A BILL for an Act to amend and reenact section 11-10-02 of the North Dakota Century Code, relating to the election of a full-time county auditor.

69th Legislative Assembly (2025-26) Introduced by Matt Heilman

Requires that full-time county auditors be elected, not appointed; bars home-rule charters from bypassing this, letting voters choose the auditor in affected counties.

Second reading, failed to pass, yeas 7 nays 86

Purpose

HB 1384 would amend and reenact section 11‑10‑02 of the North Dakota Century Code to require that, when a county auditor position is a full‑time county employee, that auditor must be an elective (voted) office. The bill also prohibits counties from using a home‑rule charter to avoid this requirement.

Key provisions

Revises NDCC § 11‑10‑02 (Number and election of county officers) by adding a new subsection that:

States that if the county auditor described in subsection 1 is a full‑time county employee, the county auditor position must be an elective office (i.e., filled by popular vote).
Prohibits any county from using powers under a home‑rule charter to circumvent that requirement.

Leaves intact the existing enumeration of required county officers (auditor, recorder, treasurer, coroner, board of county commissioners, etc.) and related election timing provisions in the statute.

Who would be affected

Counties in North Dakota where the county auditor currently serves (or would serve) as a full‑time county employee.

In such counties, an auditor who might otherwise be appointed or converted to an appointive position under local home‑rule powers would instead have to be elected.

County governing bodies and officials considering restructuring of county offices under home‑rule charters.

Voters in affected counties (they would elect the auditor rather than having the office filled by appointment).

Potentially county budgets to the extent election administration costs increase (see Fiscal Impact below).

Fiscal impact

The bill text does not include a fiscal note. Potential fiscal effects could include:

Election administration costs in counties that would shift an auditor position from appointive to elective.
Indeterminate administrative impacts for counties that must change hiring/appointment practices.

No formal state fiscal analysis is included in the materials provided.

Procedural status and timeline

Introduced: (filed) November 18, 2024; introduced in the House by Representative Heilman.

Recorded action: Placed on second reading and voted — failed to pass on second reading (yeas 7, nays 86). (Status: did not advance.)

Because the measure failed on second reading, it did not become law during this session.

Practical effect (if enacted)

Would ensure that any county in which the auditor position is full‑time must fill that office by election, and would remove the ability of counties to use home‑rule provisions to convert or redesignate a full‑time auditor to an appointive office.

If you want, I can:
- Locate existing North Dakota counties that currently have appointive vs. elective auditors to estimate how many counties would be affected; or
- Draft a brief comparison of this change against current home‑rule practice and examples from other states.

Bill