AN ACT to provide an appropriation for defraying the expenses of the various divisions under the supervision of the director of the office of management and budget; to create and enact a new section to chapter 54-44 of the North Dakota Century Code, relating to a state facility maintenance fund; to amend and reenact subsection 1 of section 10-30.5-02 of the North Dakota Century Code and section 9 of House Bill No. 1012, as approved by the sixty-ninth Legislative Assembly, relating to the North Dakota development fund and infant and toddler care provider support payments; to repeal section 11-38-08 of the North Dakota Century Code, relating to county achievement days; to provide for a transfer; to authorize a line of credit; to provide an exemption; to provide for a report; and to declare an emergency.
House Bill 1015 is the Office of Management and Budget appropriation bill for the 2025-27 biennium. It funds OMB operations and a wide range of statewide items, including salaries and wages, operating costs, capital assets, guardianship grants, community service supervision grants, state employee child care benefits, a student internship program, and several one-time projects. The bill also sets statewide compensation guidance for permanent state employees, directing average 3 percent annual increases over the biennium based on documented performance, with probationary and unsatisfactory performers excluded.
Beyond the agency budget, the bill creates a new state facility maintenance fund and transfers $34 million into it from the strategic investment and improvements fund for maintenance at state-owned facilities. It also authorizes major capital and financing actions, including a $100 million Bank of North Dakota line of credit for a new state hospital, a steering committee to oversee that project, and a contingent $13.6 million appropriation tied to repayment of an adjutant general loan related to unlawful protest response costs if the state receives corresponding federal judgment proceeds. The bill further adjusts the North Dakota Development Fund statute to reference beyond visual line of sight uncrewed aircraft system activities and revises the infant and toddler care provider support payment program established in HB 1012.
The bill’s impact on state law is broad because it both appropriates funds and changes multiple statutory provisions. It amends the Century Code to create the state facility maintenance fund, repeals the county achievement days statute, modifies the development fund’s authority, and changes the administration and payment schedule for infant and toddler child care provider support. It also includes reporting requirements, transfer authority, exemptions from normal budget carryover rules, and emergency clauses that make certain appropriations immediately effective. In practical terms, it gives OMB expanded control over transfers, facility spending, and oversight of the new state hospital project while directing funds to specific state programs and projects.
Overall sentiment appears generally supportive, as reflected by strong bipartisan passage in both chambers and the bill’s status as an appropriations measure carrying major executive-branch funding and capital priorities. The vote totals suggest broad legislative acceptance of the budget package and its related policy changes. No committee transcript was provided, so there is no recorded discussion to indicate organized opposition or amendments in the available materials.
The main points of potential contention are the size and scope of the spending package, especially the $300 million state hospital project, the $34 million facility maintenance fund transfer, and the use of a line of credit for hospital construction. Other likely areas of debate include the contingent repayment tied to protest-related litigation proceeds, the performance-based employee pay framework, and the repeal of county achievement days. The bill also touches several constituencies—state employees, child care providers, corrections, public broadcasting, local community corrections, and state facility managers—so objections could arise from any group affected by funding shifts, reporting burdens, or changes in program eligibility.
HB 1015 appropriates funds for the Office of Management and Budget and related statewide purposes for the 2025-27 biennium, while also creating a new state facility maintenance fund and directing transfers into it. It amends the North Dakota Century Code to expand or clarify authority for the North Dakota Development Fund, revise infant and toddler child care provider support payments, and repeal the county achievement days statute. The bill also authorizes a Bank of North Dakota line of credit for the new state hospital, establishes a steering committee for that project, and creates multiple reporting, transfer, and exemption provisions affecting executive-branch budgeting and capital spending.
The available voting history indicates strong support for the bill, with passage by 76-9 in the House and 40-6 in the Senate, both exceeding the two-thirds threshold noted in the enrolled bill. No committee transcripts were provided, so there is no direct record of floor or committee debate. Based on the vote margins and the bill’s status as a comprehensive appropriations measure, the overall sentiment appears broadly favorable, though not unanimous.
The most likely points of contention are the bill’s large capital commitments and financing mechanisms, especially the $300 million state hospital project and the $100 million line of credit from the Bank of North Dakota. The contingent $13.6 million repayment provision tied to federal judgment proceeds from protest-related litigation may also be controversial because it links state repayment to a specific legal recovery. Additional possible concerns include the performance-based salary increase structure, the transfer of funds among state accounts, and the repeal of county achievement days, which could affect local or agricultural interests.