AN ACT to provide an appropriation for defraying the expenses of the department of labor and human rights.
House Bill 1007 is an appropriations measure for the North Dakota Department of Labor and Human Rights for the 2025-2027 biennium. It authorizes spending from the general fund and other funds, including federal funds, to cover the department’s operating costs, with appropriations for salaries and wages, operating expenses, and a new and vacant FTE pool. The bill sets the department’s total appropriation at $3,658,937 from all funds, including $3,110,514 from the general fund, and maintains the department at 13 full-time equivalent positions.
The bill also creates a limited mechanism for managing staffing costs by allowing the department to request transfers from the new and vacant FTE pool to salaries and wages through the Office of Management and Budget, subject to guidelines and reporting provisions referenced in House Bill 1015. This makes the bill primarily a budget and administrative funding measure rather than a policy change affecting substantive labor or human rights law.
HB1007 directly affects state budget law by appropriating funds to the Department of Labor and Human Rights for the biennium beginning July 1, 2025, and ending June 30, 2027. It does not amend the department’s regulatory authority or underlying labor and human rights statutes, but it does determine the level of resources available to administer those laws and carry out departmental operations. The bill also ties staffing flexibility to procedures established in HB1015, affecting how the department may use appropriated personnel funds.
The bill appears to have been broadly supported and noncontroversial. It passed the House 92-1 and the Senate 43-3, indicating strong bipartisan approval for funding the department’s operations. The lack of committee transcript discussion in the provided materials suggests there was little public dispute or extended debate over the measure.
Any contention appears limited to the appropriations details rather than the department’s mission. The only notable structural issue is the new and vacant FTE pool, which cannot be spent directly and instead requires a transfer request through the Office of Management and Budget under HB1015 guidelines. That kind of staffing and budget-control mechanism can draw scrutiny from lawmakers concerned about flexibility, vacancy management, or oversight, but the recorded votes suggest no major opposition to the bill as enacted.