North Dakota’s missing public records spark push for stricter document retention laws

Critical meeting notes disappear after just months—leaving citizens in the dark. Now, lawmakers are fighting to hold agencies accountable before more records vanish.

, and Administrator

2025 December 13 . 6:03 PM

1 min read

on the desk the papers and the files are kept. on the right side people are sitting in a uniform... — on the desk the papers and the files are kept. on the right side people are sitting in a uniform and on the left a person is standing. behind him there is a chair. at the back of the room us army rdecom is written on the wall.

North Dakota’s missing public records spark push for stricter document retention laws

North Dakota currently has no clear rules on how long public agencies must keep notes. While some departments set their own informal policies, others retain docs for short periods—or not at all. This inconsistency has led to gaps in transparency, with some notes disappearing entirely.

The issue came to light after the Jamestown Sun requested meeting recordings from the Retirement and Investment Office (RIO). Officials revealed that RIO only stores these notes for six months. Senator Sean Cleary has since proposed a bill requiring RIO to keep such docs for three years. But he argues the law should go further, covering more notes types and introducing penalties for non-compliance.

Without statewide retention rules, key docs may continue to vanish. Cleary’s proposal aims to standardise notes-keeping and introduce consequences for violations. If passed, the law would mark a shift toward greater accountability in North Dakota’s public notes system.