Members of the conference committee for SB 2396 voted unanimously to approve an amended bill that gives the North Dakota state auditor oversight of a performance audit of the North Dakota Development Fund, allows the auditor's office to hire and supervise a third-party contractor for the work and increases the contractor authorization to $2,250,000.

The amendment, offered by Representative Casper and adopted by the committee, defines the audit scope as July 1, 2019, through June 30, 2024, and sets deadlines for the audit report and legislative presentation in mid-2026. The committee later amended the draft to set a deadline of Aug. 1, 2026, for the final audit report and Sept. 30, 2026, for presentation to the legislature.

The change moves the primary responsibility for the contract and audit oversight from legislative management to the state auditor's office. "We are the experts in performance auditing," North Dakota State Auditor Josh Gallion told the committee, saying that having the auditor oversee the contract would let his office develop scope and work papers the office could later incorporate into a subsequent Department of Commerce audit.

Representative Casper told the committee she and the bill's prime sponsor worked with the auditor's office and the sponsor to produce the amendment. Casper said the amendment also raised the maximum amount the auditor may pay a contractor to conduct the audit to $2,250,000 from the prior figure shown in the earlier version.

Committee members asked why the Department of Commerce was removed from the oversight language. Gallion said Commerce had undergone a performance audit in 2023 and that information from the ND Development Fund audit could help inform a future Commerce audit. Committee members also discussed timing: the amendment specifies the audit will examine fiscal years 2019through 2024 while the contracted work would be carried out in the 2025to2727 biennial window; the committee narrowed report dates to provide the legislature time to schedule committee meetings to receive the final report.

Representative Casper moved the amendment (identified in the record as version 04/2004 with the two date changes); the committee adopted the amendment by voice vote. Later, Representative Schauer moved passage of SB 2396 as amended by the conference committee; Senator Barta seconded. A roll-call vote recorded six aye votes and no nays; the motion passed 6-0.

The committee assigned a carrier for the bill in the Senate (Senator Barta) and adjourned.