Keith Kempenich (born July 28, 1958) is an

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, p ...

politician. He is a member of the

North Dakota House of Representatives The North Dakota House of Representatives is the lower house of the North Dakota Legislative Assembly and is larger than the North Dakota Senate. North Dakota is divided into between 40 and 54 legislative districts apportioned by population as ...

from the 39th District, serving since 1992. He is a member of the Republican party.

Legislation

In January 2017, Kempenich proposed a bill titled HB No. 1203 which would prevent a driver who unintentionally injures or kills a person intentionally obstructing a roadway from being held liable for any damages. He said the bill was in response to the

Dakota Access Pipeline protests The Dakota Access Pipeline Protests or the Standing Rock Protests, also known by the hashtag #NODAPL, NoDAPL, were a series of grassroots Native Americans in the United States, Native American protests against the construction of the Dakota Ac ...

blocking a nearby highway. It was cosponsored by other state representatives and senators, and drew criticism on the grounds that it would violate the First Amendment rights of protestors. Opponents said it would effectively legalize running over protesters on the road, as long as criminal intent cannot be demonstrated on the part of the driver. The bill was defeated by a 50–41 vote on February 13. In February, 2021, he filed legislation in committee Thursday that would compensate state legislators from outside Bismarck for meals consumed while in session. According to a parliamentary estimate, it would cost taxpayers around $424,000.

References

Living people 1959 births People from Bowman County, North Dakota Republican Party members of the North Dakota House of Representatives 20th-century members of the North Dakota Legislative Assembly 21st-century members of the North Dakota Legislative Assembly {{NorthDakota-politician-stub