Governor Burgum Outlines Budget Priorities
North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum presented his 2019-2021 budget proposal to a joint session of the legislature this week.
The governor’s plan would provide $14.6 billion in spending over the biennium. The total includes $4.6 billion in general fund revenue, $3.7 billion in federal funds, $5.6 billion in special funds, and $300 million of Legacy Fund earnings. Gov. Burgum said the lion’s share of the revenue goes to formula-driven expenditures, primarily for education and social services.
Click
here to listen to Burgum’s comments.
Burgum said more than two-thirds of the increase in ongoing spending, or $239 million, can be attributed to increases in the formula payments and services in education and health and human services, which result from North Dakota’s growing population. The remainder of the increase is dedicated primarily to salary and benefit increases for state employees who received no increases in the current biennium.
Burgum proposes spending $300 million in earnings from the Legacy Fund, including $22 million for airports, $20 million aimed at generating more affordable housing, $30 million for a facility to support the development of drone technology, $55 million to cities for an infrastructure revolving loan fund, and an additional $25 million in a school construction revolving loan fund.
One of the surprises in the budget was a proposed $50 million expenditure of Legacy Fund earnings to be leveraged by private dollars toward a Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library in Medora.
Click
here to listen to Burgum’s comments.
The governor's budget also proposes the closure of the women's prison in New England, and relocating the inmates to a facility south of Bismarck. Click
here for more from the Dickinson Press.
Click
here to see a video replay of the Governor’s budget address.
Click
here to view or download the Governor’s 312-page budget proposal.
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Operation Prairie Dog Legislation in the Hopper
Draft legislation that would revise the Hub City funding formula, provide oil tax revenue to political subdivisions in western North Dakota, and infrastructure grants to non-oil regions has been submitted for introduction during the 2019 legislative session.
The bill, known as Operation Prairie Dog because the little critters are good at building infrastructure, will begin its journey in the House. Prime sponsor will be Rep. Mike Nathe, R-Bismarck. On the Senate side, Majority Leader Rich Wardner, R-Dickinson, will carry the bill.
Rep. Nathe said there is tremendous support for the legislation throughout the state. House co-sponsors of the bill include Reps. Todd Porter, R-Mandan; Corey Mock, D-Grand Forks; Don Vigesaa, R-Cooperstown; Michael Howe, R-West Fargo; Mark Owens, R-Grand Forks; Mike Lefor, R-Dickinson; and Dan Ruby, R-Minot. Senate co-sponsors include Senators Dwight Cook, R-Mandan; Brad Bekkedahl, R-Williston; and Larry Robinson, D-Valley City. Nathe said many others wanted to co-sponsor the legislation, but rules limit the number.
Western legislators hope the bill provides a permanent fix to the distribution of gross production tax revenue to oil-impacted communities. The direct grants to non-oil cities, counties and townships would also be a permanent feature. Click
here for an overview of the bill, including a list of the approximate amounts political subdivisions would receive.
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Legislators Get Committee Assignments
The 2019 North Dakota Legislature will look a lot like the 2017 session. There will be just 17 new legislators among the 141 members in the Senate and House.
Committee chairmanships also remained largely unchanged with a couple notable exceptions. Senator David Rust, R-Tioga, will be the new chair of the Senate Transportation Committee. He succeeds Senator Lonnie Laffen, who lost his bid for re-election. The Senate Judiciary Committee will also have a new chair. Senator Diane Larson, R-Bismarck, will hoist the gavel, replacing Senator Kelly Armstrong of Dickinson who was elected to the US House of Representatives.
On the House side, there will be one new chairmanship. Rep. Jason Dockter, R-Bismarck, will chair the Political Subdivisions Committee, replacing Rep. Larry Klemin of Bismarck who is the new Speaker of the House. Two subcommittees of the Appropriations Committee will also have new chairmen.
Click
here to see Senate Committee assignments.
Click
here to see House Committee assignments.
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School Superintendents Describe Building Needs
Four western North Dakota school superintendents outlined their district’s need for additional classroom space due to energy-related enrollment growth this week.
The superintendents were interviewed by WDEA Executive Director Geoff Simon, who guest-hosted the radio program,
Energy Matters. Superintendents from Williston, Watford City, Killdeer and Alexander described the growing student numbers and the pressure it’s putting on their districts to expand. The final interview of the program was with Senator David Rust, R-Tioga, a former school superintendent who has several proposed legislative fixes that may be considered in 2019.
Click
here and advance to the 1:10 mark to hear the interview with Williston Superintendent Jeff Thake.
Click
here and advance to the 30:30 mark to hear the interview with McKenzie County Superintendent Steve Holen.
Click
here and advance to the 1:05 mark to hear the interview with Killdeer Superintendent Gary Wilz.
Click
here and advance to the 30:02 mark to hear the interview with Alexander Superintendent Leslie McDonald.
Click
here and advance to the 43:25 mark to hear the interview with Senator Rust.
