A BILL for an Act to provide an appropriation to the state historical society for a historic theater restoration grant program.
Summary
HB 1438 would appropriate $1.1 million from the state general fund to the North Dakota State Historical Society for a grant program supporting restoration of a historic theater. The money would be available for the 2025-2027 biennium and could be used only for an organization dedicated to restoring a historic theater in a city with a population over 100,000. The bill also requires the recipient to secure matching funds from nonstate sources before state money may be spent, at a ratio of one dollar in match for every two dollars of state funding, and it designates the appropriation as one-time funding.
In practical terms, the bill would create a targeted state grant for a specific historic preservation project rather than a broad statewide program. It would direct the State Historical Society to administer the funds and condition use of the appropriation on private or local fundraising, limiting the state’s financial exposure while leveraging outside support. Because the bill is framed as an appropriation, it would not broadly amend regulatory law, but it would authorize a specific expenditure from the general fund and establish the terms for that grant.
Impact
HB 1438 would affect state spending authority by appropriating $1.1 million from the general fund to the State Historical Society for a single historic theater restoration grant. It would create a narrow, one-time funding item tied to a matching-funds requirement and limited to a qualifying organization in a city over 100,000 population. The bill would not change substantive historic preservation statutes generally, but it would direct how state funds may be used for this particular project and require nonstate matching support before disbursement.
Sentiment
The bill appears to have had little to no support in the House, failing on second reading by a vote of 0 yeas to 91 nays on February 25, 2025. With no committee transcript available, there is no recorded floor or committee debate to indicate support arguments or negotiated changes. The vote suggests strong opposition or lack of appetite for the appropriation as introduced.
Contention
The main point of contention appears to have been whether the state should commit general-fund dollars to a highly specific restoration project, especially one limited to a theater in a city of more than 100,000 people. Potential concerns likely included the project’s narrow geographic and beneficiary scope, the use of one-time state funding for a local cultural asset, and whether the matching-funds requirement was sufficient justification for the appropriation. Because the bill failed overwhelmingly, opposition likely outweighed any preservation or economic-development arguments in favor of the grant.