Repeal Of ND Blue Laws Headed To Lawmakers

The legislation is an option and does not require stores to be open.

FARGO, N.D. (KFGO) – State Representative Shannon Roers Jones of Fargo is prime sponsor of a bill to repeal the last remainder of the state’s Sunday Closing Law which prohibits most stores from opening on Sunday morning.

North Dakota is the only state with that ban.

Roers Jones said the blue law is outdated and should go.

She said, “this is about limited government, it’s about keeping government out of business, you must be closed at such and such time…it’s also about personal responsibility, obviously going to church is important for a lot of people but we have a number of options for attending church.”

The legislation is an option and does not require stores to be open.

The bill includes language that  for leases entered into prior to January 1, 2019 a mall cannot require those tenants to be open because the mall is open.

The pre-filed bill has a long list of co-sponsors.

Starting in 1889, when North Dakota became a state, all businesses were prohibited from opening Sunday.

Violations were considered “Crimes Against Religion.”

The law was loosened over the years and in 1991, businesses were permitted to open at noon Sunday in a compromise between those that wanted to keep the law and those who wanted to repeal the law entirely.