Budget Section

Duties

Approve Emergency Commission authorization for the Governor to spend federal funds accepted by the Governor's office. (2025 Senate Bill No. 1001 § 4)

Approve any Department of Transportation project that utilizes more than $10 million from the flexible transportation fund, except for projects that match federal or private funds and the amount utilized from the fund is 50 percent or less of total project costs. Any request considered by the Budget Section must comply with Section 54-35-02.9. (NDCC § 24-02-37.3)

Review and report on budget data prepared by the Director of the Budget.

Approve any purchase of commercial or residential property by the Board of University and School Lands as sole owner. (NDCC § 15-03-04)

Authorize the State Board of Higher Education to authorize building construction or campus improvements and building maintenance of more than $700,000, if financed by donations. (NDCC § 15-10-12.1)

Approve a comprehensive statewide land acquisition plan established by the Director of the Game and Fish Department and every land acquisition of more than 10 acres or exceeding $10,000 by the Game and Fish Department. (NDCC § 20.1‑02‑05.1)

Authorize the Game and Fish Department to spend money in the game and fish fund if the balance would be reduced below $15 million. (NDCC § 20.1-02-16.1)

Authorize the Life Skills and Transition Center to provide services under contract with a governmental or nongovernmental person. (NDCC § 25-04-02.2)

Approve a waiver of exemption of state property in a city from special assessments levied for flood control purposes. (NDCC § 40‑23‑22.1)

Approve the change or expansion of, or any additional expenditure for, a state building construction project approved by the Legislative Assembly, but if within 3 months before or 3 months after a regular session the authorization is limited to changes in project scope and related expenditures resulting from an unforeseen emergency event. (NDCC § 48-01.2-25)

Approve the termination of the federal food stamp or energy assistance program. (NDCC § 50-06-05.1)

Approve the purchase or lease of an airworthy aircraft not otherwise replacing an aircraft with only insurance proceeds by a state agency or entity of state government, other than the Adjutant General or the University of North Dakota School of Aviation, if the Legislative Assembly is not in session. (NDCC § 54-06-37)

Approve transfers from one fund or line item to another. (NDCC § 54-16-04(2))

Approve, with the Emergency Commission, acceptance of any special or federal funds made available to the state which are not for a specific purpose or program and which are not required to be spent before the next regular legislative session for deposit in a special fund until the Legislative Assembly appropriates the funds. (NDCC § 54-16-04.1)

Approve, on the advice of the Office of Management and Budget and the recommendation of the Emergency Commission, a state officer to employ full-time equivalent (FTE) positions in addition to those authorized by the Legislative Assembly. (NDCC § 54‑16‑04.3)

Approve Emergency Commission authorization of transfer of general fund, special funds, or federal funds spending authority from the state contingencies appropriations if the transfer is not necessary to avoid an imminent threat to the safety of people or property due to a natural disaster or war crisis or an imminent financial loss to the state. (NDCC § 54-16-09)

Approve, with the Emergency Commission, an agency request to borrow funds from the Bank of North Dakota for responding to a disaster in the state declared by the Governor. (NDCC § 54-16-13)

Approve use of the preliminary planning revolving fund. (NDCC § 54-27-22)

Approve use of cashflow financing. (NDCC § 54-27-23)

Consider specific actions, projects, and transfers. (NDCC § 54-35-02.9)

Prescribe the form of budget information prepared by the Director of the Budget. (NDCC § 54-44.1-07)

Object to any allotment by the Director of the Budget, any expenditure of a budget unit, or any failure to make an allotment or expenditure if the action or failure to act is contrary to legislative intent. (NDCC § 54-44.1-12.1)

Approve the reduction of budgets due to initiative or referendum action. (NDCC § 54-44.1-13.1)

Approve execution by the Information Technology Department of proposed agreement to finance the purchase of software, equipment, or implementation of services in excess of $1 million. (NDCC § 54-59-05(4))

Approve any donation from funds the donor has not designated or conditioned the use of for a specific purpose to the state parks gift fund in excess of $50,000. (NDCC § 55-08-07.2)

Approve payment by the State Water Commission to the Bank of North Dakota in the amount of the default certified to the Budget Section by the Bank of North Dakota if the Western Area Water Supply Authority defaults on its payment of principal or interest on the infrastructure revolving loan. (NDCC § 61-40-09)

