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HB 1134

relative to the town meeting form of local governance.

2026 Regular Session Introduced by Keith Ammon and 9 co-sponsors

ND HB 1134 expands harassment law to criminalize publishing a person's personal identifying information online to intimidate, with penalties up to a felony, effective immediately.

Refer to Interim Study, MA, VV; 04/09/2026; SJ 8
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Bill Summary · HB 1134

Summary — HB 1134 (North Dakota) — Amend 12.1‑17‑07; create new dissemination offense

Status & key dates
- Bill: HB 1134 — An Act to amend and reenact section 12.1‑17‑07 of the North Dakota Century Code (harassment) and to create a new section criminalizing dissemination of personally identifying information.
- Introduced: November 12, 2024 (filed)
- Legislative action: Passed both chambers (House vote 90–2; Senate vote 47–0 in enrolled documents). The bill text declares the measure an emergency.
- Effect: Emergency measure — takes effect immediately on enactment (effective date depends on final certification/signature per enrollment).

Purpose / intent
- To expand harassment law to cover publication of an individual’s personal identifying information on public internet sites/forums and to create a standalone criminal offense for intentionally disseminating personally identifying information with the intent to intimidate, threaten, harass, or frighten a resident of the state.
- To provide clear definitions of covered information and to establish graded criminal penalties tied to consequences of the dissemination.

Key provisions
1. Amendment to 12.1‑17‑07 (Harassment)
- Adds a new subsection (e) making it an offense to “communicate in writing, by electronic communication, or by electronically publishing, posting, or otherwise disclosing information to a public internet site or public forum an individual’s personal identifying information.”
- Under existing structure, harassment is a class A misdemeanor if charged under certain subdivisions (including the new e); other harassment conduct remains class B misdemeanor where applicable.
- Clarifies electronic communications can be deemed committed where made or received.

  1. New standalone offense: Dissemination of personally identifying information — definitions and penalties

    • Definitions include: “dissemination” (publishing to public internet/forum), “household member,” “immediate family member,” and “personally identifying information” (examples: Social Security or other government ID, date of birth, home/physical address, email or telephone, financial account/card numbers, biometric/health/insurance data, school or employment location).
    • Elements: person intentionally disseminates another person’s (or that person’s immediate family/household member’s) personally identifying information, with intent to intimidate/abuse/threaten/harass/frighten a resident of the state, and the dissemination would reasonably cause fear of physical injury to the individual or their immediate family/household member.
    • Scope: Applies to all electronic communications originating within or accessible within the state.

  2. Penalties (escalating based on resulting harm)

    • Base offense: Class A misdemeanor.
    • If dissemination results in bodily injury to the victim or their immediate family/household member: class C felony.
    • If dissemination results in substantial or serious bodily injury: class B felony.
    • If dissemination results in death: class A felony.

Who is affected
- Individuals who publish or post another person’s personally identifying information in a manner intended to intimidate, harass, threaten, or frighten a resident of North Dakota.
- Potentially affected targets include the named person as well as their household members and immediate family.
- Law enforcement, prosecutors, courts, and online platforms (as channels used for dissemination) will be involved in enforcement and investigation.

Procedural/implementation notes
- The bill specifies application to electronic communications accessible within the state (broad reach for online postings).
- As an emergency measure, statutory changes are intended to take effect immediately on enactment, enabling immediate enforcement.
- The text enumerates specific categories of information considered “personally identifying,” providing prosecutorial clarity about covered data types.

Impact considerations (practical)
- Creates a criminal remedy specifically targeting doxxing / public exposure of sensitive identifying data intended to intimidate or endanger.
- Raises enforcement responsibilities for law enforcement and prosecutors to investigate online dissemination and its consequences.
- May require coordination with online service providers to identify and preserve evidence of postings.

Compiled from official sources — confirm details with the bill’s official record.

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