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State controller seeks $15.2 million to bring LUMA on budget; lawmakers question audit delays and staffing needs
Summary
The State Controller asked the committee to transition LUMA sustainment from a dedicated Business Information Infrastructure Fund to the controller’s appropriation, seeking $15.2 million in FY2026 and additional staff. Legislators pressed the controller on whether the funding will prevent audit delays and stabilize agency operations.
Frances Lippett, budget and policy analyst, briefed the committee on the State Controller’s office and the upcoming change to LUMA funding. Lippett said the Business Information Infrastructure Fund (BIF), which has continuously appropriated LUMA sustainment costs, will expire at the end of the fiscal year. To continue supporting LUMA the controller’s office requested $15.2 million in FY2026 to bring those costs onto the office’s appropriation, including funding for additional staff and computer service center charges.
Why it matters: LUMA is the statewide enterprise resource planning system that replaces multiple legacy systems, consolidating budget, finance, procurement, HR and benefits. Committee members and the controller warned that insufficient funding could cut into the LUMA team and disrupt payroll, accounts payable and financial reporting functions.
Controller Brandon Wolf told the committee the office currently has 47 staff working on LUMA; the package would fund 20 positions that had been paid from the BIF (13 previously requested but not funded) and seven additional positions for sustainment. Lippett outlined components of the request: additional personnel appropriation (seven FTP funded at $2,159,900 to bring total LUMA headcount to 20 positions on-budget), $800,000 for infrastructure and overhead in the computer service center, two financial specialists to support agency shared services, and $5.5 million in dedicated fund appropriation for the computer service center. Lippett said the combined general-fund portion of the request is about $9.856 million; the total request is $15.2 million.
During extended questioning, lawmakers raised operational concerns. Representative Bitzke asked what would happen if the committee declined to fund the request. Wolf said the BIF expires June 30 and that without appropriations “we would almost cut the LUMA team in half,” which he argued would leave payroll and payments at risk. Multiple legislators raised that the LUMA implementation had delayed financial closing and single-audit reporting; Wolf acknowledged the controller’s office was behind on closing (about eight weeks late at the time of testimony) and said the requested staff and continued work to train agencies would help restore timeliness.
Lawmakers also asked whether the move and the staffing request would allow agencies that hired temporary staff to address LUMA transitions to reduce those positions. Wolf said the “dust is still settling,” and that standardization and training will help stabilize workloads and eventually reduce ad hoc temporary support needs, but that the near-term plan is to continue capacity to work with agencies through the transition.
Ending: The controller requested legislators’ continued trust and support for the LUMA transition. The committee did not take a final funding vote during the hearing and asked for continued updates on close‑out timetables and testing outcomes as the funding decision approaches.
