Burgum officially calls special session as ND Supreme Court strikes down budget bill

(Bismarck, ND) -- North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum has called a special session beginning Monday after the state's Supreme Court called the bill unconstitutional.

The special session is occurring so lawmakers can work on passing a budget bill that was rejected by the state Supreme Court. That bill is Senate Bill 2015. The bill allocated more than 320 million dollars for a number of government agencies and functions, with roughly half the funding set aside for the Office of Management and Budget.

“Since the Supreme Court first ruled the OMB bill invalid, we have been collaborating with House and Senate leaders to navigate the complexities of calling the Legislature back for a special session, and we are grateful for their leadership and the work by Legislative Council,” Burgum said. “By calling the Legislature back into session, we can enact the OMB budget and other provisions of the bill before Nov. 1, continue delivering services to citizens without interruption and make strategic investments in areas such as tax relief and infrastructure that strengthen North Dakota’s economic future.”

The state supreme court ruled in September that the budget for OMB violated the state constitution, since the bill did not solely focus on the budget.