Case Study: Region III Ordinances Study
Overview
This study is a compilation of local ordinances addressing the issues of alcohol, tobacco, and other drugs (ATOD) from cities located within North Dakota's Region III. Region III is comprised of Benson, Cavalier, Eddy, Ramsey, Rolette, and Towner counties in north central and northeast North Dakota.
Objectives
The goals of this project were to:
¨Review each ordinance to identify intent, consequences and fines
¨Compare local ordinances with state laws
¨Analyze the ordinances to identify areas of strength and gaps in local law
Activities
The Region III Prevention Program contracted with DLN Consulting, Inc. for assistance with the research and development of this report.DLN Consulting, Inc. sub-contracted with Hurtdidit, LLC to help in the analysis of the state laws and local ordinances.
The Region III Prevention Coordinator contacted all the local communities in Region III for documentation of their local ordinances. A total of 23 cities within the six counties in Region 3 were contacted. Sixteen of the 23 responded to the request, and 12 of the 16 sent documentation of local ordinances. The Region III Prevention Coordinator provided DLN Consulting, Inc. with the ordinances from the 12 communities. Five cities responded they had no ordinances and seven cities did not respond.
DLN Consulting, Inc. provided direction and coordination to Hurtdidit, LLC from which to draw analysis information. Hurtdidit used the North Dakota State Legislative website to look up appropriate state laws. When a law goes into effect, it becomes a part of the North Dakota Century Code (NDCC). The terms "state law" and "NDCC" are used interchangeably throughout the report.
Hurtdidit reviewed each ordinance individually to identify, where possible, intent and consequences, including incarceration and/or fines where appropriate. Each city ordinance was then compared with existing state law to determine if the ordinance was a stand-alone ordinance or a restatement in part or in whole of a state law. All ordinances were compiled by type of ordinance into a spreadsheet format for comparison purposes between cities, counties and with state laws. In addition, a narrative overview of each ordinance, by locale, was provided, along with any reference to a similar or same state law.
This report constitutes a side-by-side comparison of local ordinances and state laws for language and penalties.
Analysis
Three of the seven cities in Benson County have ordinances; one has no ordinances; three did not respond. In Cavalier County, one city has ordinances, one does not, and one did not respond. Both cities in Eddy County responded, one having ordinances and one having no ordinances. Devils Lake was the only city to respond of the three contacted in Ramsey County.All of Rolette County's four cities responded with city ordinances. Two cities in Towner County have ordinances, two do not, and one did not respond.
Benson County and Rolette County documented the most city ordinances, with 41 and 46 respectively. The communities of Rolla in Rolette County, with 22, and Maddock in Benson County, with 20, had the most documented local ATOD ordinances. Devils Lake in Ramsey County, the largest city in the region, documented 11 city ordinances.
Only three cities - Maddock, Langdon and Devils Lake - documented any ordinances related to tobacco. Maddock listed the most tobacco-related ordinances, while Rolla had the most alcohol-related ordinances. Rolla also has the only ordinance that provides for a penalty for driving under suspension/revocation. Devils Lake is the only city governing local beer gardens, and Cando in Towner County, is the only city having a local ordinance governing drug paraphernalia.
The two most documented city ordinances were those, which 1) state a person under the age of 21 cannot be on alcohol-licensed premises and 2) state the licensee is responsible for conduct at the place of business (dram shop). Of the 12 cities that supplied local ordinances, the only city not having documentation of these two laws was Devils Lake.
A total of 32 alcohol-related ordinances were documented among the 12 cities that responded with laws. Of these 32 ordinances, 25 have corresponding state laws as documented in the North Dakota Century Code. Of the seven local tobacco ordinances, three have corresponding state laws. The two documented drug-related ordinances both have corresponding state laws.
