May 9—GRAND FORKS — Of the bills Ben Koppelman introduced during the recent session of the North Dakota Legislature, some came directly from constituents, some were bigger issues divided into smaller bites and a few were what he calls “retreads,” or proposals that didn’t make it in the past.
No matter their origin, Koppelman, a Republican from West Fargo, has a clear vision of what he believes is his role in the state House of Representatives.
“I’m definitely there to try to change policy,” he said.
There were 1,089 bills and resolutions introduced during the 2025 legislative session, the most since 2009, according to Legislative Council data. The most prodigious was Koppelman, who introduced 21 bills, nearly tripling the assembly’s per-lawmaker average of 7.7. Four of Koppelman’s bills were approved.
Rep. Matthew Heilman, R-Bismarck, was the primary sponsor of the second-most number of bills — 17, of which three passed.
Other top bill and resolution sponsors this year were:
* Kristin Roers, R-Fargo, sponsored 16 bills, 12 of which passed (one is awaiting the governor’s signature)
* Rep. Pat Heinert, R-Bismarck: 15 (eight passed)
* Rep. Lawrence Klemin, R-Bismarck: 15 (13 passed)
* Sen. Judy Lee, R-West Fargo: 15 (seven passed)
* Sen. Jeffery Magrum, R-Hazelton: 15 (one passed)
* Rep. Bernie Satrom, R-Jamestown: 15 (12 passed)
Koppelman’s number in 2025 isn’t an anomaly. He was the main sponsor of 15 bills in 2023 and 17 bills and a resolution in 2021.
Typically, legislatures see all sorts of lawmaking approaches. Some lawmakers, like Koppelman, see themselves as policy-changers, while others see their role as defenders, rooting out what they consider bad proposals. Lawmakers in leadership roles or on busy committees — appropriations, for example — typically don’t introduce or carry many bills.
“Do I go there and try to play defense on spending … and to bad ideas? Yes. Absolutely,” Koppelman said. “But I don’t go to the session with a top 10 list of bad ideas to stop. Instead, I go with a list of the ideas and the policy I want to promote.”
That list is often compiled after conversations with constituents, he said. And what are those, in his words, “retreads?” Those typically are bills that came close to passage in the past but just missed approval.
He attributes his high number to the way he crafts his proposed legislation. Rather than stick every single piece of a proposal into one overgeneralized bill, he often parses a single idea into several very specific bills.
“I have criticized budgets and other bills where they attempt to pack many subjects into a single bill,” he said.
Nine of the Legislature’s 141 members — or about 6% — did not introduce a bill this year, while another 38 members — about 27% — introduced three or fewer bills.
Eleven lawmakers introduced 12 to 14 bills or resolutions this year. Among them was Rep. Steve Vetter, R-Grand Forks, who brought forth bills ranging from law enforcement issues (including a peace officer appreciation grant program, vehicle tinting, and a penalty for making false reports), to veterans issues (a burial medallion program).
“Every legislator gets a vote, so it’s a matter of how much influence you have with other legislators. I’m happy to say I’ve been here long enough to know the process of getting out there to whip votes — talking to people, explaining why I want to pass a bill and why I think it’s a good thing,” said Vetter, who saw seven of his 12 bills and one of his two resolutions pass. “You win some and you lose some. I didn’t win with everything, but I’m pretty happy because I feel I did introduce some meaningful bills.”
Rep. Eric Murphy, R-Grand Forks, isn’t as pleased with his success rate, but said it sometimes happens.
“You know you’re going to lose some, right?” he said.
This year, “I went big,” Murphy said, introducing a range of bills — some related to things like school funding, cybercrime resources, an abortion approval committee and libraries. At least one of his bills related to school funding was the result of two years of work, developed with help from partners in and around his home district.
With a background in higher education — he has a Ph.D. in biochemistry/neurochemistry and is on the faculty at UND — Murphy said there is a difference between rejection in education and lawmaking.
“I’m a science guy, and I think most scientists deep down are somewhat manic depressive,” he said. “If you get a paper published or a grant funded, it’s awesome. We get a lot of rejection when you work hard on some things, and you get down a little bit. The difference between what goes on in my science life and what goes on in my legislative life is that (with the school-funding bill’s failure), I feel like I’ve let kids down.”
In 2009, there were 1,128 bills and resolutions introduced, the last time — until this year — the number surpassed 1,000. Prior to that, however, every session since 1969 saw at least 1,000 bills and resolutions, according to Legislative Council data.
North Dakota’s Legislature meets every other year.
