HB1429 extends North Dakota’s current membership in the Compact for a Balanced Budget through 2031.
The North Dakota State Senate passed HB1429 on March 22, 2021 by a vote of 37 to 10. We have assigned pluses to the nays because this legislation unconstitutionally pre-ratifies a Balanced Budget Amendment before a constitutional convention convenes. An Article V Constitutional Convention proposal could cause serious damage to our constitution and there is no evidence that such amendment would fix our financial problems. Article V of the U.S. Constitution was designed to correct structural deficiencies in the federal government, not the behavior of its elected officials.