Energy Matters airs every Tuesday from 3:00–5:00 CST on KFYR and KLTC Radio, and is rebroadcast Saturday on WZFG and KTGO Radio.
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Legislators See Benefits of Oil Tax Revenue
Many North Dakota legislators received a bit of an eye-opener this week, learning details of how oil tax revenues have been distributed throughout the state.
Brent Bogar, who provides financial consulting services to the Western Dakota Energy Association, presented results of a study analyzing regions of the state that have benefited from oil tax revenue. WDEA partnered with the ND Petroleum Council to fund the study, to address concerns among some that benefits of oil extraction are not being shared equally.
Bogar’s presentation includes “heat maps” which show that many eastern North Dakota counties have received huge benefits from oil tax revenue. Funds have been distributed in the form of property tax relief, the Foundation Aid formula for schools, water projects through the Resources Trust Fund and conservation projects through the Outdoor Heritage Fund. The study shows the state has collected just shy of $18 billion in oil taxes the past 11 years since the hydraulic fracturing boom took off.
Bogar made the presentation at a legislative reception co-hosted by NDPC and the Lignite Energy Council. It was an austere gathering. No food or beverages were served due to the lobbyist gift ban imposed by the passage of Measure One.
Click
here to see Bogar’s slide presentation.
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WDEA to Host Regional Legislative Information Sessions
The Western Dakota Energy Association will host three legislative information sessions next week to give local city, county and school officials a preview of some of the major issues WDEA expects to arise during the 2019 legislative session.
The sessions are intended to provide general information to WDEA members about major initiatives such as Operation Prairie Dog, as well as other topics including transportation, education funding, environmental issues and social services.
Meetings will be held Tuesday, December 11, at 11:00 a.m. Central in the Ward County Commission Chambers in Minot; Tuesday afternoon at 3:15 p.m. Central in the Broadway Commons Conference Room in Williston; and Wednesday, December 12, at 3:15 p.m. Mountain in the Commission Chambers at City Hall in Dickinson.
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Winter Doesn't Stop Williston Airport Work
Paving has wrapped up for the season, but vertical construction continues at the new Williston International Airport. The new location identifier for the airport is XMA. The old ISN designation will be retired.
Contractors have moved forward with the main buildings far enough that the shape of the terminal is clearly apparent. Anthony Dudas, the Williston Airport Director said the terminal is just under 50% finished. "It might not look like it, but it's nearly half complete."
Williston Mayor Howard Klug said he wants to see people in the area keep up to date on progress. He said, "We'll keep showing you" as the project heads to October 2019 completion. Transitioning will happen in stages next summer.
In addition to work on the terminal, contractors continue to work through the winter on the airfield electrical vault, water reservoir and other buildings such as the fire equipment facility.
The most recent video update from Williston is
here. KXMC story is
here.
Click
here to see the Williston Basin Airport public photo album on Facebook.
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Permian Oil/Gas Discovery is Largest Ever
New Mexico and West Texas are sitting on a bonanza of potentially recoverable oil and gas reserves according to an announcement this week by the Department of the Interior.
The two underground layers contain the largest oil and gas reserve the U.S. Geological Survey has ever discovered. It is estimated to include 46.3 billion barrels of recoverable oil and 281 trillion cubic feet of natural gas. U.S. Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke said the finding moves America further toward dominance.
"American strength flows from American energy. Now, I know for a fact that American energy dominance is within our grasp as a nation," Zinke said.
US Geological Survey report is
here.
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Quick Connect
- OPEC and allies agree to cut oil production -- CNBC
- Pilot Flying J expands Bakken waste water trucking -- Bloomberg
- Meridian hires McDermott for Davis Refinery engineering -- Rigzone
- McKenzie County Healthcare gets robotic disinfectant -- MyNDNow
- Legislative changes could come to county social services -- MyNDNow
- State taking applications to help buy new public service vehicles -- MyNDNow
- Industrial Commission awards $3.35 million in Outdoor Heritage grants -- Dickinson Press
- Enhanced DUI enforcement campaign starts December 14 -- NDDOT
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Factoid of the Week
On March 7, 1941, ten years before the Clarence Iverson well pumped its first oil, the North Dakota Legislature passed oil production regulations. The new law gave the "Board of County Commissioners" power to confirm, approve and adopt oil leases if the leased land was subject to delinquent taxes.
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December 11
Minot,Williston
December 11
Webinar
December 12
Watford City
December 12
Dickinson
December 13
Bismarck
December 13
Bismarck
December 17
Bismarck
December 18
Bismarck
December 18
Bismarck
December 20
Manning
January 3
Bismarck
January 29-31
Grand Forks
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Oil prices and rig count
December 7, 2018
WTI Crude: $52.57
Brent Crude: $61.65
Natural Gas: $4.50
North Dakota Active Rigs: 64 (down 2)
12/7
/20
17 -- 53 rigs
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Geoff Simon
Editor/Executive Director
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