Senate passes bill creating Advanced Technology Review Committee without funding

The North Dakota Senate on April 28 passed House Bill 14‑48 to create an Advanced Technology Review Committee, an advanced technology grant program and an advanced technology grant fund, with no initial funding attached.

Senator Bartha, speaking for the conference committee, said the bill would establish the committee and related structures but that the Department of Commerce and Information Technology told lawmakers they could handle the work without appropriations. "When it came over from the the house was, came over without any funding," Bartha said, adding that departments "thought they could handle this without any funds. So we took the funding out."

The nut graf: The measure establishes a statutory framework for state review and grant support for emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence, machine learning and quantum computing, but it does not provide start‑up money. Sponsors said agencies can perform the committee’s duties under existing resources.

In floor remarks Bartha urged colleagues to support the conference committee report after those interchamber conversations. The Senate adopted the conference committee report and later took final passage on the bill.

On final passage the tally was 47 yea, 0 nay, 0 absent; the bill passed unanimously.

There were no amendments or funding allocations attached at the time of final passage. The reporter noted the bill would create new statutory sections in Title 54 of the North Dakota Century Code to establish the committee, grant program and fund.

The Senate did not attach an appropriation to the new statutory structure; supporters described the change as a compromise following agency assurances that the work could be performed without new appropriations.

The Senate moved on to other business after passage; sponsors asked for the green vote and none opposed on the floor.