Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Luma Erp Transition topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Controller urges funding to bring LUMA on budget; committee hears risks to financial reporting
Summary
The state controller and legislative analysts described the transition of the LUMA enterprise resource system from a dedicated implementation fund to the controller's budget, warned that reductions in staff would jeopardize operations and testified that audit and financial close timelines remain behind schedule.
Legislative analysts and State Controller Brandon Wolf briefed the Joint Finance-Appropriations Committee on the controller's FY2026 request to bring LUMA — the state's enterprise resource management system — onto the agency's appropriation and to fund staff who support the system.
Frances Lippett said the Business Information Infrastructure Fund (BIF), which has paid for LUMA sustainment, will expire at the end of the current fiscal year and the controller is requesting approximately $15.2 million to move those costs into the controller's budget. That request included funding for seven additional FTEs and appropriation for infrastructure and overhead in the computer service center.
Controller Brandon Wolf told the committee the state currently has about 47 staff working on LUMA-related responsibilities; the funding requested would maintain roughly 20 positions that otherwise would be unfunded when the BIF expires. Wolf said removing that funding would effectively halve the LUMA team and risk core processing functions. "If you think about that...20 of the positions, if we did not have the funding, then we would almost cut the LUMA team in half," Wolf said.
Committee members raised concerns about the operational impacts of the transition. Representative Bitzke and others asked what would happen if the request were not funded; Wolf warned that payroll and payments processes would be at risk and said agencies rely on controller staff for ongoing implementation and troubleshooting. Representative Orrin said delays in the transition have affected the state's ability to complete audits; the controller confirmed the state was about eight weeks late on closing books for a reporting cycle and said the single-audit timeline remains under pressure.
Lawmakers asked for lessons learned from implementing LUMA. Controller Wolf emphasized change management, testing and user training as critical; he said other states that began similar ERP projects have faced longer struggles and some have not yet gone live. Wolf and staff offered to provide the committee with lessons learned and recommended practices for future technology procurements.
The controller also proposed two financial specialist positions to provide shared services to smaller agencies, which would process transactions and reporting on their behalf. The governor recommended the requested enhancements.
No vote occurred; the committee continued questioning and requested additional detail and coordination between the controller's office and agency fiscal teams.