Authorize establishment of casualty insurance organization to provide extraterritorial workforce safety and insurance. (NDCC § 65‑08.1-02)

Hold the required legislative hearings on state plans for the receipt and expenditure of new or revised block grants passed by Congress. (2025 Senate Concurrent Resolution No. 4001)

Reports

Receive a report from the Governor regarding the source, amount, and purpose of any additional income from other funds, excluding federal funds, which become available to the Governor's office during the period beginning July 1, 2025, and ending June 30, 2027. (2025 House Bill No. 1001 § 4)

Receive a report from the Department of Health and Human Services after June 30, 2026, on any transfer made in excess of $50,000 between line items within subdivisions 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6 of Section 1 of House Bill No. 1012 (2025). (2025 House Bill No. 1012 § 3) 

Receive quarterly reports from the Department of Health and Human services during the 2025-26 interim regarding the status of its salaries and wages block grant and vacant positions and employee turnover. The report must include the legislative appropriation for salaries and wages allocated by the department to major department programs by funding source and the number of FTE positions the department is allocating to each major program based on the legislative appropriation; any changes to salaries and wages funding or FTE positions allocated to major department programs; any new FTE positions added, the cost of the position for the remainder of the biennium, and the cost to continue funding the position in the subsequent biennium by funding source; any FTE positions removed and related funding; the number of FTE positions that become vacant and the number filled each month; the number of vacant FTE positions at the end of each month; salaries and wages savings resulting from vacant positions and employee turnover each month by funding source; and the use of salaries and wages savings for other purposes for each month by funding source. (2025 House Bill No. 1012 § 5)

Receive a report from the Department of Health and Human Services during the 2025-26 interim regarding the award of grant funding to increase the number of behavioral health beds in the state. (2025 House Bill No. 1012 § 54)

Receive a report from the Office of Management and Budget on any transfer to the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation of any uncommitted accumulated interest and earnings and any federal State Fiscal Recovery Fund appropriation authority amounts previously obligated but not anticipated to be expended from the state agency that received the appropriation. (2025 House Bill No. 1015 § 11)

Receive a report from the Office of Management and Budget at each meeting of the Budget Section regarding salaries and wages, vacant position information, and agencies' use of funding in new and vacant FTE pool line items. (2025 House Bill No. 1015 § 18).

Receive a report from the Director of the Department of Water Resources on the use of any additional federal funds or other amounts in the resources trust fund and water commission fund that become available to the department during the biennium. (2025 House Bill No. 1020 § 4)

Receive a report from the Director of the Department of Water Resources regarding any transfers made between the operations expenses and capital assets line items which were requested by the Director. (2025 House Bill No. 1020 § 23)

Receive a report from the Director of the Department of Water Resources regarding any unexpended obligated and unobligated funding from the 2023 legislative session, estimated to be $600 million, which is continued into the 2025-27 biennium for grants or water-related projects included in the capital assets, water supply - grants, rural water supply - grants, flood control projects, discretionary funding, and general water - grants line items. (2025 House Bill No. 1020 § 24)

Receive at least one report from the Superintendent of Public Instruction during the 2025-26 interim regarding the status of the development of an integrated formula gap funding program. (2025 House Bill No. 1176 § 28)

Receive a report from the Legislative Council regarding the use of funding in the new and vacant FTE pool, including information on new FTE positions and the date hired; vacant FTE positions, including information on positions that become vacant and positions filled, salaries and wages savings resulting from vacant positions and employee turnover, and the use of salaries and wages savings for other purposes; and additional salaries and wages funding needed due to savings from vacant positions being less than anticipated. (2025 Senate Bill No. 2001 § 3)

Receive a report from the Supreme Court regarding the use of funding in the new and vacant FTE funding pool, including information on new FTE positions and the date hired; vacant FTE positions, including information regarding positions that become vacant and positions filled, salaries and wages savings resulting from vacant positions and employee turnover, and the use of salaries and wages savings for other purposes; and additional salaries and wages funding needed due to savings from vacant positions being less than anticipated. (2025 Senate Bill No. 2002 § 3)

Receive a report from the State Board of Higher Education regarding any transfer of appropriation authority from the operations to the capital assets line items within subdivisions 2 through 14 of Section 1. (2025 Senate Bill No. 2003 § 38)

