Controller urges funding to bring LUMA on-budget as BIF expires; committee hears risks to reporting and audits

Legislative Services and State Controller Brandon Wolf briefed the Joint Finance-Appropriations Committee on Feb. 17, 2025 about the State Controller’s Office FY2026 request to move LUMA sustainment from the Business Information Infrastructure Fund (BIF) into the agency appropriation.

Lippett said LUMA sustainment has been continuously appropriated from the business information infrastructure fund since 2018 and that the continuous appropriation expires June 30, 2025. She outlined the office’s request: 7 additional FTEs and approximately $2.16 million in personnel costs to cover positions already hired under continuous appropriation, $800,000 for LUMA infrastructure overhead in the computer service center, two financial specialists to provide shared services to smaller agencies, and other adjustments to allocation of leadership costs. Lippett said the total general-fund cost to bring LUMA on budget is about $9.856 million, with $5.5 million requested in dedicated fund appropriation for the computer service center.

Controller Brandon Wolf told the committee the office currently has about 47 employees working on LUMA; the 13 positions that were authorized earlier lacked funding under the BIF sunset timeline. Wolf said that without funding to continue the full LUMA team, “we would almost cut the LUMA team in half,” and that payroll and payment functions, as well as financial reporting, could be severely degraded if those positions lapse.

Why it matters: LUMA is the statewide enterprise resource planning platform for budget, finance, procurement, HR and benefits. The Controller’s Office processes payroll and payments and prepares the state’s annual financial report; losing staff or funding for sustainment risks delays in financial closes and federal reporting.

Discussion and evidence provided

- LUMA sustainment: Lippett and the controller explained that LUMA development and sustainment were funded through BIF and that the fund’s balances were built from statewide cost allocation transfers earlier in the implementation. With the BIF ending June 30, FY2026 funding decisions must create a new appropriation path. - Operational risk: Wolf said the controller’s office fields financial reporting and payroll functions and has been late on closing the books (he cited an eight‑week delay in closing and getting required financial elements to the state’s annual financial report). He argued the requested positions will help agencies complete financial reporting and audits; the controller said some peer states have struggled longer or have not yet gone live with comparable systems. - LUMA lessons and change management: Wolf emphasized that change management, training and documentation remain central to success. He told legislators the state learned lessons in procurement, testing and training and offered to share lessons learned with other state projects.

Committee questions and follow-ups

Legislators asked about the origin of LUMA, the decision to implement a new enterprise system, audit timing and whether requested staff would reduce agency-level staffing added during the LUMA transition. Wolf said LUMA replaced aging mainframe legacy systems that required scarce skill sets. He said the office intends to continue training and user support and that the requested positions would help agencies complete reporting in a timely fashion; whether some agency positions added during the transition can be reduced over time depends on how the “dust” settles and on sustained agency workloads.

Ending

Controller Wolf closed by reiterating a call for continued trust and collaboration and asked the committee to fund the necessary positions and operating costs so LUMA sustainment can be moved on-budget when the BIF sunsets June 30, 2025.