House Bill 1016 is the biennial appropriations bill for the North Dakota Office of the Adjutant General, covering the National Guard and the Department of Emergency Services for the 2025-27 biennium. It authorizes $345.1 million in total spending from all funds, including $30.8 million from the general fund, and sets the office’s full-time equivalent positions at 235. The bill funds salaries, operating costs, contracts for the Air Guard and Army Guard, veterans’ cemetery operations, civil air patrol support, disaster response, grants, and capital projects.
A major feature of the bill is its large one-time funding package for infrastructure and emergency preparedness projects. These include Camp Grafton expansion and training facilities, readiness centers, bridge training sites, a fitness facility, radio communications upgrades, disaster response equipment, flood mitigation grants, and the state match for the federal Safeguarding Tomorrow through Ongoing Risk Mitigation Act. The bill also allows the adjutant general to accept gifts, grants, and donations for a future North Dakota military museum and continues certain unspent prior appropriations into the new biennium.
The bill also creates several spending flexibilities and exemptions. It permits transfers from a new-and-vacant FTE pool to specific operating and contract lines, authorizes up to $500,000 in maintenance-and-repair transfers without the usual statutory limitation, and exempts certain prior appropriations from normal lapse rules so they can continue into the 2025-27 biennium. It further provides additional funding authority for the veterans’ cemetery from its maintenance fund and includes legislative intent limiting how Camp Grafton expansion land may be acquired.
In terms of state law impact, HB 1016 primarily affects appropriations and budget administration rather than creating new regulatory programs. It directs how general fund, federal funds, and special funds such as the strategic investment and improvements fund and state disaster relief fund may be used, and it ties several projects to specific statutory funds and reporting requirements. It also declares selected items an emergency measure, allowing those funds to become available immediately upon enactment.
The overall sentiment around the bill appears strongly supportive, as reflected by the large bipartisan margins in both chambers: 83-6 in the House and 46-0 in the Senate. No committee transcript was provided, so there is no recorded floor or committee debate to identify detailed arguments. The main potential points of contention are the size of the appropriations, the use of one-time funding for major capital projects, and the Camp Grafton expansion language, especially the legislative intent limiting land acquisition and prohibiting eminent domain. However, the vote totals suggest little formal opposition.
HB 1016 amends state spending authority for the Adjutant General’s office by appropriating funds for the National Guard and Department of Emergency Services, including major capital, disaster response, communications, and readiness projects. It affects budget administration by authorizing fund transfers, exempting certain appropriations from lapse, continuing prior unspent funds, and directing use of specific special funds and federal funds. The bill also impacts related parties such as National Guard members, emergency management operations, veterans’ cemetery operations, and recipients of disaster and mitigation grants.
The bill appears to have broad bipartisan support and little recorded opposition. It passed the House 83-6 and the Senate 46-0, indicating strong agreement on the need for the appropriations and related emergency and infrastructure funding. Because no committee transcript was provided, there is no detailed record of debate, but the voting history suggests the bill was viewed favorably overall.
The most likely areas of contention are the bill’s large spending levels, especially the substantial one-time capital appropriations for Camp Grafton, readiness centers, radio systems, and disaster mitigation. The Camp Grafton expansion provisions may also draw scrutiny because the bill states legislative intent limiting land acquisition to purchase or long-term lease and expressly prohibits eminent domain. Any concerns would likely come from fiscal conservatives focused on the size and structure of the appropriations or from parties concerned about land use and project scope, though the recorded votes show those concerns did not produce significant opposition.