Industrial Commission asks for IRIS maintenance, staff funding as caseloads rise and backlogs clear

The Idaho Industrial Commission asked the Joint Finance Preparation Committee on Jan. 23 for a mix of ongoing and one-time funding to support continued maintenance of its IRIS case-management system and to add or reclassify staff to handle rising workloads and past vacancies.

The request matters because the commission administers workers' compensation, rehabilitation and the crime victims compensation program. Committee analysts and the commission told lawmakers that the agency is seeing more cases, has had a multi‑year modernization project, and continues to operate with vacant positions while trying to clear a backlog of payments to crime victims and keep adjudication timelines from slipping.

Noah Peterson, budget and policy analyst with the Legislative Services Office, told the committee the commission has three budgeted programs — compensation, rehabilitation and the crime victims compensation program — and a total of 130.25 FTP. He said the agency had 12 vacant positions as of August and noted large one‑time and personnel reversions in the prior year.

Peterson summarized appropriations and reversions from the prior year: the commission reverted about $4,555,000 total; $3,000,000 of that was trustee and benefit payments (roughly $2,400,000 from the crime victims compensation program), $644,000 in personnel costs, $835,000 in operating expenses and $55,000 in capital outlay. He also said the IRIS modernization work had…