There is a newer version of the North Dakota Century Code
2009 North Dakota Code
44 Offices and Officers
44-08 Miscellaneous Provisions
Download pdfbody of any political subdivision of the state in purchasing any goods, merchandise,
supplies, or equipment of any kind, or contracting to build or repair any building,
structure, road, or other real property, shall give preference to bidders, sellers, or
contractors resident in North Dakota. The preference must be equal to the preference given or required by the state of the nonresident bidder, seller, or
contractor. 2. A state entity authorized to accept bids shall give preference to a resident North
Dakota bidder when accepting bids for the provision of professional services,
including research and consulting services. The preference must be equal to the
preference given or required by the state of the nonresident bidder. 3. The office of management and budget, any other state entity, and the governing
body of any political subdivision of the state in specifying or purchasing any goods,
merchandise, supplies, or equipment, may not specify any trademarked or
copyrighted brand or name, nor the product of any one manufacturer, nor any
patented product, apparatus, device, or equipment, when the same will prevent
proper competition, unless bidders also are asked for bids or offers upon other
articles of like nature, utility, and merit. When it is advantageous that the purchase
be of a particular brand of product or products of a particular manufacturer to the
exclusion of competitive brands or manufacturers, the purchasing board or entity
must document those circumstances and provide written justification for the
proprietary specification or purchase. The purchasing board or entity shall procure
the proprietary product through a competitive process unless the needed product is
available exclusively from one source of supply or other circumstances exist under
which competition can be waived. 44-08-01.1. Bids to be sealed - Designation of time and place for opening - Preference for tie bids. Notwithstanding any other provisions of the North Dakota Century
Code, the governing bodies of the political subdivisions of the state of North Dakota shall accept
only sealed bids, whenever by law or administrative decision they are required to call for,
advertise, or solicit bids for the purchase of personal property and equipment. Whenever a
political subdivision of this state calls for, advertises, or solicits sealed bids, it shall designate a
time and place for the opening of such bids. If all of the bids are not rejected, the purchase must
be made from the bidder submitting the lowest and best bid meeting or exceeding the
specifications set out in the invitation for bids. In the event that two or more bids contain identical
pricing or receive identical evaluation scores, preference must be given to bids submitted by
North Dakota vendors. 44-08-02. Resident North Dakota bidder, seller, and contractor defined. The term "a resident North Dakota bidder, seller, or contractor" when used in section 44-08-01, unless the
context thereof clearly provides otherwise, means a bidder, seller, or contractor who has
maintained a bona fide place of business within this state for at least one year prior to the date on
which a contract was awarded. 44-08-03. Traveling expenses - What allowed. No elective or appointive officer, employee, representative, or agent of this state, or of any of its subdivisions, agencies, bureaus,
boards, or commissions, may willfully make claim upon, or willfully receive, any public funds for
traveling expenses, while engaged upon public business, in an amount in excess of that allowed
by law for such travel. If more than one public officer, employee, representative, or agent travels
in the same car while engaged upon official duty, whether belonging to different departments, Page No. 1 subdivisions, boards, or commissions or not, no claim may be made for more than one mileage,
such claim to be made by the owner or lessee of such car. 44-08-04. Expense account - Amount allowed - Verification. 1. Except as provided in section 44-08-04.1, each elective or appointive officer,
employee, representative, or agent of this state, or of any of its subdivisions,
agencies, bureaus, boards, or commissions, may make claim for meals and lodging
while engaged in the discharge of a public duty away from the claimant's normal
working and living residence for all or any part of any quarter of a day. Claims may
also be made for meals that are included as part of a registration fee for a
conference, seminar, or other meeting and for meals attended at the request of and
on behalf of the state or any of its subdivisions, agencies, bureaus, boards, or
commissions; however, if a meal is included in a registration fee, the applicable
quarter allowance cannot be claimed for that meal. Claims for meals specifically
included in a registration fee for a conference, seminar, or other meeting must be
allowed even if the city at which the conference, seminar, or meeting is held or the
meal is provided is the claimant's normal working and living residence.
