AN ACT to provide an appropriation for defraying the expenses of the North Dakota racing commission.
SB 2023 is an appropriations bill that funds the North Dakota Racing Commission for the 2025-27 biennium. It provides a total appropriation of $699,042 from all funds, including $521,818 from the general fund and $177,224 from other funds, to cover the commission’s operating expenses. The bill keeps the commission at 2.00 full-time equivalent positions and includes a small increase over base funding for adjustments and enhancements.
The bill also identifies $33,000 in one-time general fund spending that is not intended to become part of the commission’s ongoing base budget. That one-time funding is split between copier replacement and internships, and the commission must report to the 70th Legislative Assembly on how those funds were used. In addition, the bill creates a new and vacant FTE pool line item, but prohibits the commission from directly spending those funds; instead, it may request transfers under the process established in House Bill 1015.
SB 2023 amends state spending authority by appropriating general fund and special fund dollars to the North Dakota Racing Commission for the next biennium. It does not change substantive racing law or regulatory authority, but it does set the commission’s operating budget, staffing level, and conditions on certain expenditures. The bill also imposes reporting requirements for one-time funding and ties the use of the new and vacant FTE pool to the budget-transfer procedures in House Bill 1015.
The bill appears to have been broadly supported, with strong passage in both chambers. The Senate approved it 41-5 and the House approved it 65-25, indicating clear majority backing but some dissent. Because there are no committee transcripts in the provided record, the available evidence suggests the bill was generally viewed as a routine appropriations measure rather than a highly controversial policy proposal.
The main points of potential contention are budgetary rather than policy-based: the size of the general fund appropriation, the inclusion of one-time spending for copier replacement and internships, and the creation of a new and vacant FTE pool that cannot be spent directly without an OMB transfer request. The recorded no votes in both chambers suggest some legislators may have objected to the level of funding, the use of state dollars for commission operations, or the structure of the staffing-related appropriation, but no specific arguments are available in the provided materials.