North Dakota lawmakers unveiled a bill on Tuesday that would allow for spending a portion of Legacy Fund money on state projects.
Under the new bill, 20 percent of the money coming into the Legacy Fund would be used for infrastructure and other projects. The fund currently has about $8 billion from the state’s oil and gas tax revenues.
Bismarck Republican Representative Mike Nathe sponsored the bill, and Insurance Commissioner Jon Godfread says it will more directly help North Dakotans.
“We do these investments all over the world right now, all over the country. This would just be targeting these investments for North Dakota. It’s important to point out that the legacy fund isn’t a pension fund. It has a different purpose. Much of what we manage at the state investment board is teacher retirement, public employee retirement, insurance department operations, and the legacy fund’s back-end liability, or what it’s responsible for is the people of North Dakota,” Godfread said.
Currently, two-thirds of both chambers need to vote to spend any of the Legacy Fund’s principal.
