Free School Meals Bill Advances in North Dakota Legislative Committee

(Dan Koeck/For the North Dakota Monitor)

(Jeff Beach – North Dakota Monitor) – A legislative committee supported using $140 million from North Dakota’s general fund to pay for school meals instead of using the state’s Legacy Fund.

The House Education Committee recommended passage of House Bill 1475, that would pay for lunches and breakfasts, ensuring that school districts will not be stuck with unpaid meal balances.

The key difference between House Bill 1475, which had a hearing last week, and House Bill 1553, is where the funding would come from to pay for the meals.

House Bill 1553 would use money from the state Legacy Fund earnings, instead of using money from the general fund. The Legacy Fund has ballooned to $11 billion through oil tax revenue and investments.

Rep. LaurieBeth Hager, D-Fargo, the primary sponsor of the bill tapping the Legacy Fund, said she recognized that the general fund spending bill was “more palatable” after the committee gave her bill a do-not-pass recommendation.

“The time has come,” she said of state-funded school meals.

The general fund bill passed on an 8-5 vote; the Legacy Fund bill failed on an 8-5 vote.