Industrial Commission administrative office seeks recurring funding for grant system, transmission work and litigation costs

Karen Tyler, executive director of the North Dakota Industrial Commission, told the House Appropriations Government Operations section that the commission’s administrative office is asking the Legislature to approve ongoing and one‑time dollars in the budget bill now before the session, Senate Bill 2014.

Tyler said the administration seeks $275,000 in ongoing funding to support a custom grant management system the office developed with contractor support; the system is in production and has a completion target of October 2025. She told the committee the development was originally funded with a one‑time special‑funds allocation of $1,250,000 last session and that the vendor estimates ongoing annual support at roughly $130,000.

The request also includes more resources for the North Dakota Transmission Authority, which the Industrial Commission administers. Tyler said the transmission authority moved into the Administrative Office in early 2023 and that the Senate approved $400,000 of an increase the agency had sought to $600,000 to cover higher workload and planned grid‑resiliency studies. Jordan Konyanen, the commission’s deputy director, was identified in testimony as the staffer who will present further detail later in the day.

Tyler reviewed litigation‑related spending tied to lignite matters, saying the commission previously received a $3 million one‑time appropriation for lignite litigation and has spent about $2.7 million to date. She said the commission requested another $3 million one‑time appropriation; the Senate included $3 million but shifted the funding source from the general fund to the state infrastructure fund (SIF) in its footnotes.

On personnel and administrative matters, Tyler said the office is consolidating HR, fiscal and IT responsibilities that had been combined previously with the Department of Mineral Resources. She described two current unclassified positions in the administrative office — the executive director and the deputy — and said the office filled one grant administration position in 2023 and expects to fill a second requested position within six months. Tyler said the budget before the committee does not request additional FTEs for the 2025–27 biennium but includes restoration of the administrative director’s salary and planning authority to attract and retain future executive leaders; the salary line request mentioned in testimony was $350,000 ongoing in the executive budget and by the Senate was divided across lines (testimony referenced $245,000 to the Industrial Commission admin office and $5,000 to the Public Finance Authority on the worksheet).

Tyler also pointed out a technical change that she requested the committee correct: about $581,000 of salary funding had been moved into operating in the agency’s submitted budget and the office asked to move roughly $500,000 back to the salary line. She said the change did not alter the total appropriation but moved dollars between line items to reflect staffing realities.

Why it matters: the Industrial Commission’s administrative office holds consolidated responsibilities for agency HR, fiscal and grant operations as well as oversight of the Transmission Authority and several large grant programs. Ongoing support for the grant system and additional resources for transmission planning and litigation would change the commission’s operating costs and the assessments it makes on supported agencies.

Tyler’s presentation included references to an organizational chart and a project roadmap for the grant system contained in committee binders. Committee members pressed on funding sources and asked staff to provide detail about line‑item moves, classification of positions, and how one‑time versus ongoing requests were reflected in the Senate changes. Representative Kempfenick and Representative Brandenburg questioned the longevity of request items and the decision to use SIF for specific appropriations.

Looking ahead she said the grant system will support the administration of up to about $84 million in potential new grants and will manage roughly 147 active projects with about $130 million of committed funding, figures she provided to frame the size of grant administration work. Tyler closed by offering to provide additional detail and to make the solicitor general available on lignite litigation questions if the committee wished.