North Dakota Governor Presents Budget Guidelines

Armstrong calls for hold-even budgets and spending cuts to address growing deficit

Apr. 8, 2026 at 10:07pm

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A quiet, cinematic painting of an empty government office interior, with a lone desk and chair bathed in warm, diagonal sunlight and deep shadows, conceptually illustrating the state's budget challenges.As North Dakota's governor calls for budget cuts, the state's government offices face an uncertain fiscal future.Bismarck Today

North Dakota Governor Kelly Armstrong has presented his executive budget guidelines for the next biennium, directing state agencies to prepare hold-even budgets or identify base budget reductions of up to 10% as part of a long-term strategy to bring general fund spending in line with revenues by 2032.

Why it matters

North Dakota has seen 20 years of steady budget growth, but the governor warns this pace is unsustainable. The state faces a growing gap between ongoing revenues and expenditures, which the governor aims to address through these budget guidelines to avoid painful allotment processes like those seen in 2015.

The details

Under the guidelines, agencies with general fund budgets under $10 million must prepare hold-even budgets, while those between $10-20 million must identify 3% reductions and those over $20 million must find 10% reductions. Agencies in the hold-even or 3% categories must also submit an additional 3% reduction package as a contingency. No new full-time positions or construction projects will be approved without exception, and any new proposals relying on ongoing revenues must be offset by expenditure reductions.

  • The governor presented the budget guidelines to agency leaders and fiscal officers on April 8, 2026.
  • Agencies will use these guidelines to develop their budget proposals, which the governor will then use to craft his executive budget recommendation for the 2027-2029 biennium.
  • The governor will present his full budget proposal to state legislators in December 2026, ahead of their January 2027 regular session.

The players

Gov. Kelly Armstrong

The governor of North Dakota who presented the executive budget guidelines.

Joe Morrissette

The director of the North Dakota Office of Management and Budget who outlined the growing gap between general fund revenues and expenditures.

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What they’re saying

“Twenty years of growth in North Dakota has come with 20 years of growth in the state budget. Much of that was necessary, but the growth rate is also unsustainable.”

— Gov. Kelly Armstrong, Governor of North Dakota

“The biennium began with an ongoing general fund gap of nearly $800 million. While strong revenue growth is expected to reduce this gap, significant effort and collaboration across all agencies will be necessary to develop a budget that puts us on a sustainable path and ensures ongoing revenues and expenditures are balanced.”

— Joe Morrissette, Director, North Dakota Office of Management and Budget

What’s next

The governor will present his full executive budget recommendation for the 2027-2029 biennium to state legislators in December 2026, ahead of their January 2027 regular session.

The takeaway

Governor Armstrong's budget guidelines aim to rein in North Dakota's unsustainable spending growth and close the widening gap between general fund revenues and expenditures. By requiring agencies to find budget reductions, the state hopes to put its finances on a more sustainable path and avoid painful budget allotment processes like those seen in the past.