners do appreciate his support. She said the board’s priority for now is securing the education staff member.
Earlier in the session, the House rejected House Bill 1360, which sought to make changes the commission said would have helped it address bottlenecks in its complaint process. The Attorney General’s Office and Gov. Kelly Armstrong’s Office testified against House Bill 1360, expressing concerns that some parts of the bill were unconstitutional.
Mathern on Wednesday also brought up the new term limits for state lawmakers, which North Dakotans approved in a ballot measure in 2022. Under the constitutional amendment, many lawmakers will turn over in the coming years.
He said the commission will need more resources to ensure it can effectively educate new legislators. He noted that many current lawmakers are still confused about ethics rules.
Mathern also cited the need for more public education about the purpose of the commission.
“It’s coming at the late hour,” Rep. Mike Nathe, the committee’s chair, told Mathern. “I’m not knocking the idea, I’m just saying it looks like it would need more discussion.”
The committee didn’t take any action on the budget bill on Wednesday.
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