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• The budget estimates also attempt to forecast how much tax revenue the state will collect in its next two-year budget cycle, which begins July 1 and ends June 30, 2015.
• The outlook? $4.9 billion.
• "The state of North Dakota is doing very well. Not just the oil industry, but the entire economy of the state," Dalrymple said. "It gives us a lot of different opportunities."
• State officials hasten to point out that the surplus will prompt some heavy spending demands when the next Legislature begins in January.
• Dalrymple, a Republican running for his first full term as governor, believes much of the surplus should be devoted to one-time public works projects and tax cuts.
• His Democratic opponent, state Sen. Ryan Taylor, has challenged Dalrymple's budget management, saying the governor and the GOP-controlled Legislature have been chintzy in sharing the wealth with local governments.
• The Legislative Council, the research arm of the state Legislature, estimates it will cost almost $200 million over the next two years to maintain state services at their current levels.
• Two of the larger expenditures would be for Medicaid ($91.5 million) and maintaining the current level of state aid to local schools ($29.3 million), the council said in a memo to lawmakers Wednesday.
• Public school enrollment has grown along with the state's population as job seekers flock to North Dakota.
• The Medicaid increase is expected because the federal government's contribution is shrinking as North Dakota becomes more prosperous. Poorer states have a greater percentage of their Medicaid costs paid by the federal government.
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Disease causes cut in deer licenses in parts of SD\
CHET BROKAW,Associated Press
• PIERRE, S.D. (AP) -- The number of deer licenses will be reduced in some West River hunting units because disease has killed many white-tailed deer, South Dakota wildlife officials said Wednesday. Similar cuts in licenses also have been proposed for some East River units.
• The Game, Fish and Parks Department also announced it will allow already-licensed deer hunters to get refunds because some farms and ranches may where they planned to hunt have outbreaks of the disease.
• Epizootic hemorrhagic disease, known as EHD, has been particularly bad in some areas of south-central and southeastern South Dakota. Hunters, farmers and (Continued on page 20)
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