SB 2180 — AN ACT to create and enact a new section to chapter 44-04 of the North Dakota Century Code, relating to the opportunity to provide public comment at a meeting of a public entity.
Last action — Filed with Secretary Of State 05/01
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✓Introduced
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✓In Committee
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✓Passed Senate
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✓Passed House
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✓To Executive
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6Enacted
This bill has been enacted into law. Introduced January 13, 2025. Enacted.
Signed by Governor Kelly Armstrong (Republican) on May 01, 2025.
Odds of enactment
High chanceBased on the sponsor, cosponsors, and committee posture, this bill has a high chance of becoming law.
Upgrade to see the exact probability and what's driving it.
A statistical estimate from our own model of past outcomes — an insight, not a guarantee. Policymaking is volatile.
Prognosis
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Enacted
Current position in the legislative process.
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6 sponsors
1 primary, 5 co-sponsors signed on.
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Single-party support
Sponsorship is currently within one party (6 R).
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Cleared a recorded vote
Passed 4 recorded votes so far.
Based on stage, sponsorship breadth, committee status, recorded votes, and cross-state momentum — a description of the observable signals, not a prediction.
Summary
Relating to the opportunity to provide public comment at a meeting of a public entity.
Bill Text
What changed in the latest version
48 added · 37 removedPlain-language change summary
The revised version of Senate Bill 2180 makes a significant change from requiring public comment at only a portion of meetings to mandating that every regular meeting of certain public entities include an opportunity for public comment. This ensures that all residents can voice their opinions or concerns at every meeting, promoting transparency and civic engagement. Additionally, the bill shifts focus from "political subdivisions" to more specific entities like cities, counties, and school districts, clarifying who is affected by this requirement. This change matters because it strengthens community input in local governance processes.
25.0269.02000 Sixty-ninth Legislative Assembly of North Dakota FIRSTIn ENGROSSMENTRegular ENGROSSEDSession Commencing Tuesday, January 7, 2025 SENATE BILL NO.
2180 Introduced(Senators by Senators Paulson, Luick, WestonWeston) Representatives(Representatives Louser, D.
JohnstonJohnston) AAN BILLACT for an Act to create and enact a new section to chapter 44-04 of the North Dakota Century Code, relating to the opportunity to provide public comment at a meeting of a public entity.
Public comment - Regular meetings of politicala subdivisions.public entity.
AtEvery leastregular one-fourthmeeting of thea publiclygoverning noticedbody regular meetings of a politicalcity, subdivisioncounty, heldtownship, perschool yeardistrict, park district, or water resource district must include an opportunity for an individual in attendance to provide public comment.
An individual providing comment at a meeting shall provide to the politicalgoverning subdivisionbody in writing the individual's name and address.
The individual's address is an exempt record.
A politicalgoverning subdivisionbody may:of a city, county, township, school district, park district, or water resource district:
LimitMay limit a public comment byonly timeas perfollows, speaker,except totalas timeprovided forin publicsubdivision comment,b: or both.
(1) By time per speaker, total time for public comment, or both.
(2) By agenda topic, to the agendas of the current and at least one preceding meeting.
DevelopShall develop a policy regarding public comment rules for regular meetings.
(1) Must be pertinent to the politicalpublic subdivision.entity.
(4) May be prohibited if an alternative procedure exists to bring that particular type of public comment before the politicalpublic subdivision,entity, the public comment Pageincludes No.confidential or exempt information, or the public comment is otherwise prohibited by law.
1S. 25.0269.02000 Sixty-ninth Legislative Assembly includes confidential or exempt information, or the public comment is otherwise prohibited by law.
PageB. No.
2NO. 25.0269.02000
2180 - PAGE 2 ____________________________ ____________________________ President of the Senate Speaker of the House ____________________________ ____________________________ Secretary of the Senate Chief Clerk of the House This certifies that the within bill originated in the Senate of the Sixty-ninth Legislative Assembly of North Dakota and is known on the records of that body as Senate Bill No.
2180.
Senate Vote:
Yeas 43 Nays 4 Absent 0 House Vote:
Yeas 93 Nays 0 Absent 1 ____________________________ Secretary of the Senate Received by the Governor at ________M.
on _____________________________________, 2025.
Approved at ________M.
on __________________________________________________, 2025.
____________________________ Governor Filed in this office this ___________day of _______________________________________, 2025, at ________ o’clock ________M.
