expected to have a record $894 million distribution

Preliminary estimates project North Dakota lawmakers will be able to spend nearly $900 million from Legacy Fund earnings during the 2027 legislative session. 

The $894 million is a preliminary estimate presented to lawmakers Wednesday by Retirement and Investment Office staff. It would represent a roughly 30% increase from what was received for the 2025-2027 biennium. 

The Legacy Fund earnings, the portion of the Legacy Fund that is available to be spent, represents 8% of the Legacy Fund’s average value over five years. 

That five-year average value is projected to be around $11.2 billion. The Legacy Fund has grown from roughly $8 billion in 2022 to slightly more than $15 billion as of May 31. 

“You can see the growth over the last five years. It’s been very significant,” said Adam Otteson, chief financial officer for the Retirement and Investment Office that manages the Legacy Fund’s investment. 

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The $894 million is subject to change when the value of the Legacy Fund as of June 30 is finalized. The earnings will be transferred from the Legacy Fund on July 1, 2027, to be spent as determined in the 2027 legislative session. 

Otteson said current law would allocate around $102 million to paying off debt. Then 30% of what remains, or about $238 million, is allocated to the highway fund and the remaining $554 million goes to the property tax relief fund, he said.

Rep. Jonathan Warrey, R-Casselton and the outgoing chair of the Legacy Fund’s advisory board, said that spending is also preliminary. 

“It’s accurate, but it’s always subject to new legislation that will certainly be introduced,” Warrey said. 

A property tax credit expanded last year for homeowners is expected to cost the state roughly $430 million during the current budget cycle. 

Warrey was elected vice chair of the Legacy and Budget Stabilization Fund Advisory Board during the same meeting. Sen. Jerry Klein, R-Fessenden and formerly the vice chair, was elected chair. 

The Legacy Fund was created by voters in the 2010 general election. It receives a portion of the state’s oil tax revenue, which is then invested by the Retirement and Investment Office to create a perpetual source of revenue for the state. 

So far, state lawmakers have only spent from the Legacy Fund earnings that are automatically distributed every biennium. The Legislature can spend from the principal of the Legacy Fund with a vote of at least two-thirds of state Senate and House members. Voters in 2024 approved a measure that limits the amount of principal that can be spent to no more than 5% every two years.

North Dakota Monitor reporter Jacob Orledge can be reached at [email protected].