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ITD warns of strained spending authority on multi‑year road projects; seeks supplemental and language changes
Summary
The Idaho Transportation Department told JFAC it is facing a shortfall in spending authority to make contractor payments for multi-year projects. ITD requested a $60 million supplemental, ongoing federal reimbursements, and reappropriation/spending authority changes tied to Strategic Initiatives and State Highway funds.
The Idaho Transportation Department told the Joint Finance-Appropriations Committee it faces a spending authority squeeze that could affect contractor payments on multi-year highway projects and requested a mix of supplemental appropriations and statutory language adjustments to address the problem.
Why this matters: ITD said it has roughly $600 million in obligated but unspent construction commitments and that monthly contractor payouts during construction season can run between $50 million and $80 million. Without added spending authority, ITD said it had to delay or risk delaying contractor payments on active contracts.
What ITD requested Brooke Dupree, the Legislative Services Office analyst, described ITD’s request for a $60 million supplemental (split $10 million State Highway Local fund, $50 million State Highway Federal fund) and ongoing capital outlays tied to increased federal funding. The department also asked for a reappropriation authority up to $250 million to reduce the chance of running out of spending authority mid‑project, and for language to allow continued access to the Strategic Initiatives Program fund rather than imposing a single‑year appropriation that would limit multi‑year spending.
Evidence of the problem Dave Tolman, ITD chief administrative officer, told the committee: “As of the end of FY 24, our obligated unspent construction program was a little over $600,000,000 across multiple funding sources.” Director Scott Stokes added that large bonded and multi‑source projects can create a “wave of payout” as projects near completion and require appropriations in later fiscal years.
Programs and debt affected Dupree’s materials summarized statewide financing mechanisms: GARVEE (bond) authority totaling about $1.116 billion with a weighted average interest rate of 3.4% and current outstanding bonds of $522 million (estimated payoff FY 2040); Transportation Expansion and Congestion Mitigation (TECM) bonds with roughly $869.3 million outstanding (payoff estimated FY 2050). Dupree also explained how general fund transfers to the Strategic Initiatives Program have been used historically to fund capacity, safety and local projects.
Questions from lawmakers Committee members pressed ITD about whether the requests were for new projects or to cover payments on existing contracts; the department said the supplemental and reappropriation requests are intended primarily to ensure ITD can complete payments on projects already under contract. Representative Tanner and Senator Woodward asked for cash‑balance details and historical context. ITD said it would provide more detailed balances and project status updates on request.
What was not decided No appropriation or statutory change was adopted during the hearing; the committee took testimony and asked ITD to follow up with more detailed cash‑balance and project status information.
Ending ITD asked the legislature to weigh the tradeoffs between short‑term appropriation limits and the department’s ability to meet contracted obligations on large, multi‑year projects.
