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ITD asks for reappropriation authority, $60M supplemental and $300M+ in transfers to meet multi‑year construction payouts
Summary
ITD asked JFAC for supplemental and ongoing authority to pay contractors on multi‑year projects, including a $60 million supplemental, ongoing federal increases and general fund cash transfer requests tied to strategic initiatives and TECM funding; ITD said obligated, unspent construction commitments exceed $600 million.
The Idaho Transportation Department told Joint Finance-Appropriations Committee members the state’s multi-year highway construction program requires greater spending authority to meet contractor payments and complete projects already under contract.
Brooke Dupree, the Legislature’s budget analyst, outlined multiple construction-related requests in ITD’s FY26 budget. The department asked for a $60 million supplemental (composed of $10 million from the State Highway Local Fund and $50 million from the State Highway Federal Fund) to cover excess revenues above appropriation for FY25. Dupree also described two ongoing federal-funded capital-outlay adjustments — $57.276 million and $55 million — meant to reflect higher federal receipts under the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) and other sources.
ITD asked the committee to restore broader reappropriation authority (up to $250 million) and requested language revisions so the Strategic Initiatives Program fund could remain continuously appropriated rather than limited to a single-year appropriation. The department argued those steps would reduce the risk of shortfalls in contractor payments on multi-year projects.
ITD officials told legislators a substantial amount of construction work is already under contract and that the obligated but unspent construction program stood at “a little over $600,000,000” at the end of FY24, according to Chief Administrative Officer Dave Tolman. Director Scott Stokes and Tolman described how large multi-year projects and multi-source funding (federal, state, strategic initiatives) create a wave of payouts that can exceed single-year appropriation caps.
Lawmakers questioned whether the proposed general fund cash transfers — including a $99.704 million request for safety and capacity projects and a $212 million request for road and bridge maintenance, of which roughly 60% would flow to ITD and 40% to local governments under prior practice — would be treated as one-time transfers or change longer-term budgeting expectations. Committee members also expressed concern about allowing continuous appropriation and losing year‑to‑year oversight; ITD said continuous appropriation reflects the fund’s existing statutory design and would avoid timing mismatches between bonded projects and available spending authority.
Committee discussion included requests for more detailed status reporting on in‑progress projects, an accounting of obligated-but-unspent balances across the different highway funds, and explanations of how new federal receipts and bond-funded projects interact with state cash and appropriation limitations.
No formal action was taken at the hearing; the committee requested follow-up materials and cash-balance detail so it can assess whether to approve the supplemental transfers and permanent changes to reappropriation authority.
