North Dakota Highway Patrol outlines $91.8M executive budget, seeks equipment and staffing restorations

Colonel Daniel Haugen, superintendent of the North Dakota Highway Patrol, presented the agency's budget and program priorities to the Senate Appropriations Government Operations Division during a public hearing, saying the executive recommendation for the 2025–27 biennium is roughly $91.8 million compared with a $71.1 million appropriation for the current biennium.

The Highway Patrol emphasized continuing traffic-safety enforcement and expanded public-safety roles, citing speeding, unbelted drivers and impaired driving as the three primary contributors to serious injury and fatal crashes. “If we could eliminate those three violations, a lot of lives would be saved,” Haugen said, summarizing the agency’s core public-safety focus.

Why it matters: the agency’s budget request covers operational needs (salaries, motor pool, equipment), technology and training that affect statewide emergency response, crash reconstruction, interdiction of illicit narcotics and highway safety. Several requests also respond to higher equipment and fleet costs and to a projected funding shortfall in the Highway Patrol retirement fund.

Key figures and requests

- Executive recommendation and current appropriation: Haugen described the executive recommendation for 2025–27 as about $91.8 million; the current 2023–25 appropriation after adjustments was described as $71.1 million. - Staffing and vacancies: the Highway Patrol reported 171 sworn troopers and 34 civilian staff; the agency filled 12 trooper positions added…