Committee hears bill to tie state lodging reimbursement to federal GSA rate

The State and Local Government Committee opened and closed a hearing on Senate Bill 2084, which would amend Century Code 44-08-04(2)(d) to set the state lodging reimbursement rate equal to the federal General Services Administration (GSA) rate for North Dakota and give the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) authority to apply an internal policy when a federal rate is not available.

The change matters to state and local employees, and legislators who travel on state business, because committee witnesses said many hotels no longer honor the current state rate and some employees have had to find other rooms or pay out of pocket. Supporters said adopting the federal GSA rate would expand usable options and reduce time spent securing lodging.

Joe Goplin, director of the fiscal management division at the Office of Management and Budget, told the committee that Section 1 of the bill would “amend and reenact Century Code 44-08-04 subsection 2(d) related to what’s referred to as the state lodging rate.” He told members the law currently directs the state rate…