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Senate transportation committee advances bill to let tribes apply to Special Road Fund
Summary
The Senate Transportation Committee gave a do-pass recommendation to House Bill 1051, which would add tribal governments to the list of entities eligible to apply for Special Road Fund grants for access roads to recreation and historic sites.
The North Dakota Senate Transportation Committee on a voice vote advanced House Bill 1051, which would allow tribal governments to apply for money from the Special Road Fund for construction and maintenance of access roads to recreation and historic sites.
The bill was introduced and supported in committee by Chad Oren, deputy director for planning with the North Dakota Department of Transportation, who told the panel that HB 1051 "proposes to amend section 3 of 24-02-37 ... to include tribal entities among the list of applicants eligible to request funds from the SRF." The department recommended a do-pass on the bill.
The Special Road Fund, Oren said, is financed from about 80% of the interest earned on the state highway fund and yields roughly $1.5 million per disbursement cycle for grant awards. The fund is used for access roads to parks, fishing and camping areas, and historic sites; political subdivisions or state agencies may apply and the special road committee may require a local match. Because tribal governments are not currently defined as political subdivisions or state agencies under the statute, they are ineligible to apply; HB 1051 would change that.
Committee members asked how the fund operates and how frequently it is awarded. Oren said the committee solicits applications biennially; in 2022 there were 20 applicants requesting about $4.2 million and the committee awarded seven projects totaling about $1.25 million. For the 2024 solicitation he said the department received 33 applications requesting about $7.7 million and the committee had not yet made awards. He also listed recent funded projects by county, including Claussen Springs (Barnes County), Brewer Lake access (Cass County), Mount Carmel Dam access (Cavalier County), Fortville Dam access, Indian Creek Dam access (Hettinger County) and the Tappan/Ackland Lake road (Kidder County).
Senators asked whether expanding eligibility to tribes would reduce awards for township or county roads and how the fund fits into state cash management; Oren said applications would be evaluated by the committee in the same competitive process and that the SRF is constrained by the fund's interest income. Committee members also noted the change mirrors prior adjustments made to other funds to include tribal entities.
A motion for a do-pass recommendation on HB 1051 was moved and seconded in committee. The clerk called the roll and members recorded aye votes (Chairman Clemens; Vice Chair Corey; Senators Hogan, Klein, Paulson and Romo). The motion passed and the committee agreed to find a senator to carry the bill to the next stage; a committee member volunteered to carry it.
If enacted, HB 1051 would amend the specified state statute to permit tribal governments to apply for Special Road Fund grants; the bill does not appropriate construction funding itself and would not change the SRF's existing committee review or matching requirements.
