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Treasurer outlines budget needs: staff equity, IT projects, CO2 payments and a proposed delayed transfer of unclaimed property
Summary
State Treasurer Thomas Beadle asked the Appropriations committee to fund targeted salary equity, additional IT implementation hours, CO2 PILT distributions and to delay the transfer of unclaimed property from the Department of Trust Lands to the Treasurer’s Office until planning and security work is complete.
State Treasurer Thomas Beadle presented the Office of State Treasurer’s budget (House Bill 1005) to the Appropriations – Government Operations Division, outlining workforce, technology, statutory distribution and a proposed transfer of the state’s unclaimed property program.
Beadle said his office’s top request was targeted salary equity to address retention and compression: the office requested $250,000 in targeted market equity during the budgeting process and both governors’ executive budgets included $100,000 of that request. He cited a high turnover rate (34.8% in the prior year) and said the office’s long tenures (average seven years in position) have made the agency vulnerable to pay compression compared with similar classified roles in other agencies.
IT costs and distribution changes
The treasurer requested additional IT funding to implement statutory distribution changes and improve the tax-distribution (TDOC) software used to deliver funds to political subdivisions. Beadle told the committee that IT Development (ITD) estimated roughly $185,000 in hours to program several formula and distribution changes that remained alive after crossover; the House included $110,000 in SIF for TDOC work and the treasurer asked the senate committee to consider the full implementation estimate.
CO2 pipelines and coal severance
Beadle said the budget must account for expected payment-in-lieu (PILT) distributions tied to qualifying CO2 pipelines. He said the statute calls for treasurer payments upon certification from the tax commissioner and that the treasurer’s office estimated $2,000,000 for anticipated CO2 PILT obligations this biennium based on tax-department data. Beadle also asked for a $4,000 increase to coal-severance payments to counties so the statutory distribution cap would be fully funded.
Unclaimed property transfer and staffing
House Appropriations included a provision transferring unclaimed property duties from the Department of Trust Lands to the State Treasurer’s office. Beadle said the vast majority of states house unclaimed property in the treasurer’s office and that the move could improve public outreach and recovery rates, but he warned the transition requires security upgrades and space remodeling (vault security, 24/7 video, key-card access) and recommended delaying the transfer until late in the biennium to allow planning and avoid a day‑one operational disruption.
Beadle also requested one FTE to absorb approximately 100 staff-hours the Trust Lands office currently spreads across other staff; if the transfer occurs mid‑biennium, the treasurer proposed onboarding that FTE partway through the biennium. He described the unclaimed property program as primarily special-funded (out of unclaimed funds held) and said the office wants to avoid disrupting current service while ensuring safe custody of physical items.
Other items
Beadle described the treasurer’s constitutional and statutory duties (he cited Article 5, Section 2 of the North Dakota Constitution and Chapter “50 four‑eleven in North Dakota Century Code” as the office’s authority in testimony), summarized the office’s investment and cash‑management responsibilities, and said the office had a clean audit for the most recent biennium. He said the office generated roughly $144 million in earnings for the general fund in the current biennium and that policy changes to credit earnings back to special funds could alter general‑fund totals going forward.
Committee questions and next steps
Committee members asked whether the transfer’s FTEs would remain in Trust Lands until a delayed transfer and how CO2 and other PILT estimates were computed; Beadle said the transfer could be delayed and that payments are made after tax commissioner certification. Members signaled they would follow up with the treasurer’s office on IT implementation costs and the timing and mechanics for unclaimed-property transfer.
No formal committee vote on House Bill 1005 is recorded in the transcript excerpt provided; the treasurer requested follow-up by staff and recommended delayed implementation for the unclaimed property transfer so the offices can complete security and space upgrades.
