North Dakota’s outgoing Gov. Doug Burgum used his final budget address to state lawmakers on Dec. 4 to advocate for education, housing, and child care funding to help grow the state’s workforce.
Addressing a joint session of the state’s Legislative Assembly, Burgum noted that despite inflation and a growing population, North Dakota’s economic position remains “strong” with full reserve funds and revenues exceeding initial projections for the current fiscal period.
“Today, we offer you a budget roadmap to continue down the path of even greater prosperity with … a focus on workforce. And we do that by supporting families; supporting healthy, vibrant communities; by investing in education, critical infrastructure. And we’ll position North Dakota for even more long-term success,” the governor said.
Proposing a slightly decreased budget of just under $19.6 billion for the next two years, he encouraged support for a $95 million housing package, a $50 million educational savings fund, and $19 million for child care initiatives.
“Housing, just like child care, it’s workforce infrastructure,” Burgum said, noting that the costs and availability of both influence where workers choose to live.
His proposals focus on addressing the state’s housing shortage and expanding child care availability and affordability for families. Meanwhile, the recommended Educational Savings Account fund would serve to bolster school choice by making funds available to every student for pre-approved programs and services.
The governor also called for tax reform—including the eventual elimination of the state’s income tax.
“If you tax income … you’re taxing workforce,” Burgum said. “Energy states have figured this out. Texas, Wyoming, and Alaska all have zero income tax. Our neighbor, South Dakota, zero income tax. These are states that we compete directly with for workforce.”
Burgum presided over an overhaul of North Dakota’s income tax system in 2023, when the state replaced its five existing tax brackets with a new three-bracket system with lower rates.
His remarks come less than two weeks before his successor, Republican Kelly Armstrong, is set to be sworn in.
The two-term governor announced in January that he would not seek reelection after dropping out of the Republican presidential primary race and endorsing then-former President Donald Trump.
Trump, now president-elect, has tapped Burgum to lead both the Department of the Interior and the newly formed National Energy Council.
“This Council will oversee the path to U.S. energy dominance by cutting red tape, enhancing private sector investments across all sectors of the Economy, and by focusing on innovation over longstanding, but totally unnecessary, regulation,” Trump said in announcing Burgum’s appointment.
North Dakota is a major U.S. energy producer and ranks third in the nation in both crude oil reserves and production, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. The state also contains roughly 2 percent of the U.S. gas reserves and accounted for about 4 percent of the nation’s coal production last year.
As chairman of the National Energy Council, Burgum will also have a seat on the National Security Council, Trump said.
Burgum’s nomination for interior secretary is subject to Senate confirmation. Sen. John Hoeven (R-N.D.), who is currently the top Republican on the Senate Energy and National Resources Committee, said Burgum is “the right choice” for the job.
“I’m working to get him confirmed ASAP,” Hoeven wrote in a Nov. 26 social media post following a meeting in which the two North Dakotans reportedly strategized on how to “Make America Energy Dominant.”
