North Dakota Attorney General Opinions
Free plain-English summaries of attorney general opinions issued in North Dakota, with full citations and the original source on every page.
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When North Dakota residents invite city commissioners to a public meeting and only two of five commissioners actually show up, has the city commission violated the open meetings law if no special meeting notice was issued?
No. The open meetings law applies to a 'meeting,' which under North Dakota statute requires either a quorum of the governing body or a smaller-than-quorum gathering held to evade the open-meeting rule…
Did a North Dakota rural ambulance district violate the open meetings or open records laws when its email notice to the official newspaper got stuck in an outbox, and when it took 80 days to release a severance agreement?
Mostly no on the meeting notice (the email failure was a technical glitch and the AG found substantial compliance for both meetings), but yes on the records side. The 80-day delay in releasing a sever…
When a North Dakota county commission calls a special meeting, what notice does it have to give and what must the minutes record?
Special meetings need notice to the principal office, the meeting location, the website, the county auditor, anyone who has requested notice, AND the official newspaper. Minutes must record members pr…
If a North Dakota airport authority misspells the email when notifying the city auditor of a special meeting, has it given valid notice?
No. Posting a notice at both terminals on the day of the meeting was not enough. A typo that prevented the city auditor from receiving the notice, plus failure to alert the official newspaper, was not…
When a North Dakota school board calls an emergency meeting on short notice and goes into executive session, what notice does it have to give the public?
The Apple Creek School Board called an emergency meeting on a few hours' notice with a vague website announcement, then held two executive sessions and discussed unrelated topics. The AG concluded the…
Can a North Dakota public body call a special meeting on five minutes' notice and still comply with open meetings law?
Yes. The Stanley Rural Ambulance District announced a special meeting only five minutes before it started, but it met the notice requirements because the public and the local newspaper were notified a…
What notice does a North Dakota township board have to give before holding a special meeting?
The AG concluded the Butte Township Board violated North Dakota's open meetings law for three special meetings. Notice has to be filed with the county auditor, posted at the meeting location on the da…
Is it OK to wait six weeks to give a citizen meeting minutes after she requested them, and did the special meeting itself get proper notice?
The November 1, 2021 special meeting was properly noticed (email to newspaper plus website). But waiting over a month to provide requested meeting minutes was an unreasonable delay and violated the op…
If a North Dakota citizen asks a school board to be personally notified of all future meetings, does the board have to send her notice of a special meeting?
Yes. Under § 44-04-20(5), when a citizen requests notice of future meetings, the public entity must give that person personal notice of each meeting, including special meetings. Public posting plus pe…
If a North Dakota board posts notice of a phone meeting on its Facebook page and website, is that enough?
No. Posting only to Facebook and the board website misses the legal requirements: notice must also go to the principal office, the official newspaper for special meetings, and the notice must include …
If a North Dakota board calls a special meeting, does it have to say on the notice that an executive session will happen?
Yes. If a special meeting will include an executive session, the notice must specifically list it and describe the general subject matter. Posting only the open-meeting topic and then going into a two…
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Attorney general opinions in North Dakota are written by the North Dakota Attorney General's office in response to questions from state agencies, legislators, and prosecutors. They are not binding like court decisions, but courts and agencies treat them as persuasive guidance on how state law applies. Every opinion above has a plain-English question and short answer, plus a link to the full original text.