____________________________ Secretary of State
View plain text versions (5)
- Enrolled Enrollment Current pdf
- Engrossed FIRST ENGROSSMENT pdf
- Amended FIRST ENGROSSMENT with House Amendments pdf
- Amended FIRST ENGROSSMENT with Conference Committee Amendments pdf
- Introduced View text pdf
Action History
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Filed with Secretary Of State 05/01
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Signed by Governor 04/30
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Sent to Governor
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Signed by President
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Signed by Speaker
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Second reading, passed as amended, yeas 93 nays 0
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Conference committee report adopted
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Reported back from conference committee, in place of, placed on calendar
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Second reading, passed, yeas 43 nays 4
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Conference committee report adopted
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Reported back from conference committee, in place of, placed on calendar
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Conference committee appointed Fegley Ostlie Warrey
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Conference committee appointed Castaneda Barta Walen
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Refused to concur
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Returned to Senate (12)
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Second reading, passed as amended, yeas 85 nays 4
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Amendment adopted, placed on calendar
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Reported back amended, do pass, amendment placed on calendar 9 1 3
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Committee Hearing 03:00
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Introduced, first reading, referred Political Subdivisions Committee
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Received from Senate
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Second reading, passed, yeas 41 nays 6
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Amendment adopted, placed on calendar
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Reported back amended, do pass, amendment placed on calendar 5 0 1
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Committee Hearing 09:00
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Introduced, first reading, referred State and Local Government Committee
Sponsors
- Kent Weston · Cosponsor
- Dan Ruby · Cosponsor
- Larry Luick · Cosponsor
- Scott Louser · Cosponsor
- Daniel Johnston · Cosponsor
- Bob Paulson · Primary
Sponsorship breakdown
Export CSV (upgrade) →1 sponsors · 5 co-sponsors · 142 not signed on · 12 voted No
Sponsors (1)
- Paulson, Bob Republican
Co-sponsors (5)
- Weston, Kent Republican
- Ruby, Dan Republican
- Luick, Larry Republican
- Louser, Scott Republican
- Johnston, Daniel Republican
Not signed on (142)
142 members have not signed on to this bill.
Show all 142 →"Not signed on" means a member has not sponsored or co-sponsored this bill — it does not imply opposition. Members flagged Voted No have a recorded No vote on this bill.
Votes
| Party | Yea | Nay | Present | Not Voting |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | 82 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Democratic | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Total | 93 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| % of votes cast | 99% | 0% | 0% | 1% |
How each member voted (94)
| Member | Party | Vote |
|---|---|---|
| Brown, Collette | Democratic | Yea |
| Conmy, Liz | Democratic | Yea |
| Davis, Jayme | Democratic | Yea |
| Dobervich, Gretchen | Democratic | Yea |
| Finley-DeVille, Lisa | Democratic | Yea |
