By: Michael Achterling (ND Monitor)
The North Dakota Legislature removed $50 million in state funding for the Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library endowment, but indicated the proposal may be back next session.
The funding was removed from the Department of Commerce budget in a compromise between the House and the Senate. The House earlier had advanced the proposal to help the library with operational costs, but some objected to the funding being proposed so late in the session.
“There have been no hearings or any kind of consideration in the Senate,” Sen. Michael Dwyer, R-Bismarck, said during floor discussion on Senate Bill 2018.
The library is under construction in Medora near Theodore Roosevelt National Park, with a grand opening planned for July 4, 2026.
Lawmakers in 2019 approved $50 million in state funding for a library endowment.
Rep. Mike Nathe, R-Bismarck, advocated for additional library endowment funding, which would have been contingent on the library matching the dollars with private funds. On Friday, he said legislators could revisit the proposal in the session that begins in January 2027. At that time, lawmakers would have a better idea of the operational costs after the library has been operating for a few months.
“We can then take a look at it at a little bit more leisurely pace and take our time to delve into this,” Nathe said.
Several lawmakers said they were told in 2019 that there would not be additional state funding requested for the presidential library.
“I do remember it being expressed as a one-time funding type of deal,” said Rep. Jeff Hoverson, R-Minot. He added the critics of the original funding were proven right six years later.
The state Parks and Recreation budget also contains a $70 million line of credit through the state-owned Bank of North Dakota for the library, continuing what lawmakers approved in 2023. The loan, which can only be used for construction costs, is meant to keep the project moving if there are donations that have been pledged but not yet received by the library foundation. So far, the library has not accessed the line of credit.
The budget for the state Industrial Commission includes up to $5 million for the presidential library to pay for some of the interest to the Bank of North Dakota if the line of credit is used.
The Industrial Commission budget had not been approved by lawmakers as of Friday morning.
Previously, Matt Briney, spokesperson for the Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library Foundation, said the group had raised $286 million in private donations as of mid-April.
The overall $158 million Department of Commerce budget sent to the governor includes $9 million for the state to replace state-owned drones that were made in China, which supporters say pose security concerns. The Senate had previously rejected a similar proposal, but compromised on a reduced amount in the Commerce budget.
The bill also contains a name change for the Office of Legal Immigration, which lawmakers established in 2023. The new name would be the Global Talent Office, to better reflect the agency’s work.
