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Panel backs making small cities eligible for agriculture infrastructure grants
Summary
The Senate Agriculture and Veterans Affairs Committee gave House Bill 12-35 a favorable recommendation to allow cities of 1,500 residents or fewer to be eligible for the state's agriculture infrastructure grant program, expanding access to so-called "last-mile" road and utility funding.
The Senate Agriculture and Veterans Affairs Committee gave House Bill 12-35 a favorable recommendation on a due-pass motion after a hearing where bill sponsor Representative Jim Greenach (District 28) and agricultural stakeholders described the change as a modest expansion to the Ag Infrastructure Grant Program.
Representative Jim Greenach, the bill sponsor, told the committee the measure clarifies that cities with populations of 1,500 or fewer are eligible for grant funding and said he worked with "Commissioner Gehring" and the Department of Agriculture to set the population cap. "1,500 happened to be that, that magic number or the sweet spot," Greenach said, adding that qualifying the city portion of the program at that size would add about 300 small towns statewide.
The bill would not add new base funding; Greenach and other witnesses said the program draws on the Ag Diversification and Development Fund, which the Legislature last session set at $25 million. Matt Perdue, testifying for the North Dakota Farmers Union, explained that up to $10 million of that fund may be reserved for agriculture infrastructure grants. Perdue said those grants are intended to support "last-mile" projects such as road, sewer, water and utility work to accommodate value-added agricultural businesses and noted statutory caps: up to $1,250,000 for a single road or bridge project and up to $350,000 for a single utility project.
Matt Gardner, executive director of the North Dakota League of Cities, and other municipal representatives told the committee the change would help connect small towns to markets and utilities and that many qualifying projects are "right close by" existing services. Taylee Davis, Ag Development Specialist for Commissioner Goring, told senators that the agriculture commissioner and the Department of Transportation review and decide grant awards.
Committee discussion focused on the population threshold and program administration. Senator Weber moved a due-pass recommendation; the motion carried on a recorded roll call. The hearing record shows support from agricultural groups and municipal associations and no testimony in opposition.
If the bill becomes law, eligible small cities would be able to apply for the existing infrastructure grants under the current fund structure; the bill does not appropriate new money. The committee transcript references the North Dakota Century Code as the statutory vehicle for the program and Senate Bill 23-27 as a pending appropriation measure that, if enacted, would replenish the Ag Diversification and Development Fund.
