North Dakota Lawmakers Approve Needs

North Dakota House. (Kyle Martin/For the North Dakota Monitor)

(By: Amy Dalrymple, Jeff Beach, Michael Achterling and Mary Steurer. North Dakota Monitor) – North Dakota lawmakers adjourned after approving a total state budget of $20.3 billion for 2025-27, with investments including a historic property tax package for homeowners, a new State Hospital and funding to address overcrowding at jails and prisons.

The overall budget, which includes federal dollars and other special funds, is a 3.5% increase over the current two-year budget cycle.

“We managed to address all of our needs and some of our wants, and we did it without raising any taxes. We did it without borrowing any money, and we provided record (property tax) relief,” said Senate Majority Leader David Hogue, R-Minot, as lawmakers adjourned and fund spending for 2025-27 is $6.25 billion, an increase of 2.6% over 2023-25.

Though legislators started the 2025 session with excess revenue, they’re keeping a cautious eye to the future with the state’s growth projected to slow amid lower oil prices, declining oil tax revenue and uncertainty about tariffs. Lawmakers also funded investments that aim to spur new oil production and diversify the state’s economy.