Tag Archives: spending

TOM STROMME/Tribune Eric Hardmeyer, left, president of the Bank of North Dakota speaks with Pam Sharp, director of the Office of Management and Budget, center, and Governor Jack Dalrymple after the governor announced a 4.05 percent cutback in spending for all state agencies to a meeting of directors of state agencies and elected officials on Monday in the Brynhild Haugland Room of the state capitol in Bismarck.
Eric Hardmeyer, left, president of the Bank of North Dakota speaks with Pam Sharp, director of the Office of Management and Budget, center, and Governor Jack Dalrymple after the governor announced a 4.05 percent cutback in spending for all state agencies to a meeting of directors of state agencies and elected officials on Monday, Feb. 1, 2016, in the Brynhild Haugland Room of the state capitol in Bismarck. Tom Stromme / Bismarck Tribune

North Dakota Lawmakers Have Got to Fix the Revenue Forecasting Problem

- August 3, 2016 - ,

North Dakota Lawmakers Have Got to Fix the Revenue Forecasting Problem

- August 3, 2016 - ,

Here’s something a lot of people – even those who follow politics in North Dakota closely – don’t understand about our state’s budgeting process. When lawmakers make a budget they aren’t spending money the state has. It’s not like the appropriations they make are drawn on a gigantic state checking account which runs a balance.…

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Senate Minority Leader Mac Schneider speaks at the state capitol in Bismarck. House Minority Leader Kenton Onstad stands to the left, while Senator Joan Heckaman looks on from the right.

North Dakota Democrats Think You’re Not Paying Enough in Taxes

- July 1, 2016 - ,

The drift of North Dakota’s Democrats into political irrelevance often gets blamed on how far left their national party has gone. It’s hard to win elections in North Dakota when your fellow Democrats nationally are advancing (as one example) a federal regulatory regime which would be devastating for North Dakota’s primary industries. But there is…

Doug Burgum gets a briefing on the Cardinal IG plant Friday, May 27, 2016, in Fargo. Michael Vosburg / Forum Photo Editor
Doug Burgum gets a briefing on the Cardinal IG plant Friday, May 27, 2016, in Fargo. Michael Vosburg / Forum Photo Editor

Doug Burgum Shows up in Bismarck for Budget Section Meeting

- June 27, 2016 - ,

Good job, Doug Burgum. I’m serious. I am impressed that the Republican gubernatorial nominee turned up in Bismarck for a meeting of the Legislature’s budget section. He certainly caused quite a stir with lawmakers who have been texting me about it this morning. You can see him at right speaking with NDUS Chancellor Mark Hagerott…

N.D. Gov. Jack Dalrymple speaks Thursday at the summit on economic growth that his office helped to host in downtown Fargo. Dave Olson/The Forum
N.D. Gov. Jack Dalrymple speaks at a summit on economic growth that his office helped to host in downtown Fargo. Dave Olson/The Forum

North Dakota Shouldn’t Be Using A Boom-Era Budget As Baseline For A Post-Boom Budget

- May 5, 2016 - ,

Yesterday Governor Jack Dalrymple set budget guidelines for state agencies asking them to come in at 10 percent less than their budgets for the current 2015-2017 biennium. Though really what Dalrymple is ordering is a 5.96 percent reduction. State agencies are already reducing their budgets from what was appropriated by 4.04 percent to comply with…

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Can We Calm Down About North Dakota’s Spending Cuts?

- February 18, 2016 - ,

I get it. I do. North Dakota has been able to increase spending every biennium for a long, long time. For a generation the news about the state has been, for the most part, about low unemployment and steady economic growth supporting ever-larger budgets. When we start getting headlines about falling tax revenues prompting mandatory,…

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David Flynn: Where North Dakota Spends Its Money (Compared To The Rest Of The Country)

- July 30, 2015 - ,

Lately my thoughts turn to public finances in North Dakota. In particular I am thinking about the status of public pensions in North Dakota, both on their own terms and compared to other places. One of the things you need to consider when discussing an issue like pensions is the general financial context of the…

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Dalrymple Proposes 12.7 Percent Increase In On-Going Spending

- December 3, 2014 - ,

Governor Jack Dalrymple delivered his biennial budget address this morning. You can watch the whole thing above (minus about a minute when my stream glitched for some reason), and read the prepared remarks here. Below are some of the highlights. “The budget plan is ambitious,” Dalrymple said. “We must always be cautious of overexpansion, a…

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Despite Oil Price Worries, Jack Dalrymple Budget Expected To Set Another Record

- December 3, 2014 - ,

Oil is a huge part of North Dakota’s budget. Last calendar year more than half of the revenues collected by the Tax Department were direct oil tax revenues (not counting indirect impacts on things like the sales tax). So with oil prices faltering, some policy makers are worried. But Governor Jack Dalrymlpe’s office doesn’t seem…

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Rod St. Aubyn: For New Legislators "Swearing In" Will Be Followed By "Swearing At"

- November 10, 2014 - ,

Now that the election is over, the ND Legislature will soon be meeting for their Organizational Session in early December.  As I often say, this is the time that newly elected or reelected legislators are “sworn in” which is quickly followed by being “sworn at”. Soon the individual caucuses will be selecting their “leaders” to…

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North Dakota K-12 Enrollment Is Up 2.35 Percent, State Spending Up Almost 200 Percent

- October 16, 2014 - ,

The Legislature’s interim Education Funding committee kicked out a draft bill for K-12 education funding yesterday, and according to this report from Mike Nowtazki it would appropriate over $2 billion in the 2015-2017 biennium, a more than $400 million increase. Now, usually when voters hear education spending, the only thing they want to hear is…

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