The civic record
Read. Follow. Verify.North Dakota House Bill 1286 Establishes Disclosure Requirements for Ultimate and True Source of Campaign Funds
Last action · February 13, 2025: Second reading, failed to pass, yeas 32 nays 53Sponsors: Mike Schatz and 7 others
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What This Bill Proposed
North Dakota House Bill 1286 requires any person or group spending over $200 on political expenditures in an election cycle to track and publicly disclose the s of their funds. The measure mandates that political advertisements identify the top three donors contributing and establishes penalties for attempting to evade these reporting requirements.
Political committees, labor unions, trade associations, and other covered groups must maintain detailed tracing records of donors contributing over $200 and report them to the secretary of state within ten days of first disbursing funds for expenditures, under penalty of fines ranging between two and three times the violation amount.
- North Dakota House Bill 1286 was introduced in the 69th Legislative Assembly by Representative Mike Schatz alongside several co-sponsors. context
- The bill failed to pass in the House on February 13, 2025, following a second reading vote. context
Who It Would Have Affected
Groups the bill's text would have affected, as described in the record. Being affected is not a position for or against it.
Covered persons
Covered persons must maintain detailed tracing records of donations exceeding two hundred dollars, file public disclosure statements with the secretary of state, and include top donor disclaimers on political advertisements.
Secretary of State
The secretary of state must make filed disclosure statements publicly accessible in a searchable, machine-readable format within forty-eight hours and investigate complaints regarding reporting violations.
Key Facts
You don't have to trust us. Each fact below is taken straight from the official document - click any one to see the exact passage, highlighted in the original.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who qualifies as a covered person under this bill?
What information must be included in political advertisements?
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News Coverage
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Votes, people, money & the original sourceWhere This Stands
This bill did not become law - Failed in the House.
Procedural history
4 actions- Feb 13, 2025HouseSecond reading, failed to pass, yeas 32 nays 53
- Feb 12, 2025HouseCommitteeReported back, do not pass, placed on calendar 7 6 1
- Jan 23, 2025HouseCommitteeCommittee Hearing 09:30
- Jan 13, 2025HouseIntroducedIntroduced, first reading, referred Government and Veterans Affairs Committee
Version history
Only one version on file - nothing to compare yet. As later stages (committee substitute, engrossed, enrolled) are captured, the redline appears here.
View official text →Lobbying Activity
No state lobbying filings in our records match this bill. Federal lobbying reports (LDA) cover Congress, so they are not listed on state bills.
Full breakdown
Who this bill affects and the strongest case for and against it, written only from the bill’s own text.
Sponsors
Discoveries
Patterns POLISCOPE noticed across the record. These are observations to investigate, not conclusions.
Expanded Donor Disclosures for Political Ads
The bill requires political advertisements to explicitly name the top three ultimate and true sources of traceable funds contributing to the payer.
Connected Entities
Sources
ndlegis.gov
Analysis Score
0–100- Significance20Lowered because this bill did not pass (its text scored 75)
- Controversy80Intensity of disagreement among stakeholders
- Entertainment10Compellingness for a non-policy-wonk reader
- Buzz40Current news / social attention level
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