North Dakota funds Commerce programs and sets grant reporting rules

The law provides $158,285,660 for the Department of Commerce. The appropriation covers Commerce programs, including grants and workforce programs. The funding covers July 1, 2025, through June 30, 2027.

The law provides $250,000 for each of two technology grant programs. One program serves individuals or organizations aiding missing-person searches, crime-scene reconstruction, or law-enforcement first response. The other serves a workforce training center in northwest North Dakota addressing worker shortages, including in oil and gas. The attorney general and the career and technical education department set application rules and award limits. Applicants must certify that the technology supports the stated purpose. Either agency may require one dollar in matching funds for every four dollars awarded. The grant funding covers July 1, 2025, through June 30, 2027; each agency must report on the grants during the 2025–26 interim.

The law directs Commerce to replace certain state-owned drones and provide needed staff training. The program covers state agencies with eligible drones that do not meet federal requirements. An agency is eligible if it owned the drone before January 1, 2025, and the drone does not meet the named federal requirements. Replacement drones must have equivalent capability. Agencies willing to share drones receive priority. A data system, if implemented, must keep drone data under state control. The program runs from the law’s effective date through June 30, 2027. Commerce must report on its status and spending by June 30, 2026.

The law transfers $25 million to the North Dakota Development Fund and allows Commerce to borrow up to $25 million for the fund. The transfer and any borrowed money support North Dakota Development Fund programs. The fund may use up to $10 million of the transferred money for nonprimary-sector business activities. The department must repay any loan from money available in the fund. If that money is not enough, it must request a deficiency appropriation from the next Legislative Assembly. The transfer and borrowing authority apply during the July 1, 2025, through June 30, 2027, budget period.

Commerce must report twice a year on its grant programs to the budget section. Federally funded grant programs are excluded from this reporting duty. The reports must cover each grant program’s purpose, funding history, application period, recipients and award amounts, and payment dates or expected dates. The reports are due semiannually; the text does not state the first reporting date.