The House Appropriations Committee on April 1 approved a string of agency budgets and policy items while rejecting a $500,000 grant request for a firefighters association and leaving a paid family caregiver proposal for more study.

The committee voted to give Senate Bill 2251 a “do pass” recommendation after hearing from Austin Shower, District 13, West Fargo, who explained the bill would stop the State Auditor’s Office from billing state agencies for certain audits. Dan Cox, director of audit services for the State Auditor’s Office, told the committee the change has “absolutely no impact on our office at all” while acknowledging the fiscal note shows a $343,000 reduction in state audit revenue deposited to the general fund.

The panel approved several agency budgets presented as standalone bills: the North Dakota Veterans Home (SB 2007), the Commission on Legal Counsel for Indigents (House Bill 2022), the Aeronautics Commission (HB/SB 2006), the judicial branch (SB 2002) and the State Fair (SB 2009). Committee members and sponsors described the budgets as largely funded from special funds with targeted general-fund items, including salary adjustments, equipment carryovers and small one-time facility projects.

Why it matters: the committee begins the sprint toward the end of session. Leadership signaled a compressed schedule, and the Appropriations Committee is trying to clear budgets and policy bills before the April deadline referenced at the meeting. Approved budgets set agency spending priorities and, in some cases, change program rules or thresholds that affect local governments and boards.

Key approvals and details

- SB 2251 (State Auditor billing). Sponsor Austin Shower said the bill removes the requirement for the State Auditor’s Office to bill agencies for audits of special funds and extends the exemption that the university system received last session to all state agencies. The fiscal note shows a roughly $343,000 reduction in audit revenue to the general fund for the 2023–25 biennium; the committee approved the bill. Dan Cox said the change will not impair audit quality because audits arriving at the auditor’s office are ‘‘substantially complete’’ and the change was requested to ease cash-flow pressure on private CPA firms.

- SB 2007 (North Dakota Veterans Home budget). Representative Anderson, the carrier, presented a $32,018,329 total budget with $6,809,940 from the general fund (about 21% of the total). The bill includes $1,218,463 in special-fund FTE pool replacement, $200,000 for nursing salary equity, $100,000 for residential food costs and a one-time $390,000 for building maintenance (door operators, painting, carpet replacement and smaller repairs). The committee exempted the Veterans Home from the new-and-vacant FTE pool to allow immediate hiring for 24/7 resident care. The bill passed.

- HB 2022 (Commission on Legal Counsel for Indigents). Representative Meyer said the house adopted senate additions and added $500,000 to implement a new compensation strategy and $2,000,000 the senate placed in the budget to raise contract attorney rates. The house also added $310,000 in general fund to replace special-fund revenue lost by an earlier bill (HB 1417) that changed fee collections. The committee adopted an amendment and approved the bill. Meyer said she will provide the committee the new contractor hourly rate on request.

- HB/SB 2006 (Aeronautics Commission). Representative Pyle reported the house made minimal changes to the senate version: restored salary adjustments, moved the new-and-vacant FTE pool back to the agency, removed a $120,000,000 generational-project authorization for later discussion and carried forward remaining grant balances (including about $3.75 million for the International Peace Garden Airport runway). The budget is mostly supported by special funds; the committee approved it.

- SB 2002 (Judicial branch). Representative Hansen outlined cross-cutting priorities: an 11-step compensation grid update for nonjudge judicial staff (last updated in 2013), judge salary increases to move to a national midpoint, IT and operations funding, and program additions. The approved package raises each justice’s salary (to $207,249 after the proposed increase), increases district judge pay (to $184,366), adds 1.5 FTEs for juvenile court administrative work, and funds three new treatment courts (a mental health court in Mandan, a veterans court in Fargo and an Indian Child Welfare Act court in Devil’s Lake). The house also removed requested general-fund coverage of credit-card processing fees and instead authorized courts to pass processing fees to users. The committee adopted amendments and approved the bill.

