The state Senate has approved a new spending plan for the proposed Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum, to be built in Medora.
As the Senate approved, the state will provide $50 million for the library. But the money will not come from the proceeds of the Legacy Fund. Instead, $15 million will come from the general fund’s ending balance for this biennium, and $35 million will be in the form of a loan from the Bank of North Dakota. That money will be used for an endowment, to pay for maintenance and upkeep. That money will provide the match for $100 million in private donations.
Supporters of the measure called the idea “visionary.”
"We'll be a state with a Presidential library, one with a popular individual," said Senate Majority Leader Rich Wardner (R-Dickinson). "We are going to see an uptick in tourism traffic in the state of North Dakota. This is a good 'legacy' project."
"This is big stuff," said Sen. Larry Robinson (D-Valley City). "When are we ever going to be presented with an opportunity to land a Presidential library in our great state?"
Senate Minority Leader Joan Heckaman (D-New Rockford) told the Senate she could not support this, because there are other needs that are not being adequately funded.
"Now is not the time to put this money forward as a carrot for raising other funds," Heckaman said. "We need to take care of our obligations to our residents first."
Sen. John Grabinger (D-Jamestown) didn’t like the funding mechanism, but ended up voting for the bill.
"I want the library built," Grabinger said. "I think it's great for North Dakota, and it will be a legacy. But we should use Legacy funds to do it."
The vote was 34 to 13. It needed a two-thirds vote, because of the use of this biennium’s general funds.
The House will now consider the measure.
