Nonpartisan Group Files Anti-Corruption Amendment

North Dakotans for Public Integrity to ndpublicintegrity, bcc: me 10:30 AM

For Immediate Release

Contact:
Ellen Chaffee
701.840.1780
NDPublicIntegrity@gmail.com

Nonpartisan Group Files Anti-Corruption Amendment

Backers seek ‘common-sense accountability’
BISMARCK, N.D. (January 31, 2018) - The North Dakota Anti-Corruption Amendment has been filed with the
Secretary of State as a proposed 2018 ballot measure. The nonpartisan group backing the proposal, North Dakotans
for Public Integrity, calls it a common-sense accountability measure.

“This is about common-sense accountability,” said Dina Butcher, Republican co-chair of North Dakotans for Public
Integrity. “This ensures that government in North Dakota is working for you and your family, not just the well-connected
and powerful.”

Key provisions of the North Dakota Anti-Corruption Amendment include:

Banning foreign money from elections: Prohibits campaign contributions and election spending by foreign
countries, foreign corporations, and foreign nationals.
Preventing personal use of campaign money: Protects the ban on personal use of campaign contributions for
personal expenses by enshrining it in the constitution.
Increasing transparency: Requires that all significant amounts of money raised or spent to influence elections
be fully disclosed and placed online for the public to see.
Banning lobbyist gifts: Restricts lobbyist gifts to public officials.
Closing the revolving door: Bans elected public officials from also serving as lobbyists, and makes it illegal for
public officials to take jobs as lobbyists for two years after leaving office.
Rooting out conflicts of interest: Strengthens conflict-of-interest rules for members of state agencies.
Holding public officials accountable: Creates a nonpartisan ethics commission to receive and investigate
ethics complaints, set ethics rules, and provide ethics training programs.

“We’ve worked with North Dakotans from across the political spectrum on this amendment to hold public officials
accountable and reduce corruption in government,” said Ellen Chaffee, Democrat co-chair of North Dakotans for Public
Integrity. “The political system is broken, so this amendment is needed to ensure that government and politicians put
the people of North Dakota first.”

Government in North Dakota has received failing grades for transparency, accountability, and ethics enforcement in
2015 and 2012 reports by the nonpartisan Center for Public Integrity.

The North Dakota Anti-Corruption Amendment is the result of nearly a year of weekly meetings of over a dozen
concerned North Dakota citizens to develop solutions to these failing grades. This diverse group of North Dakotans
included participants from across the political spectrum including Republicans, Democrats, Independents, and
Libertarians. Input was received from former elected and appointed public officials, educators, public policy specialists,
North Dakota attorneys, and national experts.

Once the proposed amendment petition is approved for circulation by the Secretary of State, sponsors will need to
gather 26,904 valid signatures from North Dakotans by July 9 to qualify for the November ballot.

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The mission of North Dakotans for Public Integrity is to educate and inform North Dakotans about the
importance of integrity and public accountability by government institutions, to promote efforts to increase
accountability and integrity of government institutions in North Dakota, and to support proposals which will
increase the confidence of the people in the honesty and transparency of their government and public
officials.

Dina Butcher, Co-Chair, North Dakotans for Public Integrity

Dina has worked extensively in state government, serving as Human Rights Division director under Gov. John Hoeven,
director of the Community Services Division under Gov. Ed Schafer, as well as director of his state Leadership Initiative
and as deputy agriculture commissioner. She was named 2015 Woman of the Year by the ND Women’s Network.
Butcher previously owned and operated Association Management Services, managing associations, and launching
businesses for various ag interests. A former teacher, she is past president of the Bismarck Rotary Club.

Ellen Chaffee, Co-Chair, North Dakotans for Public Integrity

Ellen is a national governance consultant for university boards of trustees. She was a leader in the North Dakota
university system for over 30 years, serving as president of Valley City State University, president of Mayville State
University and academic vice-chancellor for the North Dakota University System. She has been board chair of
MeritCare Health System, president of two national professional associations and received awards from the governor,