| Foss, Austin | Democratic | Yea |
| Hager, LaurieBeth | Democratic | Yea |
| Hanson, Karla Rose | Democratic | Yea |
| Ista, Zachary | Democratic | Yea |
| Mitskog, Alisa | Democratic | Yea |
| Schneider, Mary | Democratic | Yea |
| Anderson, Bert | Republican | Yea |
| Anderson, Dick | Republican | Yea |
| Anderson, Karen A. | Republican | Yea |
| Bahl, Landon | Republican | Yea |
| Beltz, Mike | Republican | Yea |
| Berg, Mike | Republican | Yea |
| Bolinske, Macy | Republican | Yea |
| Bosch, Glenn | Republican | Yea |
| Brandenburg, Mike | Republican | Yea |
| Brown, TJ | Republican | Yea |
| Christianson, Nels | Republican | Yea |
| Dockter, Jason | Republican | Yea |
| Dressler, Ty | Republican | Yea |
| Fegley, Clayton | Republican | Yea |
| Fisher, Jay | Republican | Yea |
| Frelich, Kathy | Republican | Yea |
| Grindberg, Karen | Republican | Yea |
| Grueneich, Jim | Republican | Yea |
| Hagert, Jared C. | Republican | Yea |
| Hatlestad, Patrick R. | Republican | Yea |
| Hauck, Dori | Republican | Yea |
| Headland, Craig | Republican | Yea |
| Heilman, Matthew | Republican | Yea |
| Heinert, Pat D. | Republican | Yea |
| Henderson, Donna | Republican | Yea |
| Hendrix, Jared | Republican | Yea |
| Holle, Dawson | Republican | Yea |
| Hoverson, Jeff | Republican | Yea |
| Johnson, Jorin | Republican | Yea |
| Johnston, Daniel | Republican | Yea |
| Jonas, Jim | Republican | Yea |
| Karls, Karen | Republican | Yea |
| Kasper, Jim | Republican | Not Voting |
| Kempenich, Keith | Republican | Yea |
| Kiefert, Dwight | Republican | Yea |
| Klemin, Lawrence R. | Republican | Yea |
| Koppelman, Ben | Republican | Yea |
| Lefor, Mike | Republican | Yea |
| Longmuir, Donald W. | Republican | Yea |
| Louser, Scott | Republican | Yea |
| Maki, Roger A. | Republican | Yea |
| Marschall, Andrew | Republican | Yea |
| Martinson, Bob | Republican | Yea |
| McLeod, Carrie | Republican | Yea |
| Meier, Lisa | Republican | Yea |
| Monson, David | Republican | Yea |
| Morton, Desiree | Republican | Yea |
| Motschenbacher, Mike | Republican | Yea |
| Murphy, Eric J. | Republican | Yea |
| Nathe, Mike | Republican | Yea |
| Nehring, Dennis | Republican | Yea |
| Nelson, Jon O. | Republican | Yea |
| Novak, Anna S. | Republican | Yea |
| O'Brien, Emily | Republican | Yea |
| Olson, Jeremy | Republican | Yea |
| Olson, Jeremy | Republican | Yea |
| Osowski, Doug | Republican | Yea |
| Ostlie, Mitch | Republican | Yea |
| Porter, Todd | Republican | Yea |
| Pyle, Brandy L. | Republican | Yea |
| Richter, David | Republican | Yea |
| Rios, Nico | Republican | Yea |
| Rohr, Karen M. | Republican | Yea |
| Ruby, Dan | Republican | Yea |
| Ruby, Matthew | Republican | Yea |
| Sanford, Mark | Republican | Yea |
| Satrom, Bernie | Republican | Yea |
| Schatz, Mike | Republican | Yea |
| Schauer, Austen | Republican | Yea |
| Schreiber-Beck, Cynthia | Republican | Yea |
| Steiner, Vicky | Republican | Yea |
| Stemen, Gregory | Republican | Yea |
| Swiontek, Steve | Republican | Yea |
| Toman, Nathan | Republican | Yea |
| Tveit, Bill | Republican | Yea |
| VanWinkle, Lori | Republican | Yea |
| Vetter, Steve | Republican | Yea |
| Vigesaa, Don | Republican | Yea |
| Vollmer, Daniel R. | Republican | Yea |
| Wagner, Scott | Republican | Yea |
| Warrey, Jonathan | Republican | Yea |
| Weisz, Robin | Republican | Yea |
| Wolff, Christina | Republican | Yea |
| Party | Yea | Nay | Present | Not Voting |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | 41 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Democratic | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| Total | 43 | 4 | 0 | 0 |
| % of votes cast | 91% | 9% | 0% | 0% |
How each member voted (47)
| Member | Party | Vote |
|---|---|---|
| Boschee, Josh | Democratic | Yea |
| Braunberger, Ryan | Democratic | Nay |
| Hogan, Kathy | Democratic | Nay |
| Marcellais, Richard | Democratic | Nay |
| Mathern, Tim | Democratic | Yea |
| Axtman, Michelle | Republican | Yea |
| Barta, Jeff | Republican | Yea |
| Beard, Todd | Republican | Yea |
