The North Dakota Legislative Assembly is the legislative branch of the government of North Dakota. It consists of two legislative bodies, the North Dakota House of Representatives and the North Dakota Senate, as well as the Legislative Council and its support staff.
Because the House and Senate sit for only 80 days in odd-numbered years, there is a Legislative Council that oversees legislative affairs in the interim, doing longer-term studies of issues, and drafting legislation forconsideration at the next session. Also, because North Dakota's legislature is rather devoid of legal experts, the Legislative Council staff also spends a great deal of time simply taking ideas from legislators and turning them into bills for introduction.
