---
type: "Bill"
title: "AN ACT to amend and reenact section 16.1-10-04 of the North Dakota Century Code, relating to the publication of false information in political advertisements; and to provide a penalty."
description: "Relating to the publication of false information in political advertisements; and to provide a penalty."
jurisdiction: "us/states/nd"
legislature: "North Dakota Legislative Assembly"
session: "69"
identifier: "HB 1204"
citation: "North Dakota HB 1204 (69)"
classification: ["bill"]
subjects: []
status: "enacted"
primary_sponsors: ["Mike Schatz"]
version_count: 4
action_count: 21
vote_count: 3
first_action: "2025-01-10"
last_action: "2025-04-14"
source: "openstates"
source_identifier: "ocd-bill/8c0da517-8988-4a66-b1ff-813e6edb7650"
source_url: "https://ndlegis.gov/api/assembly/69-2025/data/bills.json"
source_hash: "395b166cbc1ae6fffc8f5d20123bf62398515bd72bf819026004eed2b909c101"
vintage: "2026-07-01"
source_snapshot: "https://data.openstates.org/daily/2026-07-01/public.pgdump"
retrieved_at: "2026-07-06"
confidence: "reported"
tags: ["legislation", "bill", "us-nd"]
---

# North Dakota HB 1204 (69) — AN ACT to amend and reenact section 16.1-10-04 of the North Dakota Century Code, relating to the publication of false information in political advertisements; and to provide a penalty.

Relating to the publication of false information in political advertisements; and to provide a penalty.

## Version chain

The bill's text revisions, in order — the diff chain from filing to enrollment.

1. **INTRODUCED** (filed) — [source](https://ndlegis.gov/assembly/69-2025/regular/documents/25-0254-01000.pdf)
2. **Enrollment** (committee substitute) — [source](https://ndlegis.gov/assembly/69-2025/regular/documents/25-0254-04000.pdf)
3. **FIRST ENGROSSMENT** (committee substitute) — [source](https://ndlegis.gov/assembly/69-2025/regular/documents/25-0254-02000.pdf)
4. **FIRST ENGROSSMENT with Senate Amendments** (committee substitute) — [source](https://ndlegis.gov/assembly/69-2025/regular/documents/25-0254-03000.pdf)

## Votes

- Motion for Final Passage on HB 1204 — **77–14** (pass) · lower
- Motion for Final Passage on HB 1204 — **91–0** (pass) · lower
- Motion for Final Passage on HB 1204 — **45–1** (pass) · upper

## Sponsors

- Mike Schatz — primary (person)
- Desiree van Oosting — cosponsor (person)
- Jay Fisher — cosponsor (person)
- Kathy Frelich — cosponsor (person)
- Larry Luick — cosponsor (person)
- Lisa Meier — cosponsor (person)
- Nathan Toman — cosponsor (person)
- Ty Dressler — cosponsor (person)

## Timeline

The legislative action history — every referral, reading, and vote.

- **2025-01-10** Introduced, first reading, referred Political Subdivisions Committee `introduction`
- **2025-01-24** Committee Hearing 10:00
- **2025-01-30** Reported back amended, do pass, amendment placed on calendar 10 2 1 `committee-passage, committee-passage-favorable`
- **2025-01-31** Amendment adopted, placed on calendar
- **2025-02-04** Second reading, passed, yeas 91 nays 0 `passage, reading-2`
- **2025-02-05** Received from House
- **2025-02-13** Introduced, first reading, referred State and Local Government Committee `introduction`
- **2025-03-13** Committee Hearing 10:15
- **2025-03-14** Reported back, do pass, place on calendar 5 0 1 `committee-passage, committee-passage-favorable`
- **2025-03-18** Laid over one legislative day
- **2025-03-19** Amendment proposed on floor `amendment-introduction`
- **2025-03-19** Amendment adopted
- **2025-03-19** Second reading, passed as amended, yeas 45 nays 1 `passage, reading-2`
- **2025-03-20** Returned to House (12)
- **2025-04-02** Concurred
- **2025-04-02** Second reading, passed, yeas 77 nays 14 `passage, reading-2`
- **2025-04-04** Signed by President
- **2025-04-08** Signed by Speaker
- **2025-04-08** Sent to Governor `executive-receipt`
- **2025-04-11** Signed by Governor 04/10 `executive-signature`
- **2025-04-14** Filed with Secretary Of State 04/11 `introduction`

## Source

OpenStates / OpenCivicData bulk snapshot [2026-07-01](https://data.openstates.org/daily/2026-07-01/public.pgdump); origin `ocd-bill/8c0da517-8988-4a66-b1ff-813e6edb7650`. Confidence: reported (aggregated from official North Dakota legislature records).