Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Luma Budget And Operations topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Controller asks legislature to fund LUMA positions as dedicated fund expires; auditors and agencies report delays
Summary
BOISE, Idaho — State Controller Brandon Wolf told the Joint Finance‑Appropriations Committee that the fund that paid for LUMA implementation expires this June and the office needs FY2026 appropriations to avoid cutting critical LUMA staff.
BOISE, Idaho — State Controller Brandon Wolf told the Joint Finance‑Appropriations Committee on Monday that the Business Information Infrastructure Fund (BIF) used to pay for LUMA implementation costs will expire this June, and that his office needs legislative approval to move LUMA sustainment costs onto the regular appropriation.
"We have 47 employees working on the LUMA project," Wolf said. "The 13 that we asked for, we've already received the okay for the positions in fiscal year 22 and '23. We did not receive the funding for those." He told the committee that without the requested funding the office would effectively lose roughly half of its LUMA team.
Why it matters: LUMA is the statewide enterprise resource planning system that centralizes budget, finance, procurement, human resources and benefits workflows. The controller's office said the FY2026 request — essentially moving existing continuous appropriation costs onto the office appropriation — includes funding for multiple positions and infrastructure costs the office says are required to operate and maintain LUMA.
Budget specifics presented to the committee: Frances Lippett, the legislative analyst, said the office requested about $15.2 million in FY2026 to bring LUMA costs into the normal appropriation, including funding for previously funded but not budgeted positions. The package also included a request for approximately $5.5 million in dedicated fund appropriation for the computer service center to cover infrastructure billed to agencies that use LUMA.
Operational strains and audits: lawmakers raised specific concerns about audit timing and fiscal close timelines. Wolf acknowledged the controller's office was late in its year‑end closing, telling the committee it was about eight weeks behind in producing materials used for the State's annual comprehensive financial report and that getting back on schedule requires continued staff dedicated to the system and support for agencies adapting to the new software.
Wolf defended the long‑term value of LUMA and said many other states are still struggling to implement comparable systems: "The system is functioning. It is working. ... It takes time for that dust to settle and keep working." He cited lessons learned and said the office will share practices and lessons with other states and future projects.
Lawmakers asked for additional information on taxpayer risk and contingency options. Representative Orrin pressed the controller on whether requested positions — including two financial specialists described as shared‑services roles — would help agencies produce timely audits and reports; Wolf said they would.
The committee did not take a vote during the presentation. Staff and the controller agreed to provide follow‑up detail about the BIF's sunset, the positions to be funded, and a more specific project plan for LUMA sustainment and agency support.
