23.1156.01000
Sixty-eighth
Legislative Assembly HOUSE BILL NO. 1541
of North Dakota
Introduced by
Legislative Management
1 A BILL for an Act to provide an appropriation to the legislative assembly for the payment of dues
2 and the legislative council for the payment of fees and employer retirement contributions; to
3 amend and reenact section 24-02-37.3 of the North Dakota Century Code, as amended by
4 section 10 of House Bill No. 1012, as approved by the sixty-eighth legislative assembly, relating
5 to budget section approval limits for the flexible transportation fund; to provide for a legislative
6 management study; to provide for a legislative management report; to provide for retroactive
7 application; and to provide an effective date.
8 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY OF NORTH DAKOTA:
9 SECTION 1. APPROPRIATION - 2021-23 BIENNIUM - LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY. There
10 is appropriated out of any moneys in the general fund in the state treasury, not otherwise
11 appropriated, the sum of $5,000, or so much of the sum as may be necessary, to the legislative
12 assembly for international legislators' forum dues for the period beginning May 10, 2023, and
13 ending June 30, 2023.
14 SECTION 2. APPROPRIATION - LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL - REPORT - ONE-TIME
15 FUNDING. There is appropriated out of any moneys in the general fund in the state treasury,
16 not otherwise appropriated, the sum of $500,000, or so much of the sum as may be necessary,
17 to the legislative council for the purpose of contracting for a performance audit of the state
18 auditor and for other consulting services of interim committees, for the biennium beginning
19 July 1, 2023, and ending June 30, 2025. The chairman of the legislative management shall
20 arrange for the audit and receive the audit report. The performance audit must address the
21 efficiency and effectiveness of the state auditor's office relative to industry best practices. The
22 performance audit must include a review of the appropriateness of the number of hours to
23 complete audits; methods used to monitor staff time and allocate hours charged to audits; billing
24 processes; quality assurance processes; the adequacy and timeliness of communications with
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Sixty-eighth
Legislative Assembly
1 audited entities, governing boards, and the public; and other areas as determined by the
2 chairman of the legislative management. The funding provided in this section is considered a
3 one-time funding item.
4 SECTION 3. APPROPRIATION - LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL - EMPLOYER RETIREMENT
5 CONTRIBUTION FUNDING. There is appropriated out of any moneys in the general fund in the
6 state treasury, not otherwise appropriated, the sum of $58,283, or so much of the sum as may
7 be necessary, to the legislative council for the purpose of providing funding for the cost of the
8 one percent employer retirement contribution increase included in House Bill No. 1040, as
9 approved by the sixty-eighth legislative assembly, for the biennium beginning July 1, 2023, and
10 ending June 30, 2025.
11 SECTION 4. AMENDMENT. Section 24-02-37.3 of the North Dakota Century Code as
12 amended by section 10 of House Bill No. 1012, as approved by the sixty-eighth legislative
13 assembly, is amended and reenacted as follows:
14 SECTION 10. AMENDMENT. Section 24-02-37.3 of the North Dakota Century
15 Code as created by section 1 of Senate Bill No. 2113, as approved by the sixty-eighth
16 legislative assembly, is amended and reenacted as follows:
17 24-02-37.3. Flexible transportation fund - Budget section approval - Report.
18 There is created in the state treasury the flexible transportation fund. The fund
19 consists of eligible federal or state funding and any contributed private funds.
20 1. The flexible transportation fund must be administered and expended by the
21 director and may be used for the following:
22 a. Providing a match for federal funding obtained by the department of
23 transportation.
24 b. State-funded road and bridge construction and maintenance, and
25 transportation support costs including staffing, facilities, and operational
26 expenditures on the state highway system.
27 c. State-funded road and bridge construction and maintenance activities within
28 the state but off of the state highway system. The director shall establish the
29 terms and provisions of the program.
30 2. All money derived from the investment of the flexible transportation fund or any
31 portion of the fund, must be credited to the flexible transportation fund. The
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1 director shall monthly transmit all moneys collected and received under this
2 chapter to the state treasurer to be transferred and credited to the flexible
3 transportation fund.
4 3. The director must receive budget section approval for any project that
5 utilizes more than fifteenten million dollars from the fund except for projects
6 that match federal or private funds and the amount utilized from the fund is
7 fifty percent or less of total project costs. Any request considered by the
8 budget section must comply with section 54-35-02.9.