Reimbursement is allowed only for overnight travel or other travel, away from the
normal place of employment, for four hours or more. Verification of expenses by
receipt is required only for lodging expenses. 2. For travel within the state, the following rates for each quarter of any
twenty-four-hour period must be used: a. First quarter is from six a.m. to twelve noon and the sum must be five dollars.
First quarter reimbursement may not be made if travel began after seven a.m. b. Second quarter is from twelve noon to six p.m. and the sum must be seven
dollars and fifty cents. c. Third quarter is from six p.m. to twelve midnight and the sum must be twelve
dollars and fifty cents. d. Fourth quarter is from twelve midnight to six a.m. and the sum must be the
actual lodging expenses not to exceed an amount established by policy by the
director of the office of management and budget plus any additional applicable
state or local taxes. The director shall establish a policy to set the lodging
reimbursement at an amount equal to ninety percent of the rate established by
the United States general services administration for lodging reimbursement in
this state. A political subdivision may reimburse an elective or appointive officer, employee, representative, or agent for actual lodging expenses. 3. The allowance for out-of-state meals, within the continental United States, is equal to
the per diem meals rate in the city for which a claim is made on that day as
established by rule for federal employees by the United States general services
administration and must be allocated twenty percent to the first quarter, thirty
percent to the second quarter, and fifty percent to the third quarter. 4. The allowance for meals in noncontinental United States and overseas nonforeign
areas, including Alaska, Hawaii, and Guam, is equal to the per diem meals rate in
the city for which a claim is made on that day as established by rule for federal
employees established by the United States per diem committee. 5. The allowance for meals outside the United States is equal to the per diem meals
rate in the city for which a claim is made on that day as established by rule for
federal employees established by the United States department of state. 6. The allowance for lodging outside the state must be the actual lodging expense. Page No. 2 7. A department, institution, or agency of this state may set a rate for travel expenses
outside the state less than those set forth in this section. Verification of any other
type of expense not prescribed by this section must be as prescribed by the office of
the budget except no receipt may be required for taxi or cab fares of ten dollars or
less. The office of management and budget shall disapprove any claim it determines to be in error or unlawful or not within the limits of legislative
appropriations. 44-08-04.1. Per diem allowance for long-term travel. With the approval of the office of the budget, any state agency may adopt a per diem allowance in lieu of expenses as allowed by
section 44-08-04 for its officials and employees whose official duties require that they remain on
travel status away from their normal working and living residence for extended periods of time.
No per diem allowed may be in excess of the total allowance for meals and lodging as allowed by
section 44-08-04. Travel status of one week or less may not be considered long-term or extended travel. Rental receipts must be used to verify travel status under this section. 44-08-04.2. Travel advances. 1. Any state agency shall advance at the request of the agency head for employees of
that agency funds to be used for payment of meal and lodging expenses incurred
while the official or employee is traveling on official business of this state, provided
that such travel must be planned to be in excess of five days per month, whether or
not consecutive, and provided that the funds advanced do not exceed eighty percent
of estimated expenses for the period. Travel advances must be approved by the
chief executive officer or a designee of the agency involved. Funds advanced for
meals and lodging under this section must be accounted for as required under
section 44-08-04 for travel. 2. As used in this section, and section 44-08-04.1: a. "Official business of this state" includes travel to attend training courses. b. "State agency" means agencies, boards, commissions, bureaus, offices,
departments, institutions, and any other state governmental entities, and
specifically includes the legislative and judicial branches of state government. 44-08-04.3. Moving expense - Allowances - Verification. The head of any department, institution, or agency may authorize the payment of moving expenses incurred by a
permanent employee who has been employed in that department, institution, or agency not less
than one year when that employee is transferred from one city in the state to another for the
