A BILL for an Act to provide appropriations to the attorney general, the department of career and technical education, the department of health and human services, and the agriculture commissioner for autonomous technology grants; to provide for a legislative management study; and to provide a report.
HB1249 would appropriate one-time general fund money for four separate autonomous technology grant programs during the 2025-27 biennium. It directs $250,000 to the attorney general for grants supporting autonomous technology used in missing person searches, crime scene reconstruction, and law enforcement first response; $500,000 to the Department of Career and Technical Education for a workforce training center in the northwest part of the state to support training tied to workforce shortages, including oil and gas; $250,000 to the Department of Health and Human Services for grants supporting rural emergency response and disaster mitigation; and $500,000 to the agriculture commissioner for grants supporting autonomous technology in agriculture. In each case, the bill defines autonomous technology broadly to include uncrewed aircraft systems, autonomous vehicles, and other autonomous systems, processes, or technologies.
The bill would not create a new regulatory program so much as establish targeted grant funding and reporting requirements for four agencies. Each agency would be required to create an application process, eligibility standards, possible matching-fund requirements, and allowable uses for the grants, and each would have to report to legislative management during the 2025-26 interim on recipients, award amounts, and how the funds were used. The bill would also direct legislative management to study the costs, benefits, industries, economic impact, and return on investment of autonomous technology infrastructure in North Dakota, with recommendations due to the 70th Legislative Assembly.
No committee transcripts or recorded votes were provided, so there is no detailed public debate to characterize. Based on the bill text, the measure appears generally supportive of emerging technology investment, workforce development, public safety, emergency response, and agricultural innovation. The bill’s failure on February 24, 2025 suggests it did not secure enough support to advance, but the available record does not show the reasons for that outcome.
The main likely points of contention are the use of general fund dollars for one-time grants, the breadth of the autonomous technology definition, and whether the state should fund these programs directly or wait for the proposed study. Potential concerns could also include the narrow targeting of some grants, such as the workforce training center serving the northwest area of the state, the inclusion of oil and gas workforce needs, and whether matching-fund requirements or agency discretion over eligible uses would be sufficient to ensure accountability. Because no hearing transcript is available, the specific objections and supporters cannot be identified from the record provided.