BISMARCK - North Dakota's state government budget surplus is often reported at just over $100 million, a healthy sum by historical standards - but less than half of what the surplus really is. It's more than $270 million, and climbing. . . .
The number compares the Legislature's tax collection estimates in March 2005 with actual numbers. Lawmakers used the estimates to finish writing the state's two-year budget.
In the March 2005 estimates, the Legislature guessed the state's general fund would have $593.7 million in tax and fee collections by February 2006. The treasury actually collected $703 million, or $109.3 million more, an increase of 18 percent.
The extra money is commonly referred to as the treasury's budget surplus. However, it doesn't include two large reserve funds, a $99.5 million "budget stabilization fund" and a $71 million permanent oil tax trust fund, which legislators have often used to cover current state spending.
The stabilization fund, established in 1987, was intended to protect state programs from across-the-board budget cuts if state tax collections fell short of expectations.
It had nothing until last year, when extra tax collections quickly pushed its balance to its maximum of $99.5 million. State law caps the stabilization fund's balance at 5 percent of North Dakota's general budget fund, which almost is $2 billion for the 2005-07 budget period.
The oil fund was intended to stash extra oil taxes during industry booms, and carry them over for leaner times. Its $71 million limit will be reached this month, said Pam Sharp, the state budget director.
That's a big surplus for a little state. Of course, the big surplus is bringing the bureaucrats and big-government types out of the woodwork with ideas on how to spend it.
Lawmakers say the treasury's robust health will ratchet up budget demands during the 2007 Legislature, because local school administrators, college officials, nursing homes, state workers and other constituencies expect the state can afford to spend more.
"Obviously, there will be all kinds of people who would like to have increased funding for whatever program that they're interested in," said Sen. Bob Stenehjem, R-Bismarck, the Senate majority leader.
That is such nonsense. North Dakota is doing well. Our citizens are employed (our unemployment rate is rock-bottom low, any lower and we'd start having problems with inflation), our schools are performing well (and spending more on education doesn't mean performance will come up anyway) and the state's infrastructure is adequate. Plus, as the article points out, the state already has money set aside in two separate funds for lean times.
The only responsible thing to do with this budget surplus is to give it back to North Dakotans in the form of a rebate (the surplus is about $420 for every man, woman and child in the state but a rebate would be more as it would only go to taxpayers) and then cut taxes to be more in keeping with government need. This rebate/tax cut would ensure that North Dakota's economy continued to grow at the robust pace we've seen and would likely result in even more tax receipts for the government in subsequent years.
The only question is whether or not our state legislators have the cojones to stand up to demands from the state's bureaucrats and do the right thing.