purpose of assuming a new duty assignment of a permanent nature within that department,
institution, or agency. Relocation costs payable are: 1. All actual costs of moving personal household goods and furnishings, not to exceed
eleven thousand pounds [4989.60 kilograms] net weight. 2. The expenses of transportation to the new residence quarters, limited to one round
trip, and actual meal and lodging costs for the employee and spouse, for three days. 3. The expenses of transportation, lodging, and meals incurred by the employee and
the immediate family while en route to the new duty station. 4. The expenses for the employee and immediate family while occupying temporary
living quarters within the state, not to exceed thirty days. Provided, however, that payment of the expenses itemized in subsections 1 through 4 may not
exceed five thousand dollars. Verification for expenses under subsection 1 must be a paid receipt from a licensed moving agency, licensed trailer transportation company, trailer rental
agent, or other licensed moving company; verification for expenses under subsection 2 must be Page No. 3 highway mileage between the location sites and meal and lodging receipts; verification for
expenses under subsection 3 must be receipts for meals and lodging plus highway mileage for
one motor vehicle between the duty stations; and verification for expenses under subsection 4
must be according to section 44-08-04. An employee, for the purpose of this section, is one who
has served at least one year, including a probationary period, and whose retention is approved
after such probationary period. 44-08-04.4. Prepayment of travel expenses of state officers and employees. Any travel expense, including airline tickets and registration fees, that must be incurred more than five
weeks in advance of approved travel to meet necessary deadlines or to obtain low rates, may be
purchased by the state or any elected or appointed officer, employee, representative, or agent of
this state. No state entity may require an officer, employee, representative, or agent of the state
to pay these expenses. 44-08-04.5. Prepayment and direct billing of lodging expenses of state officers and employees. 1. The office of management and budget shall seek to obtain sales tax exemptions for
state employee travel lodging expense from all other states and the District of
Columbia. If available from other states, the office of management and budget shall
file exemption records, documents, or numbers for use by state agencies.
Whenever any state agency, board, bureau, or institution makes out-of-state travel
plans involving a lodging expense, the agency may contact the office of
management and budget to determine if a sales tax exemption has been obtained
from the destination state or states. If an exemption has been obtained, and if travel
plans are sufficiently certain, the agency, board, bureau, or institution may obtain the
required documentation from the office of management and budget and arrange with
the out-of-state lodging provider to have the agency prepay the lodging expense or
to have the lodging expense directly billed to the agency and obtain the benefit of the
sales tax exemption. 2. If a state agency, board, bureau, or institution makes travel plans involving a lodging
expense, the agency, board, bureau, or institution may arrange with the lodging
provider or travel agency to have the lodging expense prepaid by the agency or
billed directly to the agency. 44-08-05. Civil recovery of public funds. Any person who receives public funds for the discharge of a public duty in excess of the amounts allowed by law is, thirty days after a demand
for a return of such excess amounts has been made by the attorney general, subject to a civil suit
to be brought by the attorney general for the recovery of the amount received in excess of that
lawfully allowed. 44-08-05.1. Payments - Purchasing card authority - Penalty. 1. Any public officer or employee who has the power to approve a payment for travel
expenses or any other expenditure of public funds shall determine before approving
the payment: a. That the expenditure for travel or other expenditures were for lawful and official
purposes. b. If for employee travel reimbursement, the sums claimed for travel expenses are
actually due the individual who is seeking reimbursement, allowance, or
payment. c. If the payment is for expenditure other than travel expense, that the expenditure
is lawful and that the payment contains no false claims. Page No. 4 2. The director of the office of management and budget, the state board of higher
education, the governing body of any political subdivision, and the board of any
school district may establish and administer a purchasing card system for use by its
officers, employees, representatives, or agents. If the director of the office of management and budget establishes a cooperative purchasing contract under
section 54-44.4-13, each participating government entity is responsible for its
