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State Controller asks JFAC to fund LUMA positions as BIF expires; committee hears audit and timing risks
Summary
State Controller Brandon Wolf requested the Legislature fund positions and infrastructure to bring the LUMA enterprise resource system on‑budget after the Business Information Infrastructure Fund expires; officials warned that losing requested positions would materially reduce the project team and could delay financial reporting and audits.
The Joint Finance‑Appropriations Committee reviewed the State Controller’s fiscal 2026 request and heard that the office seeks to move LUMA sustainment funding from the Business Information Infrastructure Fund (BIF) onto the controller’s budget before that fund expires June 30.
Controller Brandon Wolf said the Business Information Infrastructure Fund was created to pay implementation costs for LUMA and was funded by statewide indirect cost charges. Wolf told the committee 47 employees currently work on LUMA and that the office requested funding for 20 positions (7 requested in the FY26 proposal and 13 previously authorized but unfunded) to maintain the project’s sustainment and operations. He said those positions were already filled or in place on a BIF basis and that transferring the funding to the general fund was necessary to avoid materially reducing the LUMA team.
“If we did not have the funding, then we would almost cut the LUMA team in half,” Wolf said, adding that would jeopardize timely payroll, payments and other core functions that depend on LUMA. The controller told the committee the BIF ends June 30 and that bringing LUMA on‑budget would cost roughly $9.86 million in general‑fund support plus dedicated fund appropriation for computer‑service‑center infrastructure and ongoing charges.
Committee members raised several operational concerns. Legislators and the controller discussed implementation‑phase issues including delayed agency closings, delayed audit deliverables and the need for additional agency training and change‑management support. Wolf said the office was roughly eight weeks late on closing its books for one recent cycle and acknowledged the single‑audit and other federal reporting timelines have been affected by the transition to LUMA.
Wolf said the state’s legacy systems were historically difficult to support and that adopting a modern, integrated enterprise resource system was essential to long‑term fiscal stability. He also said lessons learned from LUMA implementation—procurement, testing, rollout and change management—could benefit future large IT projects. The controller asked the committee for continued trust and funding to stabilize the system and support ongoing improvements.
The committee did not take immediate action; members asked the controller’s office for additional documentation and said they would weigh the FY26 request, including funded FTE and infrastructure costs, as part of the budget process.
