ND Senate passes bonding bill at level House set

The bonding bill is on its way to North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum.

The Senate passed HB 1431 unanimously today (Thu).  The bill is back to the House level of $680 million.

Senators considered a $1.1 billion bill. Senate Majority Leader Rich Wardner of Dickinson says the Senate Appropriations Committee looked at it and felt that “adding things would only gum up the process.”

Wardner says it’s exactly the same as the House passed it – meaning it will not have to be in a conference committee. He says such things as infrastructure for state buildings, and $30 million for township roads are out of the bill. But

Wardner says those projects will be funded in other ways, including federal money.

And Wardner says the earnings from the state’s Legacy Fund have come in higher than expected.

Still in the bonding bill – money for the F-M Diversion, the Mouse River Flood Control Project, and a new ag building on the NDSU Campus. Wardner says he believes Governor Burgum is also on-board with this.

(ND PPR)