purchasing card system. 3. An employee of the office of management and budget designated by the director of
the office of management and budget, on behalf of all state agencies, may review
and approve payments made with a purchasing card and make payments. The
director of the office of management and budget may designate the state agencies
that are required to use the purchasing card system. 4. Any public officer or employee who fraudulently uses a purchasing card or knowingly
approves a payment for false or unlawful claims or which does not otherwise meet
the requirements of this section for approval may be subject to criminal prosecution
under title 12.1. Any public officer or employee who, without the use of ordinary care
and diligence, uses a purchasing card or approves a payment for false or unlawful
claims or which does not otherwise meet the requirements of this section for
approval is personally liable for any funds improperly expended. Any public officer,
employee, or any other individual who has knowledge of an actual or possible
violation of this section shall make that information known to the attorney general or
the appropriate state's attorney. The attorney general or appropriate state's attorney
shall investigate any alleged violation. If there is probable cause to believe that a
violation has occurred, the attorney general or appropriate state's attorney shall
initiate a criminal prosecution under title 12.1 or a civil suit against the public officer
or employee for the recovery of the funds as may actually have been improperly
paid, or may initiate a prosecution and a civil suit. 44-08-06. Dimensions of seal of court or officer. Except as otherwise provided in section 44-06-04 relating to notary seals, upon every seal of a court or officer of this state
required or authorized to have a seal, there must be engraved the words "State of North Dakota"
and the name of the court or office in which the seal is to be used. All such seals, except the
great seal, must be surrounded by a border, and be either one and five-eighths inch [41.28
millimeters] in diameter or if of a rectangular design, may be up to or equal to seven-eighths inch
[22.23 millimeters] vertically by two and five-eighths inches [66.68 millimeters] horizontally. 44-08-06.1. Validation - Certificates of acknowledgment. All certificates of acknowledgment by notaries public on all documents filed for record with a recorder in the state,
notwithstanding any defects or irregularities with the notary seal, are hereby validated, ratified,
approved, and confirmed. Notwithstanding section 44-08-06, all seals of a court or officer of this
state are binding, legal, and enforceable. The provisions of this section relating to validation of
acknowledgments are applicable to all documents filed with any county recorder in the state after
July 1, 1987. 44-08-07. When temporary seal may be authorized. When any court of record is unprovided with a seal, the judge thereof may authorize the use of any temporary seal, or of any
device by way of seal, until a permanent seal is provided. 44-08-08. Per diem oath - Penalty. Repealed by S.L. 2003, ch. 388, § 5. 44-08-09. Fees paid in advance or security given. The clerk of the supreme court, the clerk of each district court, sheriff, or recorder, in all cases, may require the party for whom any
service is to be rendered to pay the fees in advance of service, or to give security for the costs of
service, to be approved by the officer. 44-08-10. Provision "Buy North Dakota Products" - Public notices and printing. Repealed by S.L. 1973, ch. 364, § 1. Page No. 5 44-08-11. State and other political subdivisions to furnish counsel to defend law enforcement officers. The state or any political subdivision of the state must furnish legal
counsel to defend any law enforcement officer in any action brought against such officer to
recover damages arising out of any act of such officer in good faith and in the performance of the
officer's official duties. 44-08-12. Definitions. As used in sections 44-08-12 through 44-08-14: 1. "Authorized officer" means any official of this state or any of its departments,
agencies, public bodies, or other instrumentalities or any of its political subdivisions
whose signature to a lease issued by the board of university and school lands, public
security, or instrument of payment is required or permitted. 2. "Facsimile signature" means a reproduction by engraving, imprinting, stamping, or
other means of the manual signature of an authorized officer. 3. "Instrument of payment" means a check, draft, warrant, or order for the payment,
delivery, or transfer of funds. 4. "Public security" means a bond, note, certificate of indebtedness, or other obligation
for the payment of money, issued by this state or by any of its departments,
agencies, public bodies, or other instrumentalities or by any of its political
