Interview: Brent Sanford, North Dakota Lt. Governor
North Dakota Lt. Governor Brent Sanford is miles from the heart of the Bakken, he still feels close to home being in the heart of budget talks within the halls of the state capitol.
“It’s not very far away from the heart when you are down here talking about budget,” said the former mayor of Watford City.
Sanford then referred to one particular meeting he recently attended where North Dakota Tax Commissioner Ryan Rauschenberger revealed that 30% of the state’s budget comes from oil and gas.
“Basically 30% of the state’s economy comes from the Bakken oil fields, whether it is wages or tax revenues or employment” Sanford said. “Oil and energy have become very dominate in the state budget environment and state revenue environment.”
He believes this information is critical for people to understand when considering the state’s overall economy. Especially since Sanford is hearing that energy activity picking up.
“Things are picking up again out west,” Sanford said. “It’s important that I am able to report that back and I think that is going to be important going forward as we continue through this budget.”
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