N.D. Cent. Code § 57-51.1-07.8 (2025)
1. 1. There is created in the state treasury the county and township infrastructure fund. The fund consists of all moneys deposited in the fund under section 57-51.1-07.5.
1. a. The first forty million dollars deposited in the fund each biennium is appropriated to the state treasurer on a continuing basis for the purpose of providing grants to non-oil-producing counties and townships located in non-oil-producing counties pursuant to subsections 2 through 7. The grant funding may be distributed only to non-oil-producing counties and townships located in non-oil-producing counties and may be used only for road and bridge infrastructure projects.
2. b. The remaining moneys deposited in the fund are available to the department of transportation, within the limits of legislative appropriation, for the purpose of providing grants to non-oil-producing counties and townships located in non-oil-producing counties pursuant to subsection 8.
2. 2. By November thirtieth of each even-numbered year, a county that receives a grant from the fund under subsection 5 shall provide a report to the state treasurer on the use of the funding. The state treasurer shall notify counties of the reporting requirement by November first of each even-numbered year. Upon request, the state treasurer may provide an extension of up to fifteen days for a county to submit the report. The state treasurer shall determine the format of the report. The report must include the amount of grant funding received and spent by the county and a description of the road and bridge infrastructure projects completed in part or in whole with the grant funding. The state treasurer shall make the reports available to the public on the state treasurer's website. A county that does not provide the report in a timely manner or in the correct format is not eligible to receive a grant from the fund under subsection 5 for a period of two years starting from the date the report was due. If a county uses the funding in a manner inconsistent with the requirements of this section as identified in any financial audits conducted by the state auditor or an independent accounting firm, the state treasurer shall reduce any future grants to that county under subsection 5 by the amount spent that was inconsistent with the requirements.
3. 3. Within sixty days after the fund receives total deposits equal to the amount identified under subdivision a of subsection 1 or by September thirtieth of each odd-numbered year, whichever is earlier, the state treasurer shall distribute moneys in the fund as grants to counties for road and bridge infrastructure projects. The state treasurer shall distribute the grants only if the fund receives total deposits that are at least ten percent of the amount identified under subdivision a of subsection 1.
4. 4. The state treasurer shall distribute thirteen percent of the total deposits under subdivision a of subsection 1 to non-oil-producing counties for the benefit of the organized and unorganized townships within each non-oil-producing county. The distribution must provide for an allocation to each organized and unorganized township which is proportional to the number of township road miles in each organized and unorganized township relative to the combined total township road miles in all organized and unorganized townships in all non-oil-producing counties. For purposes of this subsection, township road miles must be based on certifications provided to the state treasurer under section 54-27-19.1. The amount allocated to organized townships under this section must be paid by the county treasurer to each organized township. The amount allocated to unorganized townships under this section must be credited by the county treasurer to a special fund for unorganized township roads.
1. a. To be eligible for an allocation of funds under this subsection, an organized township must levy at least eighteen mills for general purposes and have a general fund balance of less than one hundred thousand dollars as of December thirty-first of the prior year.
2. b. To be eligible for an allocation of funds under this subsection for unorganized townships, a county must levy at least eighteen mills for unorganized township road and bridge purposes.
2. 6. If the total deposits under subdivision a of subsection 1 are insufficient to provide for the grants under subsections 4 and 5, the state treasurer shall distribute the grants on a pro rata basis.
3. 7. For purposes of subsections 2 through 6:
1. a. 'Fiscal year' means the period beginning September first and ending August thirty-first of the following calendar year.
2. b. 'Non-oil-producing county' means a county that received no allocation of funding or a total allocation of less than five million dollars under subsection 2 of section 57-51-15 in the most recently completed even-numbered fiscal year before the start of each biennium.
3. c. 'Road and bridge infrastructure projects' means the projects associated with the construction of new unpaved and paved road and bridge infrastructure or associated with the maintenance, repair, or replacement of existing unpaved and paved road and bridge infrastructure.
4. 8. From the funding identified under subdivision b of subsection 1, the director of the department of transportation shall distribute grants to non-oil-producing counties and townships located in non-oil-producing counties from the fund in accordance with the provisions of the flexible transportation fund under section 24-02-37.3.