The governor is authorized to enter into such agreements and execute such assurances on behalf of the state of North Dakota as may be necessary to establish, in the event of a presidentially declared “major disaster”, a program of community disaster loans in those cases when communities are unable to meet or provide for their essential governmental functions. Upon the governor’s determination that a local government of the state will suffer a substantial loss of tax and other revenues from a disaster and has demonstrated a need for financial assistance to perform its governmental functions, the governor may apply to the federal government, on behalf of the local government, for a loan and receive and disburse the proceeds of any approved loan to any applicant local government.

Terms Used In North Dakota Code 37-17.1-20

  • Fiscal year: The fiscal year is the accounting period for the government. For the federal government, this begins on October 1 and ends on September 30. The fiscal year is designated by the calendar year in which it ends; for example, fiscal year 2006 begins on October 1, 2005 and ends on September 30, 2006.
  • following: when used by way of reference to a chapter or other part of a statute means the next preceding or next following chapter or other part. See North Dakota Code 1-01-49
  • State: when applied to the different parts of the United States, includes the District of Columbia and the territories. See North Dakota Code 1-01-49

The governor may:

1.    Determine the amount needed by any applicant local government to restore or resume its governmental functions and certify the same to the federal government. No application amount may exceed twenty-five percent of the annual operating budget of the applicant for the fiscal year in which the disaster occurs.

2. Recommend to the federal government, based upon the governor’s review, the cancellation of all or any part of repayment when, within three fiscal years following the disaster, the revenues of the local government are insufficient to meet its operating expenses, including additional disaster-related expenses of a county or city.