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Budget Section: brief agency reports — courts, treasurer, heritage and trust funds, university projects
Summary
A series of informational reports covered judicial and legislative staffing funds, outstanding state checks, legacy conservation grants and trust fund performance, and university capital project reporting.
The Budget Section heard a sequence of informational presentations that did not require immediate committee action.
- Judicial Branch: Don Wolf summarized use of the new and vacant FTE funding pool for the 23–25 biennium, including transfers to salaries and realized savings from vacancies.
- Legislative Council: Alan Knutson reported the Council’s FTE pool results (one new FTE filled, vacancy savings exceeded the budgeted amount, and most savings tracked to salary differences and accrued‑leave payouts).
- State Treasurer: Thomas Beadle presented the annual report on outstanding checks/warrants (NDCC 54‑11‑01), noting a small increase in outstanding dollars (from about $8.2M to $8.5M) and outlining October transfers to unclaimed property and interagency efforts to reunite payees with funds.
- Department of Commerce: Ricky Rourke updated the committee on Renaissance Fund Organizations — most RFOs have closed, one active RFO remains (Hope), and historical credits authorized totaled about $10.5M. The RFO program was sunset in 2023.
- Industrial Commission / Outdoor Heritage Fund: Brenna Jessen summarized the fund (established 2013): about $95.48M in income since inception, $103.5M awarded to 260 projects, decommitments and returned commitments explained, and a new grants software tool scheduled for a November 1, 2025 go‑live to improve reporting and reimbursement.
- Board of University and School Lands: Joseph Herringer reported trust fund balances and investment performance; the common schools trust fund reached roughly $7.8 billion (May snapshot) and the SIF is managed with a conservative fixed‑income posture to meet distribution needs.
- ND University System and Council on the Arts: Jamie Wilkie and Jess Christie provided required biennial reports on capital projects and a single line‑item transfer respectively.
All presentations were informational; several presenters offered to return with additional detail on specific data points requested by committee members.
