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Appropriations committee approves $400,000 one‑time for trade office; director outlines plan for part‑time Singapore presence
Summary
The committee agreed to move $400,000 to one‑time funding for the North Dakota Trade Office. Executive Director Drew Combs described current balances, membership revenue, audits, and plans to contract a part‑time representative in Singapore for roughly $35,000 annually.
The Appropriations — Government Operations Division approved a $400,000 one‑time addition to the North Dakota Trade Office budget and discussed how the office spends its base appropriation and membership revenue.
Drew Combs, executive director of the North Dakota Trade Office, told the committee he estimated roughly “about 500 left” (meaning $500,000 remaining in trade‑office funds) for the rest of the biennium, and he described planned activities that include establishing an overseas, contracted presence in Singapore. “We were actually gonna establish a, an office overseas…we've decided on Singapore,” Combs said, adding the office would contract for space and a part‑time person rather than hire state employees.
Combs estimated the initial cost at roughly “35 a year, 30 5 thousand” and said the part‑time arrangement would allow a North Dakota placard and presence without creating a full overseas staff operation. He also explained that the trade office is a public‑private partnership that requires memberships; standard membership fees are about $2,700 and membership revenue generates roughly “200,000” per year.
Committee members questioned whether additional one‑time funding should instead be base funding. Representative Kempenich, Representative Fisher and others favored one‑time treatment for the $400,000 so future legislatures can reassess. Representative Bosch and others asked about spend‑down balances and audit practices; Combs said the trade office has had “four” audits over two years and described them as clean.
Why it matters: committee members framed the trade office as an instrument for export promotion and foreign direct investment. Combs argued that many international markets require repeated personal outreach and local presence and that a visible office — even contracted and part‑time — supports North Dakota exporters.
Action recorded in the transcript: committee members directed staff to place $400,000 in the one‑time column on the worksheet; the transcript records committee consensus rather than a roll‑call vote.
