ITD warns $600 million in contracted work needs more spending authority; JFAC considers reappropriation and continuous-appropriation language

Officials from the Idaho Transportation Department told the Joint Finance‑Appropriations Committee on Thursday that a wave of multi‑year construction contracts has left the department with committed but unspent construction obligations far larger than the Legislature's current carryover cap.

Dave Tolman, ITD’s chief administrative officer, told the committee that ITD’s obligated unspent construction program at the end of fiscal 2024 was "a little over $600,000,000" across multiple funding sources. The department said the mismatch is not because projects were poorly scoped; rather, projects are multi‑year, multi‑fund source, and contractor payments create seasonal cash‑flow needs.

Why it matters: Idaho has contracted large, multi‑year projects (some exceeding $100 million) that require follow‑through payments in later fiscal years. Under current practice JFAC and the Legislature set single‑year appropriations that can constrain the department’s ability to make those later payments, prompting requests for supplemental appropriations and changes to how certain funds are appropriated.

Key funding tools and requests discussed

- Reappropriation cap: ITD asked for reappropriation authority up to $250 million (the committee previously set a cap); the governor recommended removing the $250 million cap.

- Supplemental request: ITD asked for a $60 million fiscal‑year supplemental to cover expected reimbursements and payments this year tied to federal/state eligible work.

- Strategic Initiatives and TECM: Dupree explained that Strategic Initiatives, GARVEE bonds and TECM (Transportation Expansion and Congestion Mitigation) are major funding streams; GARVEE (bonding secured by future federal funds and sales tax distributions) has outstanding bonds of $522 million and a weighted average rate of 3.4 percent and is scheduled to be paid off in 2040, while TECM is funded by a 4.5 percent diversion of sales tax (minimum $80 million; maximum $140 million) and current outstanding debt for that program is $869.3 million scheduled for payoff in 2050.

- Projected monthly contractor payments: Director Scott Stokes estimated monthly construction payouts during the busy season can range between $50 million and $80 million, which creates a seasonal cash‑flow challenge.

ITD said that without additional spending authority it had temporarily delayed some contractor payments late in FY24 to manage authority limits, and the department urged the committee to consider transferring or permitting continuous access to unobligated balances in designated funds so the agency could make contract payments on multi‑year projects without interruption.

Where things stand: Committee members asked for further detail on balances and on the proposed language to allow continuous appropriation for the Strategic Initiatives program; the hearing included discussion but no immediate appropriation votes.