Bill
SB 2016
ND SB 2016 appropriates $79,119,917 for Job Service ND (2025-27), funds unemployment insurance modernization with Reed Act dollars, and exempts carryover for that project.
Status & timeframe
- Introduced: March 6, 2025. Filed with Secretary of State: April 16, 2025. (Bill text shows enactment provisions for the 2025–27 biennium.)
- Applies to the biennium beginning July 1, 2025 and ending June 30, 2027.
- The bill is an appropriation measure for Job Service North Dakota (JSND) and includes a limited statutory exemption related to an unemployment insurance (UI) modernization project.
Purpose
- Provide operating, personnel, grant, and project funding to Job Service North Dakota for the 2025–27 biennium and permit certain federal funds and carry-forward treatment to support an unemployment insurance computer modernization project.
Key provisions and dollar amounts
- Total appropriation (after adjustments): All funds — $79,119,917 for 2025–27.
- Base total (before adjustments): $76,002,169.
- Funding breakdown (selected line items, adjusted appropriation):
- Salaries and wages: $37,487,953
- New and vacant FTE pool: $1,614,189 (subject to transfer restrictions)
- Operating expenses: $21,028,263
- Capital assets: $20,000
- Grants: $8,054,512
- Reed Act — unemployment insurance computer modernization: $10,915,000
- Less other (non‑general) funds: $68,469,524
- Net General Fund impact (after adjustments): $10,650,393
- Full‑time equivalent positions: increases from 158.61 to 159.61 (net +1.00 FTE)
Special funding/administration rules
- One‑time funding reporting: A $2,100,000 “salaries funding source change” is identified as one‑time and must be reported to appropriations committees for the 2027–29 base budget process.
- New and vacant FTE pool: JSND may not spend the pool directly; it may request Office of Management and Budget (OMB) transfer to salaries/wages under House Bill No. 1015 guidelines.
- Additional federal income: Any federal funds received in excess of the appropriation are automatically appropriated to JSND for the 2025–27 biennium.
- Reed Act funds: $10,915,000 from Reed Act federal distributions (historical federal Reed Act allocations) is designated for developing a modernized UI computer system.
Exemption for UI modernization project
- The bill exempts $45,000,000 of federal funds derived from the State Fiscal Recovery Fund (allocated earlier in 2023 for the UI modernization project) from section 54‑44.1‑11 (a statutory provision that would otherwise limit carryover/use). This allows any unexpended funds from that appropriation to be continued and used through the 2025–27 biennium.
Who is affected / impact
- Primary beneficiary: Job Service North Dakota — supports operations, personnel, grants, and a major UI systems modernization effort.
- Indirectly affects: employers and claimants who interact with North Dakota’s unemployment insurance system (through improved systems), state budget/fund balances (through use of federal and special funds and a modest general fund increase), and workforce/staffing (one net FTE increase and possible transfers from the vacant FTE pool).
- Administrative oversight: reporting requirements to the appropriations committees and OMB transfer authority for FTE pool funds.
Procedural notes
- The bill includes one‑time items that are not added to the base for 2027–29 and requires reporting to the seventieth legislative assembly on their use.
- The exemption facilitates carryover of ARPA/state fiscal recovery funds previously appropriated for the UI modernization project.
Compiled from official sources — confirm details with the bill’s official record.
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