Appropriations committee weighs constitutional measure to divert up to $3 billion from trust funds for school construction

House Appropriations Committee members debated House Concurrent Resolution 3,035 on the measure’s plan to send a constitutional amendment to voters allowing up to $300 million per year for 10 years (a cumulative $3 billion) to be withdrawn from perpetual trust funds for a school construction program.

The resolution’s sponsor, Representative Pat Heinert, told the committee the measure would redirect $300 million per year for 10 years from perpetual trust funds established under Article IX of the North Dakota Constitution into a school construction program, and that committee modeling projects long-term reductions in distributions and trust balances. “This is a resolution to put on the vote of the people a constitutional measure to utilize $300,000,000 per year for 10 years totaling $3,000,000,000 from the perpetual trust funds established under Article 9 of the Constitution for School Construction Program,” Heinert said during his presentation.

Why it matters: supporters said the money would provide capital funding for school construction needs that some districts cannot meet locally; opponents and a fiscal…