# Title 54 — State Government

## Chapter 54-44.6 — Forms Management

### § 54-44.6-01. Declaration of legislative intent.

The legislative assembly finds and declares that there is a need to minimize the
governmental paperwork burden for state and local government entities, individuals,
businesses, and others; that the costs of collecting, maintaining, using, and disseminating
information are constantly escalating due to the increasingly voluminous and complex nature of
state statutes and regulations; that there is a need to coordinate, integrate, and to the extent
practicable and appropriate, make uniform the information policies and practices in North
Dakota; and that the governmental paperwork burden can best be eased by establishing a
statewide forms management program within the information technology department.
### § 54-44.6-02. Definitions.

As used in this chapter, unless the context or subject matter otherwise requires:
1. "Agency" means any department, office, commission, board, or other unit, however
designated, of the executive branch of state government. The term does not include
the North Dakota center for distance education.
2. "Form" means any document designed to record information and containing blank
spaces and which may contain headings, captions, boxes, or other printed or written
devices to guide the entry and interpretation of the information.
### § 54-44.6-03. State forms manager.

The chief information officer of the state shall serve as the state forms manager. The
manager shall administer in the executive branch of state government the forms management
program established by this chapter. The program must apply efficient and economical
management methods to the creation and utilization of state forms.
### § 54-44.6-04. Duties of manager.

The manager shall:
1. Establish a statewide forms management program, prescribing the standards and
procedures for forms creation and utilization.
2. Conduct surveys of forms management practices to identify forms which can be
standardized, consolidated, or eliminated as duplicative and unnecessary.
3. Assist agencies in the design of those forms which cannot be eliminated to minimize
the effort and costs required to complete them.
4. Establish a forms management program to provide agencies with forms design and
revision services and to develop and implement standards for design, typography,
format, data sequence, analysis, and numbering of state forms.
5. Establish a central state form numbering system and a central cross-index filing
system of state forms.
6. Provide training for agency forms coordinators.
### § 54-44.6-05. Duties of agencies.

Each agency shall:
1. Establish and maintain an active, continuing program for the economical and efficient
management of forms and cooperate with the manager in the conduct of forms
management surveys.
2. Implement forms management rules and procedures issued by the manager.
3. Designate an agency forms coordinator who shall cooperate with the manager in the
development of the content requirements of the form design process and who shall
otherwise assist the agency and the office in implementing the provisions of this
chapter.

### § 54-44.6-06. Forms review.

Agencies must submit any proposed new or revised form to the manager for review. The
manager shall analyze the form, advise the affected agency of comments and
recommendations, and assist the agency with any recommended revision of the form.
### § 54-44.6-07. Assistance to legislative and judicial branches.

Upon request, the manager shall assist and advise in the establishment of forms
management programs in the legislative and judicial branches of state government and shall, as
required by them, provide services similar to those available to the executive branch of state
government.
### § 54-44.6-08. Rules.

The manager may adopt any rules in accordance with chapter 28-32 necessary to
effectuate the purposes of this chapter.