subdivisions. 44-08-13. Facsimile signature. Any authorized officer, after filing with the secretary of state or, in the case of officers of any city, county, school district, or other political subdivision,
with the clerk or business manager of such subdivision, the officer's manual signature certified to
under oath, may execute or cause to be executed with a facsimile signature in lieu of a manual
signature: 1. Any public security, provided that at least one signature required or permitted to be
placed thereon, or the signature of an authenticating agent or agents designated in
writing by the issuer of the security or by the person whose signature is required or
permitted to be placed thereon, must be manually subscribed, but no such manual
subscription may be required as to interest coupons attached to such security. 2. Any instrument of payment. 3. Any lease issued by the board of university and school lands. 4. Any license, permit, or other authorization provided for by the statutes, ordinances,
resolutions, or rules of this state, any city, county, school district, or other political
subdivision in this state. Upon compliance with sections 44-08-12 through 44-08-14 by the authorized officer, a facsimile
signature has the same legal effect as a manual signature. 44-08-14. Use of facsimile seal. When the seal of this state or any of its departments, agencies, public bodies, or other instrumentalities or of any of its political subdivisions is required
in the execution of a public security or instrument of payment, the authorized officer may cause
the seal to be printed, engraved, stamped, or otherwise placed in facsimile thereon. The facsimile seal has the same legal effect as the impression of the seal. 44-08-15. Violation and penalty. Repealed by S.L. 1975, ch. 106, § 673. 44-08-16. Definition of law enforcement officer. As used in section 44-08-17, "law enforcement officer" means any sheriff, sheriff's deputy, police chief, policeman, fireman, and
any investigator or detective employed by a political subdivision on a salaried basis to perform
police duties. Page No. 6 44-08-17. Political subdivisions authorized to purchase insurance on the life of law enforcement officer - Benefits payable to dependent survivor. Any political subdivision may
purchase insurance on the life of a law enforcement officer employed by that political subdivision.
Such insurance policy must be purchased from an insurance company licensed to do business in
this state. If the insurance is purchased, the officer insured thereunder may designate that officer's dependent survivor or survivors to whom the death benefit provided under the policy
must be paid. The word "dependent" means that the deceased officer provided some financial
support within one year before the officer's death to the survivor and must be liberally construed
for the purposes of this section. In the event the officer has not designated a dependent survivor
or survivors, the death benefit payable must be paid to the closest survivor in the following order: 1. Spouse. 2. Children. 3. Parent. 4. Brother or sister. However, if there is more than one qualifying survivor in subsection 2, 3, or 4, the death benefit
must be paid in equal shares to the survivors in that category. The death benefit provided by an
insurance policy purchased pursuant to this section may not exceed the amount of ten thousand
dollars on the life of one law enforcement officer. Any death benefit paid due to purchase of an
insurance policy under the provisions of this section must be in addition to any benefits paid due
to the death of that officer under any other provisions of law. 44-08-18. Officials and employees of agencies located in capitol building responsible for keys issued to them - Return upon termination of employment - Agency
head responsibility. Every elected and appointed state official and all state employees employed by or administering any agency, department, board, commission, or other
governmental organization with offices located in the state capitol building are responsible for the
safekeeping and return of keys allowing entrance to any of such offices or to the capitol building
proper. Each official or employee shall, upon or prior to termination of employment in the state
capitol, return any and all keys which may have been issued to the official or employee by the
highway patrol or by the legislative council to the person in charge of such keys in the office or
department in which the official or employee was employed. The person in charge, or the person's designee, shall see to the return of the keys to the highway patrol in a manner provided
by rules and regulations which must be promulgated by the highway patrol. Failure to return a
key must be handled as provided in section 54-06-15. 44-08-19. Political activities by public employees prohibited while on duty - Definition. 1. No public employee may engage in political activities while on duty or in uniform.
