Transportation

This North Dakota concurrent resolution urges the federal government, Congress, and the North Dakota Governor to end the Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (DBE) program, which provides contracting preferences for certain businesses. It cites the program's alleged cost burdens on contractors and references a court case (Mid-America Milling Co. v. USDOT) finding its race-based criteria potentially unconstitutional. The resolution specifically directs North Dakota's Department of Transportation to terminate its DBE program and supports legal efforts to eliminate the program. As a symbolic resolution, it expresses legislative position but does not change current law.

HB 1037 allocates $750,000 to each of five state departments (agriculture commissioner, attorney general, transportation department, health and human services, and career and technical education) for grants to support autonomous technology use. It provides funding for agriculture businesses to inspect property with drones, law enforcement for missing persons searches and crime scenes, and transportation entities to monitor highways using uncrewed aircraft systems. Recipients must match state funds at a 1:4 ratio and report grant usage to the legislature. The funds are one-time, covering the 2025-2027 biennium, with each department required to submit reports detailing grant recipients and expenditures.

HB 1182 allocates $611,000 from North Dakota's Strategic Investment and Improvements Fund to Dickey County for a specific road project. The funding would replace a culvert system and raise the road grade to address recurring flooding on a local road. This one-time appropriation is intended for the 2025-2027 biennium and directly supports Dickey County's infrastructure needs. The bill does not create new regulations but provides targeted financial support for a flood mitigation project.

HB 1202 would allocate $3 million from North Dakota's flexible transportation fund to a specific county impacted by a state supreme court case involving a drainage project. The grant, intended for a single two-year period (2025-2027), covers project costs including litigation expenses, inflation adjustments, and other drainage-related expenditures. It overrides standard fund designation rules under section 24-02-37.3, directing the Department of Transportation to distribute the funds as a one-time grant. The bill failed to pass in committee and on the floor during the 2025 legislative session.