Lawmakers review $122.9 million in public-works recommendations, projects total $1.9 billion active

Legislators reviewing the permanent building fund on Feb. 17 were briefed on the fund's multi-year accounting, statutory revenue streams, the value of active public-works projects, and specific fiscal 2026 requests from the Division of Public Works.

Frances Lippitt, legislative analyst, told the Joint Finance-Appropriations Committee the fund receives several statutory revenue sources and often carries appropriations across multiple years: "Projects receive an appropriation once, and at the end of the fiscal year any unexpended funds become continuously appropriated pursuant to section 57-1105 of Idaho Code," she said. (Transcript citation as given by the analyst during the presentation.)

Lippitt said the division currently reports about $1.9 billion in active public-works projects, $1.4 billion of which are capital projects, and that 42% of capital funding has been committed. The Legislature and division have used transfers of general fund dollars in recent years to invest in capital projects and deferred maintenance; Lippitt said the state invested roughly $1.1 billion toward that work in prior years and that interest earnings on investments have increased accordingly.

The fiscal 2026 recommendation for public works Lippitt summarized totals about $122,861,900 and includes six capital projects plus…