Doug Burgum’s Federal Rise Highlights Weaknesses in North Dakota Ethics Rules
In fact, Burgum didn’t publicly disclose his oil and gas interests until seven years into his time as governor — and only because he was a candidate for president.
Doug Burgum this week signed an ethics agreement divesting from oil and gas interests as he seeks to be confirmed as Interior secretary.
As North Dakota governor, however, Burgum did not take similar steps to avoid a conflict of interest even though he chaired two state boards that regulate the industry.
In fact, Burgum didn’t publicly disclose his oil and gas interests until seven years into his time as governor — and only because he was a candidate for president.
The stark difference in ethics rules between the federal and state level is worth noting as North Dakota lawmakers are poised this year to discuss strengthening financial reporting requirements for state candidates.
Burgum on Monday signed an eight-page agreement with the U.S. Office of Government Ethics that outlines several steps he’s taking to prevent “any actual or apparent conflict of interest” if he’s confirmed to lead the Department of the Interior.
Among them, Burgum pledges to divest his financial interests in oil and gas mineral leases in two North Dakota counties within 90 days of his confirmation.
According to Burgum’s federal financial disclosures, the Burgum Farm Partnership LLP has crop, land and mineral interests, including an oil and gas lease in Williams County.
Burgum also holds an ownership interest in Laurel Road LLC, which includes an oil and gas lease and equipment leasing in McKenzie and Williams counties, documents show.
Those oil and gas leases were not disclosed at the state level when Burgum served as governor. North Dakota’s governor automatically chairs the state Industrial Commission and the Board of University and School Lands, which make decisions affecting the energy industry.
Burgum this week also committed to divest his interests in several technology and energy company stocks no later than 90 days after his confirmation.
Again, those stocks – including energy companies that operate in North Dakota and occasionally come before regulatory boards – were not disclosed on Burgum’s state financial disclosure forms and only became public when Burgum ran for president.
A North Dakota Monitor and ProPublica investigation last year found that Burgum as chair of the Industrial Commission voted about 20 times on issues related to companies with which he has a financial relationship, according to a review of meeting minutes.
Burgum’s former spokesman, Mike Nowatzki, said last year Burgum’s oil and gas leases began long before he took office and they were not the subject of business that came before the boards he chaired.
Newly elected Gov. Kelly Armstrong has a much larger stake in oil and gas, earning a majority of his income from the industry, federal financial disclosure forms show.
Similar to Burgum, the public learned more about the extent of Armstrong’s energy holdings when he ran for U.S. House than they did when he served as a state lawmaker.
For example, Armstrong listed 4 Point Investments on his state disclosure form in 2016, but no other details. His disclosure forms as a member of Congress meanwhile, show that 4 Point Investments owns interests in hundreds of oil wells and lists a range of financial values for those assets.
Armstrong has said his oil and gas background will be an asset to him as governor and he would recuse himself from voting in instances where he has a conflict.
State rules would not require Armstrong to file another financial disclosure unless he runs for reelection in four years. Most states require the reports annually, reporter Jacob Orledge found in his investigation last year.
North Dakota does not require candidates to report stock ownership or the value of those assets. State financial disclosure forms are not published online, and there are no penalties enforced for submitting incomplete or inaccurate information.
North Dakota Secretary of State Michael Howe has worked with the Ethics Commission to develop some proposed changes to financial disclosure rules. Howe has said he was working with a lawmaker to introduce a bill this session.
The bill was not public as of Thursday afternoon, but a draft discussed in November included requiring officials to report annually and making the documents available online. Howe and the Ethics Commission also discussed adding fines for noncompliance.
The availability and accuracy of this information matters because the public wants to trust that elected leaders are making decisions in the best interest of the state and not their own personal interests.
Legislators have previously rejected attempts to improve financial reporting requirements. A bill introduced in the 2017 session would have required financial disclosure forms to be posted online and available for free. Lawmakers turned the bill into a study, and the idea was never implemented.
If North Dakotans want more transparency from elected officials, they’ll need to pay attention during this legislative session.
Amy Dalrymple is editor-in-chief of North Dakota’s States Newsroom outlet. She previously was editor of The Bismarck Tribune and a newspaper journalist in Williston and Fargo.
North Dakota Monitor is part of States Newsroom, the nation’s largest state-focused nonprofit news organization.
ESG University republishes their articles, features and stories online and/or in print under Creative Commons license CC BY-NC-ND 4.0.
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