Industrial Commission seeks staff, IRIS maintenance after caseload and tech changes

Noah Peterson, budget and policy analyst with the Legislative Services Office, told the Joint Finance Preparation Committee on Jan. 23 that the Industrial Commission is requesting a mix of ongoing and one‑time appropriations to address staffing gaps and ongoing costs tied to its IRIS modernization project.

The Commission’s director, George Gutierrez, and agency staff told lawmakers the automation work completed under the IRIS project has increased the Commission’s ability to identify cases and compliance issues, but also shifted the type and volume of work that remains to be done.

Peterson said the Industrial Commission has 130.25 FTP budgeted across three programs — compensation (70.5 FTP), rehabilitation (47.25 FTP) and crime victims compensation (12.5 FTP) — and that 12 positions were vacant as of August. He told the committee the agency had reverted $4,555,000 last year, including about $2,400,000 from the Crime Victims Compensation program and $1,800,000 from the Industrial Administration Fund.

Gutierrez said the agency was allocated $12,874,000 one‑time across fiscal 2021–25 for the IRIS project to digitize previously paper‑dependent workflows. He described IRIS as having “increased the volume and number of sources of data” for employer compliance, which has revealed many more noncompliant employers and pushed more cases into the legal pipeline. He said that while IRIS improved real‑time records and reduced some paper handling, it also shifted tasks back onto legal support staff to ensure a complete record before cases reach hearing.

The department requested 10 enhancements for fiscal 2026 totaling $298,200 ongoing and $554,200 one‑time, using vacant FTPs rather than adding new positions. Key items included: $288,000 one‑time for IRIS maintenance contract support, $66,500 ongoing for a senior financial technician for the crime victims compensation fiscal unit, $32,300 ongoing to fund a rehabilitation field consultant in the Twin Falls/Burley area, $111,600 ongoing for a referee (hearing officer) position, a $25,500 ongoing reclassification to raise five adjudication associates two pay grades, $62,300 for a technical records specialist, a $30,000 one‑time contingency for IRIS and $104,200 in replacement IT items (monitors, laptops and docking stations). The agency also asked to replace four high‑mileage field SUVs used by rehabilitation consultants and employer compliance investigators.

Peterson and Gutierrez said the IRIS maintenance request is one‑time for the 2026 budget year because Office of Information Technology Services (OITS) is not yet able to provide the support; until OITS builds that capacity, contracted technical support is required. Senator Cook asked whether the $288,000 was for maintenance rather than new functionality and whether it represented ongoing work. Peterson and Gutierrez confirmed it is contracted maintenance/support work tied to the completed development and enhancements.

On adjudication timing, the director said the system change moved some intake and documentation work from referees back to legal support staff. The number of referees fell from five to four after a retirement in 2020, and Gutierrez said the average time to issue decisions rose from 90 days to 110 days since then. The referee position request is intended to restore capacity and reduce delays in contested workers’ compensation and crime victim compensation matters.

Gutierrez said the financial technician position is intended to prevent a recurrence of a backlog in the Crime Victims Compensation program: at one point the fiscal unit had roughly 872 outstanding payments and estimated turnaround time rose to about 12 weeks; the program’s goal is a 30‑day payment turnaround. He said shifting staff to clear the backlog had caused other payment delays and strained vendor relationships, and the new position would maintain timely payments to victims and providers.

Representative Petzke and others asked whether reverted funds could be repurposed to fill vacancies. Peterson and Gutierrez said most reversions were trustee and benefit payments that cannot be reallocated without legislative action or special approval; the agency does not have unilateral authority to shift trustee/benefit appropriations to personnel without legislative permission.

Members asked for more detail on IRIS expenditures and planned maintenance. Representative Tanner requested a written breakdown of total IRIS costs, where past appropriations were spent (development versus enhancements versus maintenance), and how ongoing support will be handled; the director agreed to provide that detail. Representative Mitchell asked for a current inventory of vehicles and which specific vehicles the agency plans to replace; Peterson said he would provide the fleet list and total fleet number.

On the governor’s recommendation, analysts noted the governor included a 5% CEC (cost‑of‑living/compensation) placeholder for commissioners (about $22,400) and did not recommend the $30,000 contingency for IRIS. Gutierrez closed by thanking the committee for past support and asking for consideration of the 2026 requests.

No formal action or vote occurred during the hearing; the committee’s exchanges were questions and responses and included requests for additional information and written breakdowns from agency staff.