North Dakota Ethics Commission Updates Complaint Process

New rules aim to prevent abuse of ethics complaints for political purposes

Jan. 29, 2026 at 1:31pm

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The North Dakota Ethics Commission has adopted several changes to its complaint process, including allowing certain complaints to be dismissed and enabling the commission to settle complaints directly with the accused rather than requiring the filer to be involved. The updates come after legislators determined that public officials were using complaints to prolong investigations and harass political opponents.

Why it matters

The changes are intended to address concerns that the ethics complaint process was being abused for political purposes, rather than serving its intended function of ensuring accountability for public officials. Reforming the process could help restore public trust in the ethics commission's ability to effectively investigate wrongdoing.

The details

The new rules provide an avenue to have certain complaints dismissed and allow the commission to settle them directly with the accused, rather than requiring the filer to be involved as was previously required. Some legislators had wanted to impose fines against complaint violators, but that proposal was ultimately voted down.

  • The changes were adopted and implemented on Wednesday, January 29, 2026.

The players

North Dakota Ethics Commission

The state government agency responsible for investigating ethics complaints against public officials in North Dakota.

North Dakota Legislators

State lawmakers who determined the ethics complaint process was being misused and pushed for reforms to the system.

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The takeaway

The updated ethics complaint process in North Dakota aims to prevent the misuse of ethics complaints for political purposes, while still maintaining a system for holding public officials accountable. The reforms could help restore public trust in the ethics commission's ability to effectively investigate wrongdoing.