North Dakota Lawmakers are seeking ways to overturn the state’s legislative term-limit law, passed in 2022 by voters. That measure put term limits into the state constitution, with lawmakers now allowed to serve eight years maximum in the House and Senate. The 2022 measure explicitly states that only a citizen-initiated measure, if passed, could change the term limits again.
The state Senate debated Concurrent Resolution 4008, which would allow lawmakers to serve a total of 16 years in office, with partial terms not counting against that limit. The state constitution, by default, can be changed by a statewide vote. Lawmakers see the conflicting language as a chance to change state law.
Many lawmakers argued the Resolution is unconstitutional, with others expressing their anger over the new term-limit law. Republican Senator Kristin Roers had some of the strongest anti-term limit language, saying that the measure got on the ballot in 2022 under what she called “false pretenses.” Roers did not further elaborate.
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