Receive a report from the Council on the Arts after June 30, 2026, on any transfer made in excess of $50,000 between line items in Section 1 of Senate Bill No. 2010. (2025 Senate Bill No. 2010 § 7)

Receive a report from the Department of Transportation regarding the costs and status of the environmental impact statement process relating to the construction of a four-lane highway for the remaining sections of the Theodore Roosevelt expressway. (2025 Senate Bill No. 2012 § 19)

Receive at least one report from the North Dakota Pipeline Authority by December 31, 2026, regarding the status of any pipeline capacity agreements, including commitments from other private sector entities, the commitment by the authority, anticipated borrowing by the authority under Section 54-17.7-04(4). (2025 Senate Bill No. 2014 § 32)

Receive at least one report from the Attorney General regarding the award of technology grants to individuals or entities that aid the Bureau of Criminal Investigation in conducting missing persons searches, crime scene reconstruction, and law enforcement first response operations. The report must include a list of grant recipients, the amounts awarded, and a description of the use of the grant funding. (2025 Senate Bill No. 2018 § 5)

Receive at least one report from the Department of Career and Technical Education regarding autonomous technology grants provided to a workforce training center serving the northwest area of the state for providing workforce training to address workforce shortages in the state, including shortages in the oil and gas industry. The report must include a list of grant recipients, the amounts awarded, and a description of the use of the grant funding. (2025 Senate Bill No. 2018 § 6)

Receive an annual report from the State Board of Higher Education regarding any adjustments made to FTE positions at the North Dakota State University Extension Service, Northern Crops Institute, Upper Great Plains Transportation Institute, Main Research Center, branch research centers, and Agronomy Seed Farm. (2025 Senate Bill No. 2020 § 9)

Receive quarterly reports from the Information Technology Department and Department of Public Instruction regarding the status of the student information system transition. (2025 Senate Bill No. 2021 § 12)

Receive a report from the Legislative Council staff in the fall of 2026 on the status of the state's federal funds receipts for the current biennium and estimated federal funds receipts for the subsequent biennium.

Receive a report from the Office of Management and Budget regarding any loans obtained pursuant to Section 6‑09‑15.1. (NDCC § 6‑09‑15.1)

Receive an annual report from the North Dakota State University Extension Service on FTE position adjustments made. (NDCC § 11-38-12)

Receive an annual report from the Commissioner of University and School Lands on the investment performance of each fund under its control. (NDCC § 15-02-08.1)

Receive a biennial report from each institution under the control of the State Board of Higher Education undertaking a capital construction project that was approved by the Legislative Assembly and for which local funds are to be used which details the source of all funds used in the project. (NDCC § 15-10-12.3)

Receive reports from the Office of Management and Budget, upon request from the Budget Section, regarding the State Board of Higher Education's project variance semiannual reports regarding construction projects valued at more than $250,000. (NDCC § 15-10-47)

Receive an annual report from the North Dakota State University Main Research Center on FTE position adjustments made. (NDCC § 15‑12.1‑05)

Receive a status report from the State Board of Agricultural Research and Education. (NDCC § 15-12.1-17(10))

Receive a biennial report from the State Fire Marshal summarizing the expenditures by certified fire departments and districts of funds received from the insurance tax distribution fund and reserve fund balances. (NDCC § 18-04-02)

Receive at least semiannual reports from the Legacy and Budget Stabilization Fund Advisory Board. (NDCC § 21-10-11)

Receive periodic reports regarding the status of the flexible transportation fund and projects receiving allocations from the fund. (NDCC § 24-02-37.3)

Receive an annual report from the Adjutant General regarding the income and expenditures made from the North Dakota National Guard service member, veteran, family, and survivor support program. Approve any expenditures from the fund that exceed $500,000 per biennium. (NDCC § 37‑03‑18)

Receive reports on the use of the state disaster relief fund to provide the required state share of funding for expenses associated with presidentially declared and governor-declared disasters in the state. (NDCC § 37-17.1-27)

Receive a report from the Industrial Commission each biennium on the balance of the abandoned oil and gas well plugging and site reclamation fund and expenditures from the fund. (NDCC § 38-08-04.5)