Following is a list of North Dakota lawmakers, with the number of bills each introduced during the 2025 session:
Rep. Bert Anderson, 0; Rep. Dick Anderson, 7; Rep. Karen Anderson, 6; Rep. Landon Bahl, 3; Rep. Mike Beltz, 2; Rep. Mike Berg, 1; Rep. Macy Bolinske, 1; Rep. Glenn Bosch, 4; Rep. Mike Brandonberg, 13; Rep. Collette Brown, 4; Rep. T.J. Brown, 0; Rep. Nels Christianson, 5; Rep. Josh Christy, 6; Rep. Liz Conmy, 4; Rep. Jayme Davis, 5; Rep. Gretchen Dobervich, 7; Rep. Jason Dockter, 9; Rep. Ty Dressler, 1; Rep. Clayton Fegley, 0; Rep. Lisa Finley-DeVille, 5; Rep. Jay Fisher, 0; Rep. Austin Ross, 3; Rep. Kathy Frelich, 6; Rep. Karen Grindberg, 0; Rep. Jim Grueneich, 13; Rep. LaurieBeth Hager, 5; Rep. Jared Hagert, 7; Rep. Karla Rose Hanson, 3; Rep. Patrick Hatlestad, 2; Rep. Dori Hauck, 5; Rep. Craig Headland, 3; Rep. Matthew Heilman, 17; Rep. Pat Heinert, 15; Rep. Donna Henderson, 3; Rep. Jared Hendrix, 14; Rep. Dawson Holle, 6; Rep. Jeff Hoverson, 3; Rep. Zachary Ista, 1; Rep. Jorin Johnson, 2; Rep. Daniel Johnston, 11; Rep. Jim Jonas, 12; Rep. Karen Karls, 3; Rep. Jim Kasper, 13; Rep. Keith Kempenich, 8; Rep. Dwight Kiefert, 2; Rep. Lawrence Klemin, 13; Rep. Ben Koppelman, 21.
Rep. Mike Lefor, 7; Rep. Donald Longmuir, 3; Rep. Scott Louser, 10; Rep. Roger Maki, 5; Rep. Andrew Marschall, 1; Rep. Bob Martinson, 0; Rep. Carrie McLeod, 2; Rep. Lisa Meier, 3; Rep. Alisa Mitskog, 3; Rep. David Monson, 8; Rep. Desiree Morton, 3; Rep. Mike Motschenbacher, 3; Rep. Eric Murphy, 12; Rep. Mike Nathe, 3; Rep. Dennis Nehring, 1; Rep. Jon Nelson, 6; Rep. Anna Novak, 14; Rep. Emily O’Brien, 8; Rep. Jeremy Olson, 4; Rep. SuAnn Olson, 9; Rep. Doug Osowski, 3; Rep. Mitch Ostlie, 2; Rep. Todd Porter, 9; Rep. Brandon Pyle, 10; Rep. David Richter, 7; Rep. Nico Rios, 6; Rep. Karen Rohr, 5; Rep. Dan Ruby, 8; Rep. Matthew Ruby, 7; Rep. Mark Sanford, 0; Rep. Bernie Satrom, 15; Rep. Mike Schatz, 7; Rep. Austen Schauer, 5; Rep. Mary Schneider, 9; Rep. Cynthia Schreiber-Beck, 12; Rep. Vicky Steiner, 4; Rep. Gregory Stemen, 3; Rep. Steve Swiontek, 2; Rep. Nathan Toman, 11; Rep. Bill Tveit, 7; Rep. Lori VanWinkle, 9; Rep. Steve Vetter, 14; Rep. Don Vigesaa, 4; Rep. Daniel Vollmer, 2; Rep. Scott Wagner, 1; Rep. Jonathan Warrey, 6; Rep. Robin Weisz, 4; Rep. Christina Wolff, 1.
Sen. Michelle, Axtman, 6; Sen. Jeff Barta, 11; Sen. Todd Beard, 9; Sen. Brad Bekkedahl, 7; Sen. Keith Boehm, 7; Sen. Josh Boschee, 11; Sen. Ryan Braunberger, 9; Sen. Randy Burckhard, 2; Sen. Jose Castaneda, 4; Sen. Sean Cleary, 12; Sen. David Clemens, 4; Sen. Cole Conley, 2; Sen. Claire Cory, 4; Sen. Kyle Davison, 3; Sen. Dick Dever, 7; Sen. Michael Dwyer, 7; Sen. Mark Enget, 3; Sen. Robert Erbele, 4; Sen. Justin Gerhardt, 4; Sen. Kathy Hogan, 10; Sen. David Hogue, 4; Sen. Greg Kessel, 8; Sen. Jerry Klein, 10; Sen. Diane Larson, 4.
Sen. Judy Lee, 15; Sen. Randy Lemm, 0; Sen. Larry Luick, 7; Sen. Jeffery Magrum, 15; Sen. Richard Marcellais, 3; Sen. Tim Mathern, 12; Sen. Scott Meyer, 5; Sen. Janne Myrdal, 11; Sen. Dale Patten, 10; Sen. Bob Paulson, 8; Sen. Michelle Powers, 0; Sen. Kristin Roers, 16; Sen. Dean Rummel, 6; Sen. Donald Schaible, 10; Sen. Jonathan Sickler, 6; Sen. Ronald Sorvaag, 1; Sen. Paul Thomas, 8; Sen. Desiree Van Oosting, 3; Sen. Chuck Walen, 8; Sen. Terry Wanzek, 8; Sen. Mark Weber, 4; Sen. Kent Weston; Sen. Mike Wobbema, 6.