Governor’s State of the State message includes oil country
Governor’s State of the State message includes oil country
By MARVIN BAKER
EDITOR
In his inaugural State of the State message held Tuesday before a joint session of the Legislature, Gov. Jack Dalrymple set the course for North Dakota for the next 10 years and that includes changes in the oil and gas producing counties of western North Dakota.
He said energy is one of the state’s top priorities and because of a dramatic increase in oil production, the infrastructure must keep pace with the productivity.
“The remarkable and rapid growth of oil and gas development in western North Dakota has brought jobs and population growth, but it has also brought extreme wear and tear on roads,” Dalrymple said. “All of these investments (including Devils Lake and Red River Valley flood control) will pay dividends back to our citizens for decades to come. We have proposed to pay for them in cash and create no future liabilities or lingering obligations.”
Dalrymple said the state’s strong financial position allows for unprecedented investments in infrastructure and the funding of other priorities, while still providing additional tax relief and building the state’s reserves druing the 2011-2013 biennium.