9 4. The director shall allocate at least twenty-five percent of motor vehicle
10 excise tax collections deposited in the flexible transportation fund pursuant
11 to section 57-40.3-10 for non-oil-producing county and township road and
12 bridge projects as follows:
13 a. The funds must be allocated by the department to counties for
14 projects or grants for the benefit of counties and organized and
15 unorganized townships;
16 b. The department shall establish criteria to distribute the funds;
17 c. The funds must be used for the maintenance and improvement of
18 county and township paved and unpaved roads and bridges;
19 d. Priority must be given to projects that match federal funds and to
20 projects that improve roadways that serve as local corridors;
21 e. An organized township is not eligible to receive funding if the township
22 does not maintain any roadways or does not levy at least eighteen
23 mills for general purposes; and
24 f. For purposes of this subsection, "non-oil-producing county" means a
25 county that received no allocation of funding or a total allocation of
26 less than five million dollars under subsection 2 of section 57-51-15 in
27 the most recently completed even-numbered fiscal year before the
28 start of each biennium.
29 5. The director shall provide periodic reports to the budget section regarding
30 the status of the fund and projects receiving allocations from the fund.
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1 SECTION 5. LEGACY FUND EARNINGS - REPORT TO LEGISLATIVE MANAGEMENT.
2 Each biennium, the state retirement and investment office shall provide a report including the
3 amount of legacy fund earnings above the percent of market value that would have been
4 transferred to the legacy earnings fund had Senate Bill No. 2330 not been passed by the sixty-
5 eighth legislative assembly to the legislative management.
6 SECTION 6. LEGISLATIVE MANAGEMENT STUDY - STATE FIRE AND TORNADO
7 FUND AND STATE BONDING FUND ADMINISTRATION. During the 2023-24 interim, the
8 legislative management shall consider studying, in collaboration with the insurance
9 commissioner and the director of the office of management and budget, the feasibility and
10 desirability of changing administration of the state fire and tornado fund and state bonding fund
11 from the insurance commissioner to the director of the office of management and budget. The
12 study must include an analysis of the statutory changes necessary to accomplish the change in
13 administration and other statutory changes necessary to facilitate the office of management and
14 budget's administration of these funds. The legislative management shall report its findings and
15 recommendations, together with any legislation required to implement the recommendations, to
16 the sixty-ninth legislative assembly.
17 SECTION 7. LEGISLATIVE MANAGEMENT STUDY - MANAGEMENT AND
18 MAINTENANCE OF STATE FACILITIES.
19 1. During the 2023-24 interim, the legislative management shall consider studying the
20 policies and procedures of state agencies, excluding institutions under the control of
21 the state board of higher education, for managing, maintaining, and leasing state
22 facilities.
23 2. The study must include consideration of:
24 a. The most efficient and cost-effective organizational structure for managing,
25 maintaining, and leasing state facilities, including a comparison of allocating
26 funding and full-time equivalent positions to various agencies and centralizing
27 funding and full-time equivalent positions under one agency.
28 b. The costs and benefits of leasing or owning state facilities.
29 c. The appropriate use of contracts for service and full-time equivalent positions for
30 custodial services, mechanical services, snow removal, lawn care, and
31 maintenance.
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1 3. The legislative management shall report its findings and recommendations, together
2 with any legislation required to implement the recommendations, to the sixty-ninth
3 legislative assembly.
4 SECTION 8. LEGISLATIVE MANAGEMENT STUDY - GUARDIANSHIP PROGRAMS.
5 During the 2023-24 interim, the legislative management shall study the state's guardianship
6 programs. The study must include consideration of the existing structure for the programs under
7 the office of management and budget, judicial branch, and department of health and human
8 services; the feasibility of consolidating the programs under one agency; and an appropriate
9 level of funding for the programs. The legislative management shall report its findings and
10 recommendations, together with any legislation required to implement the recommendations, to
11 the sixty-ninth legislative assembly.
12 SECTION 9. RETROACTIVE APPLICATION. Section 1 of this Act applies retroactively to
13 May 10, 2023, and the remainder of this Act applies retroactively to July 1, 2023.
14 SECTION 10. EFFECTIVE DATE. This Act becomes effective immediately upon its filing
15 with the secretary of state.
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Statutes affected: INTRODUCED: 24-02-37.3
FIRST ENGROSSMENT: 24-02-37.3
Enrollment: 24-02-37.3