- SB 2009 (State Fair). Representative Lauser described three changes from the senate plan: reducing a requested 50/50 or 75/25 cost-share for an east-side grandstand rest/camping facility, trimming a $1,000,000 security request to a maximum $500,000 cost-share, and removing language that restricted the fair from requesting funds unless a natural disaster occurred. The bill passed as amended; Lauser noted the State Fair maintains substantial reserves and asked members to attend.

- SB 2333 (repurpose ethanol incentive fund). The committee approved repurposing an existing ethanol production incentive fund into a low-carbon fuels fund (to support carbon-intensity scoring and possible retrofits). The change does not alter an existing continuing appropriation stream; the committee approved the policy shift and a $6 million biennial expenditure cap for potential projects.

Votes that did not pass

- SB 2218 (grant to North Dakota Firefighters Association). The committee debated a one-time $500,000 transfer from SIF to the Insurance Commissioner to make a grant to the North Dakota Firefighters Association to assist a building purchase/down payment. Members questioned whether the state should fund a purchase after the association had already entered a lease and moved into the new building; others argued the purchase and consolidated facilities could produce long-term savings and support volunteer firefighter training. A motion for a “do pass” failed; the committee later voted to recommend “do not pass.” The committee discussed alternate funding sources (insurance premium tax distribution or insurance reserve funds) but noted those pathways also affect general-fund balances and existing distributions.

Items carried for further work

- SB 2305 (paid family caregiver pilot). Committee members discussed a request with a substantial fiscal note (about $7.3 million for the biennium) to pay family caregivers at the same rate used in the aged-and-disabled waiver program. Sponsors and advocates said the program would allow many people to remain in home care and that the expenditure could avert larger costs for institutional care; opponents pressed on budget sources and program design. Members requested additional information about whether starting the program now would affect a pending 1915(c) waiver application and asked the department and sponsors to return with more details. The committee deferred final action and scheduled further consideration.

Quotes from the record

- "SB 2,251 ... removes the requirement of the state auditor's office to bill state agencies for their audits," said Austin Shower, District 13, West Fargo.

- Dan Cox, director of audit services for the State Auditor's Office, said of the billing change: "It has absolutely no impact on our office at all. It does not have any impact on the local governments either."

- On the Veterans Home FTE exemption, Representative Anderson said the home "has to have 24 hour service, 7 days a week," explaining the need for immediate hiring authority.

Votes at a glance

- SB 2251 (State Auditor billing changes): do pass (committee vote recorded in transcript: 23 yes, 0 no; 3 absent) — approved by committee.
- SB 2007 (North Dakota Veterans Home budget): do pass as amended (19 yes, 0 no; 4 absent) — approved.
- HB 2022 (Commission on Legal Counsel for Indigents): do pass as amended (20 yes, 0 no; 3 absent) — approved.
- HB/SB 2006 (Aeronautics Commission): do pass as amended (20 yes, 0 no; 3 absent) — approved.
- SB 2002 (Judicial branch budget): do pass as amended (20 yes, 0 no; 3 absent) — approved.
- SB 2009 (State Fair): do pass as amended (20 yes, 0 no; 3 absent) — approved.
- SB 2333 (repurpose ethanol incentive fund to low-carbon fuels fund): do pass (22 yes, 0 no; 1 absent) — approved.
- SB 2218 (grant to North Dakota Firefighters Association): initial do-pass motion failed; committee ultimately recommended do not pass (committee action: failed do-pass; recorded final recommendation: do not pass) — not advanced.
- SB 2305 (paid family caregiver pilot): discussion only; no committee recommendation recorded, deferred for further information.

Ending

Committee members said the body must move quickly with an abbreviated calendar; leadership set an April 30 target to finish business and asked that budget work be cleared in two weeks. The committee recessed and planned to reconvene Wednesday morning at 8:30 a.m. for continued work and final votes on items the panel left for further study.