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The North Dakota Government Transparency & Performance Act (ND-GT&P)

North Dakota state companion to GT&P. Extends Human Resource Management (N.D. Cent. Code Title 54 Ch. 44.3), ND Open Records Law (Sec. 44-04-18 et seq.), and ND Medicaid Fraud provisions (N.D. Cent. Code Sec. 50-24.1-35 et seq.).

THE NORTH DAKOTA GOVERNMENT TRANSPARENCY & PERFORMANCE ACT (ND-GT&P)

Vehicle: State passage. North Dakota Legislative Assembly, regular session. Primary referral to House / Senate Government and Veterans Affairs / Appropriations.

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE

This Act may be cited as the “North Dakota Government Transparency & Performance Act (ND-GT&P).”

SECTION 2. LEGISLATIVE FINDINGS AND INTENT

The Legislative Assembly finds that North Dakota Human Resource Management operates under N.D. Cent. Code Title 54 Ch. 44.3; that the North Dakota Open Records Law operates under N.D. Cent. Code Sec. 44-04-18 et seq.; that the Office of Management and Budget administers the Executive Budget under N.D. Cent. Code Ch. 54-44; that the Legislative Council provides fiscal analysis under N.D. Cent. Code Ch. 54-35; that North Dakota does not have a general False Claims Act but recovers Medicaid fraud under N.D. Cent. Code Sec. 50-24.1-35 et seq. and related provisions; and that the Medicaid Fraud Control Unit operates under the Office of the Attorney General pursuant to 42 U.S.C. Sec. 1396b(q). This Act extends these frameworks.

TITLE I — DEFINITIONS & COORDINATION WITH NORTH DAKOTA LAW

Sec. 101. Definitions

  1. (a) “ND-OMB” means the Office of Management and Budget.
  2. (b) “Publicly visible outcome” means a metric published under Sec. 201.
  3. (c) “MFCA” means North Dakota’s Medicaid fraud-recovery authority under N.D. Cent. Code Sec. 50-24.1-35 et seq.

Sec. 102. Coordination with Existing North Dakota Law

  1. (a) Consistent with:
  • N.D. Cent. Code Title 54 Ch. 44.3 (Human Resource Management).
  • N.D. Cent. Code Sec. 44-04-18 et seq. (Open Records).
  • N.D. Cent. Code Ch. 54-44 (Office of Management and Budget).
  • N.D. Cent. Code Sec. 50-24.1-35 et seq. (Medicaid fraud).

TITLE II — OUTCOME-BASED BUDGETING

Sec. 201. Outcome Metrics for Covered Programs

  1. (a) Each covered program in the Executive Budget shall publish at least three outcome metrics.
  2. (b) The Office of Management and Budget shall publish the North Dakota Outcome Dashboard in machine-readable form.

Sec. 202. Fiscal-Note Outcome Integration

  1. (a) Legislative Council fiscal notes shall identify outcome metrics from Sec. 201.

TITLE III — CIVIL-SERVICE MERIT PROTECTIONS

Sec. 301. Codification of Performance-Standards Protections

  1. (a) N.D. Cent. Code Title 54 Ch. 44.3 is amended so that nothing precludes policy-influencing-position classifications with publicly posted performance standards.

TITLE IV — NORTH DAKOTA MEDICAID FRAUD QUI TAM (MFCA Rewire)

Sec. 401. Medicaid Fraud Qui Tam Authority

  1. (a) Given that North Dakota does not have a general False Claims Act, this Title operates as a Medicaid-specific qui tam authority under N.D. Cent. Code Sec. 50-24.1-35 et seq. and in coordination with the Medicaid Fraud Control Unit under 42 U.S.C. Sec. 1396b(q).

Sec. 402. Credentialing and Outcome-Data Fraud

  1. (a) A person presenting a materially false or fraudulent claim involving NDRMC, Federal FRAC, ND-OBSA outcome data, or Medicaid-related credential claims is liable to the State for a civil penalty and treble damages.

Sec. 403. Whistleblower Award

  1. (a) A whistleblower whose information leads to recovery shall receive between 15 and 30 percent of the State recovery, as determined by the Attorney General.

TITLE V — IMPLEMENTATION & GENERAL PROVISIONS

Sec. 501. Severability

If any provision is held invalid, the invalidity shall not affect the remainder.

Sec. 502. Effective Date

This Act shall take effect August 1 of the year following enactment.

Canonical federal version: GT&P. Other North Dakota bills: ND-ACSA, ND-MEWRA, ND-AI-Workforce.