It shouldn’t be this hard to use North Dakota money to help North Dakotans
MINOT, N.D. — North Dakota lawmakers will meet next month to approve a new map created by the redistricting process, but other issues will also be tackled.
One is appropriating the state’s share of massive federal COVID-19 aid.
Another may well be the latest jockeying over legislation directing Legacy Fund investments to in-state projects and ventures.
House Bill 1425, sponsored by Rep. Mike Nathe, a Bismarck Republican, passed during the Legislature’s regular session earlier this year by large majorities (85-8 in the House, 47-0 in the Senate). The bill requires 20% of the state’s more than $6 billion Legacy Fund to be invested in the state.
Ten percent is to be provided for bonding local government projects like water and sewer lines. Financing those projects out of the Legacy Fund means they can be built faster and cheaper.
