Misleading: Bill 1164 and Executive Orders
The Claim
A bill going through North Dakota’s legislature will allow the state to nullify executive orders.
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Emerging story
Since becoming president, Biden has been signing off on a number of executive orders, which include efforts allegedly meant to fight climate change. One industry that the Biden administration says contributes to carbon emissions is fracking, which is a large economic resource for North Dakota.
As such, some North Dakota politicians are upset about Biden’s new regulatory efforts. In an effort to resist some executive orders, they have introduced their own piece of state legislature.
Misbar’s Analysis
The bill, formally known as HB 1164, gives North Dakota the ability to review any executive order that “restricts a person's rights.” It is a direct response to South Dakota's very similar HB 1194, which specifically refers to orders pertaining to energy regulations, pandemic restrictions, and four other subjects. That reads as the following:
Misbar's investigation found that some believe the bill may be unconstitutional. While Congress and the Department of Justice can obstruct executive orders, states generall cannot. Executive orders are almost (but not quite) federal law. However, the bill's supporters believe that it will review executive orders that are, themselves, unconstitutional as stated in Article II.
Since the bill only says it will review executive orders, we find the claim it will nullify executive orders to be misleading.
