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Appropriations panel examines governor’s office budget: proposed Fargo post, IT and internship funding
Summary
The Appropriations — Education and Environment Committee reviewed items in House Bill 101 related to the governor’s office budget, including a proposed eastern-office position (listed on the long sheet at about $302,000 for salaries and rent), information-technology support and licensing, and internship funding and pay assumptions.
The Appropriations — Education and Environment Committee reviewed House Bill 101 line items for the governor’s office, discussing a proposed eastern-office position, information-technology costs and internship funding.
Committee members examined a long-sheet entry showing roughly $302,000 for a Fargo-based position (salaries and rent). Roz Layton, chief of staff in the office of the governor, told the committee the post is intended to give the lieutenant governor and the governor’s office a presence on the eastern side of the state for meetings, constituent work and to monitor major projects. “The lieutenant governor lives in Fargo, and it would be an opportunity for her to have a home base when not in session, have meetings, host meetings, have working space, and a place to work out of,” Layton said.
Layton said the rent figure—$30,000—was an estimate based on similar state-leased space in the area and that OMB’s leasing staff had identified potential options but would not finalize space until funding is approved. She described the role as not necessarily fixed to Fargo but intended to serve the eastern population center and represent the governor’s office at local economic-development and community events.
Committee staff and agency witnesses clarified technology and operating costs. Steph (state budget staff) described a $27,028 desktop-support figure that OMB put into the base after an estimate from the North Dakota Information Technology (NDIT) desktop-support inflator: “We got the inflator from NDIT, and that's exactly how much it'll cost for them to keep computers on their desks and to keep them with phone lines,” she said. Staff also identified a licensing line of roughly $21,000 described as for “ChatGP and AI tools,” which was presented as an NDIT licensing estimate.
The panel discussed internship and temporary-salary lines. Committee materials include a line labeled internship funding showing $21,020,000; during the discussion a committee member referenced that figure and Roz Layton described the governor’s office’s current legal intern pay as about $35,100 and said typical internships run approximately four months (academic schedules vary). Layton also noted the governor’s office could leverage a 50/50 internship match held by OMB to extend the program; OMB’s match pool was described as roughly $500,000–$550,000 in general funds.
Other technical and administrative lines drew questions: $15,000 for staff professional development (Western Governors Association, National Governors Association conferences), a travel/travel-operations line that covers travel for the governor, lieutenant governor and staff, and a $13 rounding item staff explained as an accounting artifact tied to benefit/line-item adjustments. Committee staff also noted the state plane budget is managed by the Department of Transportation.
No formal committee action or vote on these lines was recorded during the discussion; members asked staff to update long sheets and provide clarifications for the salary and pay-plan items.
Ending
Committee members agreed to return updated long sheets reflecting pay-plan adjustments. The hearing continued to other budget lines after the governor’s office witnesses were excused.
