Senate Appropriations Committee, Government Operations Division members gave a due‑pass recommendation to Senate Concurrent Resolution 4,001 after a public hearing and staff briefing.

Levi Kinshitsky, fiscal analyst with the Legislative Council, told the committee the resolution authorizes the Budget Section to hold required legislative hearings on federal block grants when the Legislature is not in session. "Some concurrent, resolution 4,001 authorizes the budget section of legislative management to hold the required legislative hearings on state plans for the receipt and expenditure of new or revised block grants passed by congress," Kinshitsky said. He said the authorization would extend through September 2027 and that the resolution is similar to one the Legislature has approved for several past bienniums.

The hearing arose because the Legislative Council survey of state agencies found that only one block grant now requires a public hearing by the Legislative Assembly: the Community Services Block Grant, which Kinshitsky said is administered by the Department of Commerce’s Division of Community Services. Kinshitsky summarized the grant’s purpose: "The Community Services Block Grant provides funding for services, and activities for the poor, particularly the elderly, homeless individuals, and migrants," he said, and added that the Department of Commerce reported it anticipates about $7,000,000 in federal funds for the CSBG for the 2025–27 biennium.

Ben Fall, Community Services Block Grant program administrator for the Division of Community Services, described the CSBG as a federal anti‑poverty grant distributed to seven community action agencies. Fall said the program provides housing, health, food and other direct services and reported recent results: CSBG supported more than 36,000 unduplicated individuals in 2022–23, including about 25,100 people who obtained safe, affordable housing and roughly 1,200 veterans served through supportive services for veteran families. "This is a required hearing for the state of North Dakota to accept the community services block grant, and it is a mandatory requirement by the federal government," Fall told the committee.

Committee action and vote

Senator Dwyer moved that the committee give a due‑pass recommendation to Senate Concurrent Resolution 4,001; Senator Burkhart seconded the motion. The clerk took a roll call on the recommendation. Recorded aye votes were: Senator Wanzeck; Senator Burkhart; Senator Dwyer; Senator Everly; and Senator Sickler. The motion carried; the committee recommended due pass to the full Senate for S.C.R. 4,001.

Why it matters

If approved by both chambers, the resolution would let the Budget Section convene legislative hearings on any federal block grant that is newly passed or materially revised and that would otherwise require a hearing while the Legislature is not in regular session. Kinshitsky said federal rules require a public notice and a public hearing on state plans for receiving and spending block‑grant funds; the Legislative Council posted notices in the Bismarck Tribune and the Fargo Forum for the CSBG hearing reported to the committee.

Next steps

Committee members closed the public hearing and moved on to the Department of Commerce’s agency‑level hearing on the department’s requested budget for the 2025–27 biennium. The committee’s due‑pass recommendation on S.C.R. 4,001 sends the resolution forward to the full Senate for consideration.