Committee reviews Commerce budget; agrees to keep key workforce and grant funding, rejects lone safety-council amendment

The Appropriations - Education and Environment Division on March 28 reviewed the Department of Commerce budget, discussing restored and new funding for workforce programs, tourism marketing, grants for UAS and agriculture projects, and carryover authority for federal energy and weatherization funds.

Committee members said the budget largely follows the senate version on ongoing costs while the house and the committee negotiated one-time funding lines. "If we restore this, you could fill that FTE relatively soon," said Katie Ralston Howe, workforce director for the Department of Commerce, referring to a workforce FTE the Senate had removed. Ralston Howe said the division has need for the position to support talent-attraction and related work.

The session matters because it sets state spending priorities for economic development and workforce programs that rely on both state and federal funds. Committee members discussed restoring one-time and ongoing appropriations for several programs the governor and the senate previously proposed, and they flagged carryover authority for large federal spending the department received last session.

Most immediate agreements included keeping one-time Operation Intern funding at the senate level and restoring separate lines for tourism marketing and the "Good Life" workforce/retention program rather than consolidating them. Committee staff said the Operation Intern program base is slightly over $1,000,000 and the senate added $2,000,000 in one-time funding; the committee said it would keep the senate amount of $2,000,000 in one-time funding for Operation Intern (bringing total recent appropriations for the initiative to approximately $3,000,000 when combined with the base).

The panel also discussed tourism and marketing: committee leadership proposed splitting $10,000,000 for tourism marketing and $5,000,000 for the Good Life workforce/retention line (a combined total of $15,000,000 split across the two purposes). Sarah Adi Kloman, director of the Tourism and Marketing Division, described the split as intended to separate marketing dollars from workforce-engagement funding: "Half of it goes for marketing the lifestyle of North Dakota ... and then the other half goes to workforce for kind of developing that the pieces that get them further engaged," she said.

The committee reviewed multiple one-time grant recommendations: the tourism destination development grants were increased on the committee sheet from $20,000,000 to $30,000,000 after a member proposed adding $10,000,000; the committee also discussed $20,000,000 for the Vantas UAS-related program (the committee returned funding toward the governor's recommendation), $16,000,000 for an aerial-vehicle replacement program tied to FAA radar-data work, enhanced-use-lease grant support for Grand Sky at $5,000,000, and increases to autonomous-agriculture grants (Grand Farm) to $15,000,000 in the committee sheet.

Committee members proposed and discussed creating a separate, dedicated line for a Native American small-business grant program at $600,000 (the department historically funded this from discretionary dollars). Allison (department staff) told the committee last biennium that $350,000 had been designated for that program out of discretionary funds; the committee proposed a separate $600,000 line to avoid tapping discretionary funds.

Committee staff described large carryover and federal spending-authority items: the department last session had approximately $287,000,000 in original appropriations across several items; about $199,000,000 remained as of February, with an estimated $163,000,000 remaining by June, of which roughly $7,000,000 is expected to be unused by July 1. Much of the large dollar amount reflects federal spending authority for weatherization and other energy programs authorized after federal infrastructure and inflation-related legislation.

Committee members also directed staff to add three ongoing FTE authorizations tied to previously authorized one-time federal-funded positions for weatherization and energy programs. Levi (committee staff) and department staff explained that last session the committee authorized approximately $120,000,000 in federal spending authority and included three one-time FTEs; department leadership requested making those FTE ongoing because federal awards continue in tranches and states may have up to seven years to spend certain federal allocations.

A formal amendment introduced late in the hearing to appropriate $1,500,000 to the North Dakota Safety Council failed for lack of a second. Representative Martinson moved the amendment; no member seconded, and the motion died.

Throughout the hearing, Commerce Commissioner Chris Shilkin and administrative director Lisonbee Whitmer answered committee members' questions about grant language, RFP processes and timing for federal funds. Shilkin emphasized RFP and competitive language changes intended to avoid appearance of preselected recipients. Whitmer said federal funds are coming in but some distributions — notably weatherization DOE funds — have been delayed pending federal program officer approval.

The committee did not take final votes on the full Commerce appropriation sheet during the March 28 session; members said the sheet represents a working starting point and that additional amendments and formal action would follow in coming days.