Receive an annual report from the Division of Community Services on conclusions of annual audits of renaissance fund organizations. (NDCC § 40-63-07(9))

Receive an annual report from the Department of Health and Human Services on the status of the opioid settlement fund and of spending decisions made by the department and political subdivisions under the new chapter to Title 50. Each political subdivision that recovers and retains moneys as a result of opioid litigation is required to submit to the department an annual  report detailing the decisions of the governing body of the political subdivision regarding use of the moneys. (NDCC § 50-36-04)

Receive a report from Job Service North Dakota before March 1 of each year on the actual job insurance trust fund balance and the targeted modified average high-cost multiplier, as of December 31 of the previous year, and a projected trust fund balance for the next 3 years. (NDCC § 52-02-17)

Receive a report from the State Treasurer, within 90 days of the beginning of each fiscal year, regarding all warrants and checks outstanding for more than 90 days and less than 3 years. (NDCC § 54-11-01)

Receive a report each fiscal year from the Cash Management Board regarding the board's review of existing policies, and the development of new policies for managing money in the state treasury, identifying cash flow characteristics, and improving cash management practices. (2025 House Bill No. 1278 § 1) (NDCC § 54-11-XX)

Receive reports on fiscal irregularities. (NDCC § 54-14-03.1)

Receive a report from the Housing Finance Agency at least once per biennium regarding the activities of the housing incentive fund. (NDCC § 54-17-40)

Receive a report from the Industrial Commission if any order, regulation, or policy of the Industrial Commission has an estimated fiscal effect on the state in excess of $20 million in a biennium. (NDCC § 54-17-42)

Receive a biennial report from the North Dakota Outdoor Heritage Advisory Board. (NDCC § 54-17.8-07)

Receive an annual report from the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation on the department's prison population management plan and inmate admissions and the number of inmates the department has not admitted after sentencing. (NDCC § 54‑23.3‑11)

Receive a report from the Office of Management and Budget at each meeting of the Budget Section regarding the reports received from state agencies, other than entities under the control of the State Board of Higher Education, that have applied for federal grants estimated to be $25,000 or more. (NDCC § 54-27-27)

Receive a report on transfers of funds from the budget stabilization fund to the general fund to offset projected decrease in general fund revenues. (NDCC § 54-27.2-03)

Receive a report from the Department of Commerce by September 1 of each even-numbered year regarding the results of the rural catalyst grant program, including the number of projects requested and supported through the program, information on projects receiving funding, matching funds raised for each project, and how the project has affected local communities. (2025 Senate Bill No. 2390 § 3) (NDCC § 54 40.1 XX)

Receive a report from the Director of the Office of Management and Budget on the status of tobacco settlement funds and related information. (NDCC § 54-44-04(23))

Receive a report from the Office of Management and Budget regarding any purchase of oil put options by the State Investment Board to offset reduced general fund oil and gas tax revenues due to oil and gas prices falling below selected levels. (NDCC § 54-44-16)

Receive a report from the Office of Management and Budget in December of even-numbered years regarding commodities and services exempted from state procurement requirements. (NDCC § 54-44.4-02.2)

Receive a report from each hub city at least once per interim regarding the use of the funding received from the hub city debt relief funding pool and information on the hub city's outstanding debt, including maturity dates, interest rates, and annual repayment amounts. (NDCC § 57-51-15)

Receive an annual report from tribal governing bodies regarding investment of oil and gas tax receipts in essential infrastructure and fees, expenses, and charges the tribe imposes on the oil industry. (NDCC § 57-51.2-02)

Receive a report from the Retirement and Investment Office each interim regarding the status of the incentive compensation program for FTE investment and fiscal operations positions, including the provisions of the program; the total amount of incentives paid out to employees each year; and the minimum, maximum, and average payout per eligible FTE position. (NDCC § 54-52.5-04)

Receive a report at each meeting from the Information Technology Department regarding the status of the Information Technology Department operating fund. (NDCC § 54‑59‑14)

Receive semi-annual reports from the Department of Commerce regarding grant programs administered by the department including the purpose of each grant program, funding history, number of the days the grant application was open to applicants, the name of each grant recipient and the amount of each grant award, and the distribution date of grant funds or the anticipated distribution date of grant funds. (2025 Senate Bill No. 2018 § 18) (NDCC § 54-60-XX)