| Bekkedahl, Brad | Republican | Yea |
| Boehm, Keith | Republican | Yea |
| Burckhard, Randy A. | Republican | Yea |
| Castaneda, Jose L. | Republican | Yea |
| Cleary, Sean | Republican | Yea |
| Clemens, David A. | Republican | Yea |
| Conley, Cole | Republican | Yea |
| Cory, Claire | Republican | Yea |
| Davison, Kyle | Republican | Yea |
| Dever, Dick | Republican | Yea |
| Dwyer, Michael | Republican | Yea |
| Enget, Mark | Republican | Yea |
| Erbele, Robert | Republican | Yea |
| Gerhardt, Justin | Republican | Nay |
| Hogue, David | Republican | Yea |
| Kessel, Greg | Republican | Yea |
| Klein, Jerry | Republican | Yea |
| Larson, Diane | Republican | Yea |
| Lee, Judy | Republican | Yea |
| Lemm, Randy D. | Republican | Yea |
| Luick, Larry | Republican | Yea |
| Magrum, Jeffery J. | Republican | Yea |
| Meyer, Scott | Republican | Yea |
| Myrdal, Janne | Republican | Yea |
| Patten, Dale | Republican | Yea |
| Paulson, Bob | Republican | Yea |
| Powers, Michelle | Republican | Yea |
| Roers, Kristin | Republican | Yea |
| Rummel, Dean | Republican | Yea |
| Schaible, Donald | Republican | Yea |
| Sickler, Jonathan | Republican | Yea |
| Sorvaag, Ronald | Republican | Yea |
| Thomas, Paul J. | Republican | Yea |
| Walen, Chuck | Republican | Yea |
| Wanzek, Terry M. | Republican | Yea |
| Weber, Mark F. | Republican | Yea |
| Weston, Kent | Republican | Yea |
| Wobbema, Mike | Republican | Yea |
| van Oosting, Desiree | Republican | Yea |
| Party | Yea | Nay | Present | Not Voting |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | 75 | 4 | 0 | 4 |
| Democratic | 10 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Total | 85 | 4 | 0 | 5 |
| % of votes cast | 90% | 4% | 0% | 5% |
How each member voted (94)
| Member | Party | Vote |
|---|---|---|
| Brown, Collette | Democratic | Not Voting |
| Conmy, Liz | Democratic | Yea |
| Davis, Jayme | Democratic | Yea |
| Dobervich, Gretchen | Democratic | Yea |
| Finley-DeVille, Lisa | Democratic | Yea |
| Foss, Austin | Democratic | Yea |
| Hager, LaurieBeth | Democratic | Yea |
| Hanson, Karla Rose | Democratic | Yea |
| Ista, Zachary | Democratic | Yea |
| Mitskog, Alisa | Democratic | Yea |
| Schneider, Mary | Democratic | Yea |
| Anderson, Bert | Republican | Yea |
| Anderson, Dick | Republican | Yea |
| Anderson, Karen A. | Republican | Yea |
| Bahl, Landon | Republican | Not Voting |
| Beltz, Mike | Republican | Yea |
| Berg, Mike | Republican | Yea |
| Bolinske, Macy | Republican | Yea |
| Bosch, Glenn | Republican | Yea |
| Brandenburg, Mike | Republican | Not Voting |
| Brown, TJ | Republican | Yea |
| Christianson, Nels | Republican | Yea |
| Dockter, Jason | Republican | Yea |
| Dressler, Ty | Republican | Yea |
| Fegley, Clayton | Republican | Yea |
| Fisher, Jay | Republican | Yea |
| Frelich, Kathy | Republican | Yea |
| Grindberg, Karen | Republican | Yea |
| Grueneich, Jim | Republican | Yea |
| Hagert, Jared C. | Republican | Yea |
| Hatlestad, Patrick R. | Republican | Yea |
| Hauck, Dori | Republican | Yea |
| Headland, Craig | Republican | Yea |
| Heilman, Matthew | Republican | Nay |
| Heinert, Pat D. | Republican | Yea |
| Henderson, Donna | Republican | Yea |
| Hendrix, Jared | Republican | Yea |
| Holle, Dawson | Republican | Yea |
| Hoverson, Jeff | Republican | Yea |
| Johnson, Jorin | Republican | Yea |
| Johnston, Daniel | Republican | Yea |
| Jonas, Jim | Republican | Nay |
| Karls, Karen | Republican | Yea |
| Kasper, Jim | Republican | Yea |
| Kempenich, Keith | Republican | Not Voting |
| Kiefert, Dwight | Republican | Yea |
| Klemin, Lawrence R. | Republican | Yea |
| Koppelman, Ben | Republican | Yea |
| Lefor, Mike | Republican | Yea |
| Longmuir, Donald W. | Republican | Yea |
| Louser, Scott | Republican | Yea |
| Maki, Roger A. | Republican | Nay |
| Marschall, Andrew | Republican | Yea |
| Martinson, Bob | Republican | Yea |
| McLeod, Carrie | Republican | Yea |
| Meier, Lisa | Republican | Yea |
| Monson, David | Republican | Yea |
| Morton, Desiree | Republican | Yea |
| Motschenbacher, Mike | Republican | Yea |
