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Agency CFO explains T bill authorizations, Pay Act estimate and central-garage funding questions
Summary
Amanda Sanchez, chief financial officer for the Agency of Transportation, told the Senate Transportation Committee that most sections in the T bill are authorizations — not new appropriations — and she answered committee questions about Pay Act, the transportation fund’s exposure to a long-term pay-period liability, and central-garage internal-service-fund uses.
Amanda Sanchez, chief financial officer for the Agency of Transportation, told the Senate Transportation Committee that most sections in the T bill are authorizations — not new appropriations — and she answered committee questions about Pay Act, the transportation fund’s share of a long-term pay-period liability, and internal-service-fund uses for the central garage.
“The section 14 remains in the T bill because it’s an authorization, not an appropriation,” Sanchez said, explaining why a provision that reassigns existing T fund money to charging-station purposes remains in the transportation bill even though appropriations are normally included in the larger budget bills.
Sanchez described Pay Act as the state process for budgeting personnel costs. She said the state’s Finance and Management office calculates Pay Act amounts based on prior-year collective bargaining agreements and that a separate Pay Act appropriation held by the secretary of administration is used to reconcile personnel changes. Sanchez said the agency’s review showed the general fund portion of a future 20th/27th pay-period liability is roughly $23,000,000 and that, applying the same percentage used historically to the transportation fund, the agency estimates a roughly $2,800,000 T fund exposure for that pay period.
Sanchez also addressed questions about the central garage internal-service fund (ISF). She said the central-garage transfer amount is set in statute and is intended for acquisition of new or replacement equipment. The committee discussed that some project costs for a recently purchased Turnpike property are being handled under FEMA and that, while the T bill authorized use of up to $2,000,000 of central-garage ISF for that property’s purchase and design, FEMA reimbursement conversations are ongoing.
On other financial process topics, Sanchez summarized how the T bill relates to appropriations: large appropriations are made in the state’s main budget bills and the T bill often provides authorizations that allocate those appropriated buckets to specific transportation projects. She also described the annual reversion and budget-stabilization process, saying the commissioner of finance and management typically targets the statutory maximum reserve (5% of appropriations) and that the secretary of administration then works with the agency to match reversion figures that achieve that reserve target.
Why it matters: the explanations clarify how transportation program projects are funded and where liabilities may arise in future fiscal years. The Pay Act estimate and the central-garage discussion identify potential future obligations the Legislature may need to address when considering the T bill and related budget language.
Provenance: Amanda Sanchez’s summary and Q&A begin when she took the panel at the committee (transcript excerpt: “Amanda Sanchez, chief financial officer of the agency. I’m here to answer any questions you have today…”) and continue through the committee’s follow-up questions about Pay Act, central-garage transfers, and reversions.
