Industrial Commission asks for IRIS maintenance funds and staff to clear backlogs

The Industrial Commission requested a mix of ongoing and one-time funding Jan. 23 as it seeks to fund maintenance for its IRIS case-management system, fill vacant positions and resolve payment and adjudication backlogs.

The commission asked the Joint Finance Preparation Committee for 10 enhancement items for fiscal 2026 totaling $298,200 in ongoing requests and $554,200 in one-time requests, using vacant full-time positions where possible, Noah Peterson, budget and policy analyst for the Legislative Services Office, told the panel. Peterson said the agency had 12 vacant FTPs as of August and reverted $4,555,000 to its funds in the most recent year, including $2,400,000 from the Crime Victims Compensation Fund.

The request includes a $288,000 one-time contract for long-term technical support of the IRIS system after the Office of Information Technology Services said it could not provide that support, Peterson said. He described the IRIS program as a multi-year modernization that received $12,874,000 in one-time appropriations between fiscal 2021 and 2025 to digitize previously paper-dependent processes.

Director George Gutierrez said IRIS improved overall business efficiency but also increased the volume and complexity of work carried into downstream units. "IRIS did increase our business system efficiency," Gutierrez said, and the agency is now pulling in more data points that have raised caseloads for employer compliance and the legal side. "We are now identifying nearly 60% more cases," he said, which has created bottlenecks in legal processing and adjudication.

Committee members questioned why a system intended to simplify work has produced requests for additional staff. Gutierrez said some responsibilities that used to be done by referees shifted back to adjudication associates and legal support when IRIS created fuller electronic case records; the threshold for cases to go to hearing now includes confirming a complete statutory record before referral to a hearing officer. He also said the agency previously relied on a Deputy Attorney General housed with the commission; the AG's office now routes cases through multiple civil litigators, increasing the commission's need to prepare cases for external attorneys.

Key personnel and operating requests included: - A senior financial technician for the fiscal department ($66,500 ongoing) to reduce the crime victims compensation payment backlog and meet a 30-day payment target; Peterson said there were 872 outstanding payments with an estimated turnaround near 12 weeks at the time of the budget submission. - A referee (hearing officer) position ($111,600 ongoing); the agency previously had five referees but has operated with four since a retirement in 2020, and average time to decision rose from 90 to 110 days. - A rehabilitation field consultant for Twin Falls and Burley to reflect a caseload 35% above the five-year average for that area ($32,300 ongoing). - A technical records specialist and reclassification of five adjudication associates (personnel cost increases totaling about $25,500) to address higher skills and workload driven by IRIS. - A $30,000 one-time contingency for IRIS recommended by OITS and $288,000 one-time for contracted IRIS maintenance support; the governor's recommendation did not include the contingency fund but did include a 5% cost-of-living/CJC-style increase for commissioner pay.

Gutierrez described the crime victims compensation and peace officer temporary disability funds and staff strains: monies for victims compensation come primarily from fines assessed on convictions and are capped for certain types of expenses; trustee and benefit payments drive much of the fund activity. He told the committee the large reversion in the most recent year was primarily from trustee and benefit payments, so those monies are not immediately transferrable to other operating needs without statutory approval. "If there's a path to switch that money from trustee and benefits to other areas of the commission, we don't have the authority to do that on our own," he said.

Committee members sought further detail on IRIS costs and ongoing maintenance needs. Peterson and Gutierrez said they would provide additional breakdowns and documentation on the development, enhancement, maintenance and contracted support costs. Senator Cook asked whether the $288,000 request was strictly maintenance and not new functionality; Peterson said the funding is for contracted support to sustain IRIS until OITS can provide long-term support.

The request also included fleet replacement: four small SUVs for field staff whose vehicles ranged from 82,000 to 98,000 miles and model years roughly 2006–2011. Gutierrez said recurring requests for vehicles are likely until the commission replaces very old, high-maintenance cars used by rehabilitation consultants and employer compliance investigators in remote areas.

The governor recommended a narrower package that included the 5% compensation placeholder for commissioners and did not recommend the contingency fund; agency-requested enhancements otherwise remain under review. Gutierrez closed by asking for the committee's support and noting the commission's performance measures and strategic goals.

No formal committee votes were taken during the hearing; members requested further written detail on IRIS expenditures, maintenance requirements and a fleet inventory before deciding on funding.