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Committee discusses Main Research Center budget and Langdon seed‑plant funding
Summary
Lawmakers and agency staff reviewed differences between gubernatorial budget recommendations for the Main Research Center, discussed a possible phased approach for a Langdon seed‑plant upgrade and noted $600,000 in locally available funds; no formal appropriation decision was made.
Chairman Wanzick convened the Appropriations - Government Operations Division to review Senate Bill 2020 items for the State Board of Agricultural Research and Extension, focusing first on the Main Research Center budget and a proposed seed‑plant project at Langdon.
Committee members examined long sheets comparing the Burgum and Armstrong budget recommendations and probed specific line items for salaries, health insurance and bond payments. Dr. Lardy, speaking for the agency, summarized the long‑sheet layout, explaining it “starts out with the 25‑27 biennium base level appropriation” and then lists adjustments including salary and health insurance increases, decision packages for equipment and a request for two FTEs.
The Langdon seed‑plant request was discussed at length. Dr. Lardy said he had spoken with Randy Melhoff, the Langdon director, and that “Langdon has the capacity to use about $600,000 in special funds” from private philanthropy or local accounts to support the project. Senator Dwyer said past models for similar plants had combined state and local funding and cautioned state funds could be large: “that means that we would have to put in $2,000,000 of state funds and I'm not sure that we are gonna be able to do that.”
Committee members and staff noted Armstrong’s recommendation removed some project requests that had appeared in the Burgum proposal while increasing deferred maintenance funding. Grant and Stephanie (staff members) described technical budget mechanics: Armstrong left some dollars in place but removed authorized FTE counts, creating flexibility for agencies to add positions if they have the salary dollars. Staff explained that a vacancy/new‑FTE pool will be added as a separate line item in each one‑line agency budget so the money remains visible to the agency but requires OMB approval to transfer into payroll.
No formal motion or vote was taken on the Langdon request during the meeting. Members discussed next steps, including gathering additional financial details and a possible phased approach that would pair state funds with local fundraising. Dr. Lardy indicated the agency could return a prioritized list for storage‑shed requests and other capital needs on short notice.
