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Highway Patrol says duplicate 'one‑time' mileage entry reduces funding ask from $4.6M to about $1.3M
Summary
Highway Patrol staff told the Appropriations — Government Operations Division they found a duplicated one‑time mileage entry in the previous biennium that reduces the department's requested ongoing increase; staff said the department now seeks roughly $1.3 million across general and special funds instead of about $4.6 million.
Chairman Wozniak and members of the Appropriations — Government Operations Division heard from the Highway Patrol staff on a revised funding need after staff identified duplicated one‑time mileage funding in the prior biennium.
Aaron Hummel, chief of staff with the Highway Patrol, told the committee that a one‑time mileage appropriation and some other one‑time costs had been incorrectly recorded as ongoing and paired with a request to restore five positions. "We did take a closer look and realized that there was one‑time mileage funding from last biennium that was doubled up," Hummel said.
Hummel said the correction reduces what had been described as $4.6 million in combined general and special fund impacts to roughly $1.3 million when the duplicate mileage is removed. He said the department expects the $4.0 million one‑time fleet increase previously requested would cover the mileage for the restored positions, and that the remaining add‑back across general and special funds is about $1.3 million.
Brady (identified in the hearing as the staff member with the exact numbers) and Hummel told the committee the funding split is approximately 86% general fund and 14% special funds from the highway tax distribution fund. Hummel added the adjustment would reduce the department's total ongoing general fund increase from the previously stated 23% to about 16.5%.
No formal motion or vote on the Highway Patrol request was recorded in the transcript; staff presented the corrected figures and the committee moved on to the Department of Transportation budget.
The discussion occurred near the start of the committee's reconvened session and was presented as an informational correction rather than a finalized appropriation action.
