Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Agriculture Finance Apuc topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Senate panel weighs moving $3 million APUC funding to one-time from ongoing; mill and bank revenue sources discussed
Summary
Appropriators reviewed a proposal to shift $3 million for the Agricultural Products Utilization Commission (APUC) from ongoing to one-time funding, and clarified which revenue sources — Bank of North Dakota dividends and State Mill and Elevator profits — currently support APUC.
Senate Appropriations — Government Operations Division members examined changes to funding for the Agricultural Products Utilization Commission during a March 6 budget review of House Bill 1009.
The Armstrong executive recommendation proposed $3 million in ongoing special-fund authority for the APUC program. The House version moved that $3 million into one-time funding, a change that prompted lawmakers to ask whether the dollars came from Bank of North Dakota dividends, State Mill and Elevator profits, or both.
Grant, a staff analyst, told the committee that the $3 million shown in the executive ongoing line is from Bank of North Dakota profits. “The 3,000,000 that was in the ongoing for APOC that was from Bank of North Dakota profits,” he said. Committee members also heard that APUC has a base authority of about $2.1 million drawn from mill-and-elevator profits; the $3 million would be in addition to that base, for a total of roughly $5.1 million if included.
Members discussed the practical effect of making the $3 million one-time: if the Bank of North Dakota dividend is not available in a future biennium, the appropriation would not be a guaranteed recurring source. Senator Dwyer noted that because the Bank of North Dakota dividend is decided biennium to biennium, making the allocation one-time effectively requires reauthorization later.
Committee staff and the commissioner also clarified that mill-and-elevator transfers fluctuate by statute and profit levels, with 50% of mill-and-elevator profits going to the general fund and 5% designated for APUC in statute; staff noted mill profits have varied historically.
Several senators said they were open to restoring ongoing status in committee or at conference if the panel chooses, but also recognized that the $3 million appropriation from Bank of North Dakota profits functions similarly to a one-time allocation because the dividend itself is not a statutory fixed percentage.
Ending: The committee left the funding decision unresolved and flagged the APUC funding line for further discussion in committee deliberations and, potentially, conference negotiations.
