North Dakota Legislature considering bill that would bring back blue laws

BISMARCK, N.D. — A bill being considered in North Dakota’s House of Representatives is seeking to bring blue laws back to the state.

You may remember North Dakota’s blue laws, and how they were repealed in 2019. But if not – Blue Laws prohibit certain businesses from being open from midnight until noon on Sundays, which is considered the sabbath in Christian religions.

Business owners whose religion holds Sabbath on a different day, such as Judaism, would be closed on their respective days instead of Sundays.

The law would mostly affect retail outlets selling items like jewelry, clothing, vehicles, and even paint and lumber.

Many businesses would also be exempted from the law. Those include services that would be considered essential, but also things like amusement parks, zoos, and bait shops.

Representative Jeff Hoverson was one of the legislators who introduced the bill. He says that reinstating a blue law is good for families and workers.

“We still give commerce the second half of the day and the church, basically has the first half. And the workers really. It’s more about workers than it is about church versus state,” Hoverson said.

The repeal of North Dakota’s previous blue law was decided by only two votes.