A conference committee on Senate Bill 2,390 on Friday agreed to change the bill’s eligibility threshold for the Rural Catalyst Grant Program, raising the population cutoff for eligible communities from 3,000 to 4,500 and approving the change by roll call.

Representative Longmeer, the House conferee who presented the committee’s revisions, summarized the amendments to the bill and the program’s new requirements. "What we are at for the population was the population of 3,000 or less would be the ones eligible for this, and we're still talking $5,000,000 total," Representative Longmeer said.

The committee’s House-endorsed rewrite also added specific program guidance: the panel inserted language directing the development of guidelines for the Rural Catalyst Grant Program, including eligibility criteria, reporting and matching requirements; set a $1-to-$1 match requirement from non-state sources; allowed matching to be cash or in-kind contributions; and required at least 50% of grant dollars be allocated to communities with populations under 1,500. The bill specifies a maximum award of $500,000 per project and retains a total program appropriation of $5,000,000 from the SIF as it came to the conference.

Matt Perdue of the North Dakota Farmers Union outlined how the population thresholds have shifted during the legislative process. "The senate passed version was 8,500. The house political subdivisions reduced that to 4,500. The house appropriations committee reduced it to 3,000," Perdue said, adding that changing the cutoff by a few hundred residents can determine which specific towns qualify.

Committee members debated the population cutoff’s effects on which towns would be eligible. Perdue identified Lincoln, Grafton and Beulah as three communities excluded under a 3,000 limit but included if the cutoff is 4,500. Other towns discussed in committee remarks included Horace, Watford City, Valley City, Wahpeton and Jamestown; witnesses and lawmakers said the larger the cutoff the more communities become eligible.

Lawmakers also clarified grant-match details after questions from members. The committee defined "in-kind" matching as contributions such as use of city staff time or equipment and noted that portions of salaries or staff time could count as matching value. The panel added language that grants "must provide at least $1 of matching funds from non state sources for every $1 provided in the rural catalyst fund" and that the match "may consider matching funds in the form of cash or in kind contributions." Representative Longmeer said the intent was to allow local contributions short of additional state dollars.

Members discussed administrative costs and per diem language: the house language removed explicit administrative spending caps because the Department of Commerce would cover certain costs, and the bill ties legislative member travel reimbursement to the rate provided under section 54-35-10. Representative Longmeer and other conferees said the department would handle payment of related expenses.

The committee did not finalize whether to change the total appropriation. Members agreed to reconvene Monday to settle the final funding question after budget discussions elsewhere in the session. Chairman Dwyer called for and accepted a motion to amend the population cutoff to 4,500; the conference committee recorded unanimous support in a roll call. The motion carried.

The committee approved the motion to change the population limit by roll call: Representative Longmeer, Representative Fisher, Representative Louser, Chairman Dwyer, Senator Lueck and Senator Magrum all voted yes.

With the amendment approved, conferees said they would meet again Monday to confirm funding and finalize language. No other formal changes to grant matching levels, the $500,000 maximum award, or the 50% allocation to communities under 1,500 were voted down at the session.