The state highway fund, created by law and not otherwise appropriated and allocated, must be applied and used for the purposes named in this section, as follows:

Terms Used In North Dakota Code 24-02-37

  • Appropriation: The provision of funds, through an annual appropriations act or a permanent law, for federal agencies to make payments out of the Treasury for specified purposes. The formal federal spending process consists of two sequential steps: authorization
  • Commissioner: means the director of the department of transportation of this state, acting directly or through authorized agents as provided in section 24-02-01. See North Dakota Code 24-01-01.1
  • Department: means the department of transportation of this state as provided by section 24-02-01. See North Dakota Code 24-01-01.1
  • 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
  • State highway system: means the system of state principal roads designated by the director of the department, the responsibility for which is lodged in the department. See North Dakota Code 24-01-01.1
  • United States: includes the District of Columbia and the territories. See North Dakota Code 1-01-49
  • year: means twelve consecutive months. See North Dakota Code 1-01-33

1.    Except for investment income as provided in subsection 3, the fund must be applied in the following order of priority:

a.    The cost of maintaining the state highway system.

b.    The cost of construction and reconstruction of highways in the amount necessary to match, in whatever proportion may be required, federal aid granted to this state by the United States government for road purposes in North Dakota.

Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the department of transportation may repay the United States department of transportation for previous related expenditures from current biennium appropriations to allow the department to reobligate the federal aid to other federal aid projects.

c.    Any portion of the highway fund not allocated as provided in subdivisions a and b may be expended for the construction of state highways without federal aid or may be expended in the construction, improvement, or maintenance of such state highways.

2. All funds heretofore appropriated or hereafter appropriated or transferred to the department, whether earmarked or designated for special projects or special purposes or not, must be placed or transferred into a single state highway fund in the office of the state treasurer and any claims for money expended by the department upon warrants prepared and issued by the office of management and budget and signed by the state auditor under this title must be paid out of the state highway fund by the state treasurer; provided, however, that the commissioner shall keep and maintain complete and accurate records showing that all expenditures have been made in accordance with legislative appropriations and authorizations.

3.    The state treasurer shall deposit the moneys in the state highway fund in an interest-bearing account at the Bank of North Dakota. The state treasurer shall deposit eighty percent of the income derived from the interest-bearing account in a special interest-bearing account in the state treasury known as the special road fund. The special road fund may be used, within the limits of legislative appropriation, exclusively for the construction and maintenance of access roads to and roads within recreational, tourist, and historical areas as designated by the special road committee. A political subdivision or state agency may request funds from the special road fund by applying to the committee on forms designated by the committee. The committee may require the political subdivision or state agency to contribute to the cost of the project as a condition of any expenditure authorized from the special road fund. Any moneys in the fund not obligated by the special road committee by June thirtieth of each odd-numbered year must be held for an additional two years after which the funds revert to the state highway fund.

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