Panel rejects request to exempt state mill and elevator from vacant FTE pool

A motion to exempt the North Dakota mill and elevator from the state's new vacant full-time-equivalent (FTE) pool failed in the House Appropriations Government Operations Division.

Representative Kempnick moved to exempt the mill and elevator from the vacant FTE pool, saying the operation runs under union contracts, its FTE counts "ebb and flow," and the facility had to be "creative in their accounting" under the existing arrangement. "They're a union... it ebbs and flows, their FTE count and who's their employment," Kempnick said.

Representative Bowie and other members pushed back, saying changes this session to how the vacant FTE pool is administered should make the pool easier for agencies to manage. Bowie noted the prior process required a two-step request to the Office of Management and Budget and said the panel had changed that process this session so agencies would not have to leave funds sitting in OMB. "I think they would find it to be a little easier to manage this time rather than last time," Bowie said.

Representative Brannberry seconded Kempnick's motion. The clerk took a roll call on the exemption. The record shows members voting against the motion, and the chairman declared the motion failed. After the vote, the committee said it would let the mill participate in the new FTE pool under the revised rules and revisit an exemption if the mill later demonstrates the pool does not work for its operations.

No formal amendment was attached to any bill as a result of the failed motion.