New law lets North Dakota cities, counties raise speed limit fines

Cities and counties have the ability to raise fines for local speed limit violations after North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum signed a bill Wednesday allowing them to do so.

Senate Bill 2304, sponsored by Sen. Erin Oban, D-Bismarck, allows the new rule, but it also restricts fee-raising ability to twice the state’s levels after an amendment from the state House of Representatives in March that was approved last week by the Senate.

Local law enforcement officials have spoken highly of the bill and other legislative efforts to raise fees for noncriminal moving violations, even though police departments don’t benefit financially from the tickets they give.

"When a police officer issues a traffic ticket with a fine associated with it, that money does not go to the police department," police spokesman Lt. Derik Zimmel said in February. "If it's a municipal court ticket, the money goes to municipal court. If it's a district ticket, the money goes to district court."

Read more: https://bismarcktribune.com/news/local/govt-and-politics/new-law-lets-north-dakota-cities-counties-raise-speed-limit/article_ec3d1894-041c-5a32-92b1-5c5b4640b425.html