How much does it cost to hold a legislative session?

BISMARCK, N.D. (KFYR) – The legislative session meets every two years and lasts 80 days. In this short period of time, new bills are discussed, reformulated, voted on and hopefully passed and enacted. But how much does it cost to hold a session?

Legislative Council Director John Bjornson said the total per day is about $91,000, which is about $7.3 million based on the 77 days they plan for. He said the budget for the 2025 session is slightly higher than the last session. Bjornson said there are additional costs with each session. He said daily wages will increase slightly and other small workers’ compensation costs will also increase.

“The legislative session is funded by the state’s General Fund, so in each legislative session the Assembly appropriates money for the next legislative session. They are based on the typical average number of days averaged over the last sessions. They also look at possible cost increases and factor them into the budget,” Bjornson said.

Bjornson said the legislative session comes with a range of costs, from temporary session staff to lawmakers’ monthly expenses. He said there are generally no unbudgeted costs incurred during a session. Björnson said the Legislative Council is trying to anticipate everything that comes its way.

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