| Murphy, Eric J. | Republican | Yea |
| Nathe, Mike | Republican | Yea |
| Nehring, Dennis | Republican | Yea |
| Nelson, Jon O. | Republican | Yea |
| Novak, Anna S. | Republican | Yea |
| O'Brien, Emily | Republican | Not Voting |
| Olson, Jeremy | Republican | Yea |
| Olson, Jeremy | Republican | Yea |
| Osowski, Doug | Republican | Yea |
| Ostlie, Mitch | Republican | Yea |
| Porter, Todd | Republican | Yea |
| Pyle, Brandy L. | Republican | Yea |
| Richter, David | Republican | Yea |
| Rios, Nico | Republican | Yea |
| Rohr, Karen M. | Republican | Yea |
| Ruby, Dan | Republican | Yea |
| Ruby, Matthew | Republican | Yea |
| Sanford, Mark | Republican | Yea |
| Satrom, Bernie | Republican | Yea |
| Schatz, Mike | Republican | Yea |
| Schauer, Austen | Republican | Yea |
| Schreiber-Beck, Cynthia | Republican | Yea |
| Steiner, Vicky | Republican | Yea |
| Stemen, Gregory | Republican | Yea |
| Swiontek, Steve | Republican | Yea |
| Toman, Nathan | Republican | Yea |
| Tveit, Bill | Republican | Yea |
| VanWinkle, Lori | Republican | Yea |
| Vetter, Steve | Republican | Yea |
| Vigesaa, Don | Republican | Yea |
| Vollmer, Daniel R. | Republican | Yea |
| Wagner, Scott | Republican | Yea |
| Warrey, Jonathan | Republican | Nay |
| Weisz, Robin | Republican | Yea |
| Wolff, Christina | Republican | Yea |
| Party | Yea | Nay | Present | Not Voting |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | 38 | 4 | 0 | 0 |
| Democratic | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| Total | 41 | 6 | 0 | 0 |
| % of votes cast | 87% | 13% | 0% | 0% |
How each member voted (47)
| Member | Party | Vote |
|---|---|---|
| Boschee, Josh | Democratic | Yea |
| Braunberger, Ryan | Democratic | Yea |
| Hogan, Kathy | Democratic | Yea |
| Marcellais, Richard | Democratic | Nay |
| Mathern, Tim | Democratic | Nay |
| Axtman, Michelle | Republican | Yea |
| Barta, Jeff | Republican | Yea |
| Beard, Todd | Republican | Yea |
| Bekkedahl, Brad | Republican | Yea |
| Boehm, Keith | Republican | Yea |
| Burckhard, Randy A. | Republican | Nay |
| Castaneda, Jose L. | Republican | Yea |
| Cleary, Sean | Republican | Yea |
| Clemens, David A. | Republican | Yea |
| Conley, Cole | Republican | Yea |
| Cory, Claire | Republican | Yea |
| Davison, Kyle | Republican | Yea |
| Dever, Dick | Republican | Yea |
| Dwyer, Michael | Republican | Yea |
| Enget, Mark | Republican | Yea |
| Erbele, Robert | Republican | Yea |
| Gerhardt, Justin | Republican | Nay |
| Hogue, David | Republican | Yea |
| Kessel, Greg | Republican | Yea |
| Klein, Jerry | Republican | Yea |
| Larson, Diane | Republican | Yea |
| Lee, Judy | Republican | Yea |
| Lemm, Randy D. | Republican | Yea |
| Luick, Larry | Republican | Yea |
| Magrum, Jeffery J. | Republican | Yea |
| Meyer, Scott | Republican | Yea |
| Myrdal, Janne | Republican | Yea |
| Patten, Dale | Republican | Nay |
| Paulson, Bob | Republican | Yea |
| Powers, Michelle | Republican | Yea |
| Roers, Kristin | Republican | Yea |
| Rummel, Dean | Republican | Nay |
| Schaible, Donald | Republican | Yea |
| Sickler, Jonathan | Republican | Yea |
| Sorvaag, Ronald | Republican | Yea |
| Thomas, Paul J. | Republican | Yea |
| Walen, Chuck | Republican | Yea |
| Wanzek, Terry M. | Republican | Yea |
| Weber, Mark F. | Republican | Yea |
| Weston, Kent | Republican | Yea |
| Wobbema, Mike | Republican | Yea |
| van Oosting, Desiree | Republican | Yea |
Subjects
Frequently asked questions
- What does SB 2180 do?
- Relating to the opportunity to provide public comment at a meeting of a public entity.
- Who sponsors SB 2180?
- SB 2180 is sponsored by Weston, Kent (Republican), Ruby, Dan (Republican), Luick, Larry (Republican), Louser, Scott (Republican), Johnston, Daniel (Republican), and Paulson, Bob (Republican).
- What is the current status of SB 2180?
- This bill has been enacted into law. Introduced January 13, 2025. Enacted.
- Where can I track SB 2180?
- Track SB 2180 free on One Click Politics — get push/email alerts when it moves.
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