AN ACT to provide an appropriation for defraying the expenses of the agriculture commissioner; to amend and reenact section 4.1-01-02 of the North Dakota Century Code, relating to the salary of the agriculture commissioner; to provide for a transfer; to provide for a report; to provide an exemption; and to declare an emergency.
HB 1009 is the biennial appropriations bill for the North Dakota Agriculture Commissioner for the 2025-27 biennium. It provides a total appropriation of $55.2 million, including about $16.6 million from the general fund and the remainder from other funds and federal funds, and authorizes 81 full-time equivalent positions. The bill funds core agency operations such as salaries, operating expenses, grants, capital assets, the Board of Animal Health, wildlife services, and several agriculture-related grant and program lines.
The bill also creates or continues several targeted funding streams and transfer provisions. These include grants for agricultural products utilization, grasslands grazing, food pantries, autonomous technology in agriculture, and the North Dakota trade office, along with transfers involving the environment and rangeland protection fund, the minor use pesticide fund, the environmental impact mitigation fund, the bioscience innovation grant fund, and the Bank of North Dakota. It also sets reporting requirements for one-time funding and interim reports on autonomous technology grants, and it amends the statutory salary of the agriculture commissioner.
HB 1009 affects state law primarily by updating the agriculture commissioner’s salary statute and by directing how multiple special funds and appropriations are to be used during the biennium. It also restricts certain spending, such as prohibiting use of wildlife services funds for indirect costs, limiting use of the new and vacant FTE pool, and conditioning some spending on matching funds. The bill includes an emergency clause for the bioscience innovation grant fund transfer, allowing that provision to take effect immediately.
The overall sentiment appears strongly supportive, as reflected by the large bipartisan margins in both chambers: 76-13 in the House and 47-0 in the Senate. The bill is a routine but sizable appropriations measure for a major state agency, and the vote totals suggest broad agreement with the funding package and related policy directives. No committee transcript was provided, so there is no recorded debate to indicate substantial opposition beyond the House dissenting votes.
The main points of potential contention are the bill’s use of special funds and matching requirements, especially for grasslands grazing grants, food pantry grants, autonomous technology grants, and trade office funding. Some lawmakers may also have concerns about the transfer of funds from the environment and rangeland protection fund, the use of abandoned oil and gas well plugging funds for pipeline and royalty oversight, and the salary increase for the agriculture commissioner. However, the final vote results indicate that any disagreements did not prevent enactment.
HB 1009 appropriates funds for the Agriculture Commissioner and related programs for the 2025-27 biennium, increases the commissioner’s statutory salary, and directs multiple fund transfers and spending conditions across state accounts. It affects the North Dakota Century Code by amending section 4.1-01-02 and by establishing reporting, matching-fund, and spending restrictions tied to agriculture, wildlife services, trade promotion, pesticide regulation, land mitigation, and grant programs.
The bill appears to have had broadly favorable support. It passed the House with a substantial majority and the Senate unanimously, indicating bipartisan approval of the agriculture budget and its associated program funding. The absence of committee transcript material limits insight into detailed debate, but the vote history suggests the bill was not highly controversial overall.
Likely areas of disagreement include the size and source of appropriations, especially the use of special funds and transfers from accounts such as the environment and rangeland protection fund, the strategic investment and improvements fund, and the abandoned oil and gas well plugging and site reclamation fund. The bill’s matching-fund requirements for some grants, the salary increase for the agriculture commissioner, and the allocation of funds to newer initiatives like autonomous technology grants and food pantry purchases may also have drawn scrutiny. Even so, the final votes suggest these issues were not enough to block passage.