Although nothing in this section prevents any such employee from becoming or
continuing to be a member or officer of a political club or organization, from
attendance at a political meeting, from contributing to or otherwise supporting
candidates of the employee's choice, from enjoying entire freedom from all
interference in casting a vote or favoring candidates, or from seeking or accepting
election or appointment to public office, the governing body of any political
subdivision may adopt appropriate ordinances prohibiting public employees from
engaging in political activities while such employees are on duty or in uniform. 2. For the purposes of this section, "political activities" means those activities defined
by section 39-01-04. 44-08-20. Additional powers of peace officers. Peace officers employed by a law enforcement agency within the state have the power of a peace officer in the following
circumstances: Page No. 7 1. To enforce state laws and rules within the jurisdiction of the law enforcement agency
by which they are employed. 2. To assist during the necessary absence from office by the requesting officer. 3. When responding to requests from other law enforcement agencies or officers for
aid and assistance. For the purposes of this subsection, such a request from a law
enforcement agency or officer means only a request for assistance as to a particular
and singular violation or suspicion of violation of law, and does not constitute a
continuous request for assistance outside the purview of the jurisdiction of the law
enforcement agency by which a peace officer is employed. 4. The powers and duties hereby conferred are supplemental to other powers and
duties conferred upon peace officers and do not constitute an obligation beyond the
regular course of duty of those officers. 44-08-20.1. Law enforcement officer job application. Every applicant for a position as a law enforcement officer for any state or political subdivision agency must be asked in any
written application for that position whether that applicant has ever pled or been found guilty of a
felony including a felony charge that was later dismissed under a deferred imposition of
sentence. 44-08-21. Recall of elected officials of political subdivisions. 1. An elected official of a political subdivision, except an official subject to recall under
section 10 of article III of the Constitution of North Dakota, is subject to recall by
petition of electors equal in number to twenty-five percent of the voters who voted in
the most recent election that the official sought to be recalled was on the ballot, not
including other recall elections. An official who was appointed to fill a vacancy is
subject to recall by petition of electors equal in number to twenty-five percent of the
voters who voted in the most recent election that the office of the official sought to be
recalled was on the ballot, not including other recall elections. The provisions of
section 16.1-01-09.1, as they relate to signing and circulating recall petitions, apply
to petitions under this section. 2. A recall petition must include a stated reason for the recall and be approved as to
form before circulation by the secretary of state. The secretary of state shall complete the review of the form of a recall petition in not less than five, nor more
than seven, business days, excluding Saturdays. To be effective, a recall petition
must be submitted to the appropriate filing officer within ninety days after the date
the recall petition is approved for circulation by the secretary of state. 3. Once circulated, the recall petition must be filed with the filing officer with whom a
petition for nomination to the office in question is filed unless that filing officer is the
individual subject to recall, in which case the petition must be filed with the secretary
of state. The filing officer with whom the petition is filed shall pass on the sufficiency
of a petition pursuant to section 16.1-01-09.1. Except as otherwise provided in this
section, the filing officer shall call a special election to be held not sooner than ninety
days nor later than one hundred days following the date the filing officer certifies the
petition valid and sufficient. No special election may be called if that date would be
within ninety days of the next scheduled election. An elector's name may not be
removed from a recall petition that has been submitted to and received by the
appropriate filing officer. 4. The name of the official to be recalled must be placed on the ballot unless the official
resigns within ten days after the filing officer certifies the petition is valid and
sufficient. Other candidates for the office may be nominated in a manner provided
by law and shall file nominating papers with the appropriate filing officer by the
sixtieth day before the scheduled recall election. If the official resigns, the Page No. 8 appropriate political subdivision governing body may call a special election or
appoint an individual to complete the unexpired term of the office. When the election results have been officially declared, the candidate receiving the highest
number of votes is elected for the remainder of the term. No official is subject to
recall twice during the term for which the official was elected. An official whose
office is on the ballot at a regularly scheduled election occurring within one year is
not subject to recall. 44-08-22. Purchase of flags of the United States. A state entity or any political subdivision of this state may not purchase a flag of the United States of America unless the flag
was manufactured in the United States of America. This section does not apply to the purchase
of an item that is not a flag but which portrays a likeness of a flag of the United States of
America, such as food, clothing, a lapel pin, a paper product, or other non-flag item. 44-08-23. Removal of political subdivision officer. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the governing body of a political subdivision may remove from office any
individual the governing body has appointed to any office, board, or commission, for misconduct,
malfeasance, crime in office, or neglect of duty or for habitual drunkenness or gross
incompetence, after notice and opportunity for a hearing. Page No. 9 Document Outline chapter 44-08 miscellaneous provisions
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