Governor testifies on eliminating unneeded North Dakota boards
North Dakota Gov. Kelly Armstrong gives his first State of the State address Jan. 7, 2025, at the Capitol. (Kyle Martin/For the North Dakota Monitor)
Gov. Kelly Armstrong went into a legislative committee Thursday to pitch his idea of creating a task force to eliminate unnecessary North Dakota government boards.
'Every board comes with a cost, even with volunteer members,' Armstrong told the Senate's State and Local Government Committee, chaired by Sen. Kristin Roers, R-Fargo, the lead sponsor of the bill.
Armstrong, a Republican, referred to a 'national trend' to shrink government.
Under Senate Bill 2308, the state labor commissioner would lead a task force including members from Senate and House and representatives from cities, counties and the business community. The bill sets an Oct. 1, 2026, deadline to provide a report on what boards might be dissolved or combined and which are essential. Zach Greenberg is the interim labor commissioner.
Armstrong said the state has more than 150 state government related boards with about 1,500 members — with the governor appointing about two-thirds of those members.
After Armstrong's testimony, there was supportive testimony from government and industry officials such as Ron Ness, president of the North Dakota Petroleum Council. Ness said the Energy Policy Committee that formed in 2008 as the North Dakota oil boom was ramping up has now become dormant.
There were other groups identified by the bill that testified in defense of their organizations, such as the North Dakota Board of Professional Soil Classifiers.
The committee did not take immediate action on the bill.
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