Three bills to support small towns, groceries and housing see momentum in Legislature

Yahoo

21-02-2025

Feb. 21—BISMARCK, N.D. — A bill that would create a rural catalyst committee, grant program and fund to support North Dakota towns with populations of 8,500 or fewer residents has received an amendment from Senate Appropriations to lower the funding by $25 million. Two other bills, both favored by rural leaders, have also made forward motion.
The three bills have been on the radar of Dawn Mandt, executive director of the Red River Regional Council. She's been wondering about producing a legislative update from the council's vantage point, she said.
"It's kind of a flurry of stuff," she said.
Senate Bill 2390
, introduced by Sen. Terry Wanzek, R-Jamestown, initially asked for a fund of $30 million to support small towns in North Dakota. It was previously amended to ensure 50% of the funds would be designated to towns of fewer than 1,000 residents. On Wednesday, Feb. 19, Senate Appropriations amended the bill down to $5 million and added that the funds could be used for rural grocery stores. The bill as amended was given a do-pass recommendation with a vote of 14-2.
Other bills that have seen activity in the Legislature are Senate Bills 2225 and 2228. SB 2225, introduced by Sen. Brad Bekkedahl, R-Williston, aims to provide an appropriation to the North Dakota Department of Commerce to address housing shortages in the state through a housing for opportunity, mobility and empowerment grant program totaling $50 million, or as much of the sum as necessary. It would be a one-time funding item. The bill also called for the act to be declared an emergency measure.
SB 2225's emergency clause was carried with a vote of 37-9 and the bill has been introduced to the House and referred to House Appropriations. Testimony for the bill has included city leaders and regional leaders, including Mandt.
In 2024
, Mandt said housing may be reaching a point of crisis in North Dakota during a building session as part of a housing study commissioned by the Red River Community Housing Development Organization. Lisa Rotvold, the organization's executive director, referenced the results of the study in her testimony in support of the bill.
"The study identified a need for approximately 4,800 additional housing units in the rural parts of Region 4 by the year 2030," she said in written testimony. "Of course, there are nowhere near 4,800 buildable lots in the rural communities of Region 4."
Another need in rural North Dakota is grocery stores. SB 2228 proposes an appropriation to the North Dakota Department of Commerce for a rural grocery store sustainability grant program.
Introduced by Sen. Janne Myrdal, R-Edinburg, the bill asks for a one-time fund of $1 million or however much of the sum is necessary to prioritize supporting existing rural grocery stores, as well as feasibility costs for reopening a grocery store in a community that doesn't have one. SB 2228 was given a "do pass" recommendation by Senate Appropriations on Feb. 19 with an 11-5 vote.
Food deserts, defined by the United States Department of Agriculture as areas with low access to healthy foods,
have been an issue in North Dakota
. SB 2228 is a continuation of previous legislation that has been introduced to combat the existence of food deserts.
SB 2273
, also led by Myrdal in 2023, created a rural food sustainability grant program. SB 2228 was amended on Feb. 12 to say funds could not be used for food or off-site processing following testimony.
"This is an old friend from last session," Myrdal said during a Senate floor session. "We heard several testimonies of how well it's worked. We also heard some testimony on maybe some places the money went that wasn't the intent of the legislators."