Murphy’s Law Blog 2023 | #25
Update - NDSU Research and Extension Budget

For obvious reasons, your NDSGA supports the NDSU Research and Extension budgets each and every year. Yesterday, the Senate Appropriations division (there are three) termed Government Operations went through a very large budget for the final time. Today, it appeared before the full Appropriations Committee and sailed through. Overall, I believe it was stated that they cut $17 million from what is approximately a $475 million budget which includes one-time spending on capital projects and spending from special funds. The largest slice was from the House-approved $97 million for replacing Waldron Hall with the Field Lab Facility whereby they cut $10 million. Feeling they had to do that for passage, committee members think construction can begin sooner while fundraising for the $10 million can be ongoing. From this point, the bill presumably will pass the Senate floor and go to Conference Committee in the next few weeks. As the House was more generous in the first half of the session, that final budget could possibly improve. Time will tell as always, and soon because it is Day 58 unless they cut the day short before they hammer into the floor session at 12:30 p.m.

Wednesday looks to be a nonstarter for the Legislature just as it is for nearly all in the storm, so Thursday could be Day 58.