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ITD asks JFAC for reappropriation relief, $60M supplemental and general-fund transfers to keep multi-year road projects solvent
Summary
ITD requested a $60 million supplemental to cover contractor payments this fiscal year, ongoing federal-funded capital outlays tied to IIJA, and general-fund cash-transfer language to enable continuous spending from the Strategic Initiatives Fund; agency officials said about $600 million is currently obligated but unspent on multi-year projects.
The Idaho Transportation Department asked the Joint Finance-Appropriations Committee for supplemental and language changes intended to ensure it can pay contractors on large, multi-year road projects and make ongoing use of federal infrastructure funds.
Brooke Dupree, Legislative Services Office analyst, told the committee ITD requested a $60 million FY2025 supplemental (listed as $10 million from the State Highway Local Fund and $50 million from the State Highway Federal Fund) to cover expenditures above current appropriation. For FY2026 the department asked for ongoing capital outlays — including $57,276,000 tied to increased IIJA federal funding and another $55,000,000 ongoing capital outlay from state highway federal/local sources — as well as two general-fund cash-transfer requests: $99,704,000 for safety and capacity projects (split approximately 60% ITD / 40% local) and $212,000,000 for road- and bridge-maintenance priorities (also split between ITD and local units).
Dupree said the department is also requesting reappropriation authority up to $250 million and language that would allow the Strategic Initiatives Program Fund to remain continuously appropriated, which would relieve some year-by-year appropriation constraints for committed, multi-year projects.
David Tolman, ITD chief administrative officer, told the committee that as of the end of FY2024 the department had “a little over $600,000,000” in obligated but unspent construction program authority across multiple funding sources, and that monthly contractor payments in the summer construction season can range between $50 million and $80 million. Tolman and Director Scott Stokes said the problem is not insufficient cash but limitations on spending authority in the current fiscal-year appropriation that can force payment delays on long-term contracts.
Lawmakers asked whether the supplemental was mainly for cash-flow timing on existing contracts — not cost overruns — and ITD confirmed the supplemental is primarily to ensure spending authority to complete projects already under contract. Committee members also asked for project-status updates and noted that changing continuous appropriation language reduces year-by-year legislative oversight, so they sought additional detail before committing to permanent code changes.
No final appropriation or language change was adopted during the hearing. ITD said it will provide updates on project completion timelines, current contracted obligations and cash balances if the committee requests further detail.
