State legislators laid out a proposal today for a massive bonding program that would fund infrastructure and economic development projects across the state. The program, which would be funded by Legacy Fund earnings and managed by the Bank of North Dakota, includes funding for water projects, a carbon capture project, an ag development center, and the State Hospital, in addition to infrastructure dollars for counties and cities.
Senate Majority Leader Rich Wardner, who has worked on the bill since last summer, said now is the time for bonding. “These are projects the state has committed to funding. Interest rates for bonding are at an all-time low while construction inflation is high, so these projects will cost more in the future if we delay them. Using Legacy Fund earnings now to move these projects toward completion will help jump start the economy and keep jobs in North Dakota while saving money in the long run.”
BISMARCK, N.D. North Dakota’s Republican legislative leaders on Wednesday unveiled a $1.1 billion bonding package aimed largely at financing infrastructure projects across the state and using earnings from the state’s oil tax piggy bank to pay for the borrowed money.
The proposal is similar to a $1.25 bonding proposal presented by GOP Gov. Doug Burgum last month, with one huge exception: The governor’s proposal includes $700 million in low-interest loans for political subdivision for roads, bridges and other construction projects. The legislative leaders’ plan would offer those funds as grants.
Both proposals aim to pay off the bonds in 20 years or less using earnings from the state’s oil tax savings account known as the Legacy Fund, which voters enacted in 2010. The fund’s value is currently $7.8 billion and it’s expected to earn about $500 million in the next two-year budget cycle.
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No easy answers for a COVID-19 vaccine requirement at North Dakota schools
A vaccine will be critical for getting campuses back to normal operations and events, UND President Andrew Armacost said. 7:00 am, Dec. 15, 2020 ×
Lake Region Health unit public health nurse Annette Groves changes her gloves during a COVID-19 mass testing event in Devils Lake in September. Eric Hylden / Grand Forks Herald
A coronavirus vaccine may help North Dakota colleges return to some form of normalcy next fall, but could students one day be required to get vaccinated for COVID-19 before entering school?
The answer isn’t so simple.
Karol Riedman, chief compliance officer for the North Dakota University System, said, while the State Board of Higher Education requires certain vaccinations for college students, it’s limited to the list of childhood vaccinations included in state law.
Mayor of Minot
Gov. Doug Burgum recently unveiled a $15 billion budget for the next biennium, a proposal that includes a $1.25 billion bonding package that would help fund statewide infrastructure projects.
The budget in its entirety is important, obviously, but let’s focus on the proposed bonding package. Burgum’s budget will be scrutinized by lawmakers when the legislative session begins on Jan. 5, and is certain to undergo changes before it’s approved. Republican and Democrat lawmakers have both said they will introduce their own bonding proposals when lawmakers convene in Bismarck.
A similar discussion took place at the 2019 legislative session around creating a low-interest loan fund that counties, cities, and other political subdivisions could use to fund large infrastructure projects. Ultimately, lawmakers rejected the proposal in 2019. Collectively, we knew the issue would be back for discussion in the 2021 session.