Committee hears bill to create cash-management board, sponsor seeks amendment giving Bank of North Dakota larger role

Chairman Hedlund opened a hearing on House Bill 12‑78, which would create a board to follow through on recommendations from an interim comprehensive cash‑management study intended to improve returns on state cash.

Representative Mike Lefour, sponsor of the bill and a member from District 37, told the House Finance and Tax Committee the legislation would create a board composed of legislative designees, Office of Management and Budget representatives, the state treasurer, the Bank of North Dakota and a governor’s appointee. "In the original version of the bill that you have in front of you, many of the duties were assigned to the state treasurer. However, I'm providing [an] amendment ... which puts more of the responsibilities within the Bank of North Dakota," Lefour said.

The bill as presented directs the board to review and develop policies and procedures for investing and managing monies in the state treasury, improve transparency and data for policymakers, forecast agency cash‑flow needs and identify cash‑management practices that better align investment holdings with inflows and outflows. The sponsor said the board would be authorized to create cash‑flow structuring arrangements and could commingle funds for investment purposes where appropriate.

Bank of North Dakota CEO Don Morgan testified as a technical resource and described the proposed structure as giving voice to three key decisionmakers: the state treasurer, the Bank of North Dakota and executive‑branch oversight (the governor or Industrial Commission). Morgan said the board will need to analyze "process changes, some possible mission changes to a specific agency," and that the structure in the amendment keeps those stakeholders aligned.

Committee members pressed sponsors and the bank on governance and confidentiality. Representative Steiner asked whether the board’s chair would vote and whether an even number of voting members could produce deadlocks; Lefour and Morgan said the issue could be discussed further. Representative Porter asked whether the board would have authority to hold closed meetings or executive sessions to handle any confidential banking information; Morgan said the intent was not to discuss private client details and that conversations should be "more of a holistic financial analysis on a lot of public data," but he acknowledged the committee had not inserted explicit confidentiality language.

Lefour asked the committee to adopt his amendment and give the bill a "do pass" recommendation as amended; no formal vote was recorded in the hearing.

Supporters and technical witnesses — including representatives of the Bank of North Dakota and legislative members — remained available for questions but the transcript shows no final committee action on the bill during the hearing.