Lawmakers review Permanent Building Fund projects; committee pressed on deferred maintenance and timelines

BOISE, Idaho — The Joint Finance‑Appropriations Committee examined the Permanent Building Fund budget Monday, reviewing dozens of capital and maintenance requests and pressing Division of Public Works staff on project timing and execution.

Frances Lippett, budget and policy analyst with Legislative Services, told the committee the Permanent Building Fund is structured to accommodate multi‑year projects: "Projects receive an appropriation once, and at the end of the fiscal year, any unexpended funds become continuously appropriated pursuant to section 57‑1105 of Idaho code," she said.

Why it matters: the fund supports construction and facilities maintenance for state agencies and higher‑education institutions. Lippett said the total value of active public works projects is about $1.9 billion, of which roughly $1.4 billion is capital projects; she said about 42% of capital project funding has been committed to contracts or vendors.

Recommended requests and highlights: the fiscal 2026 public works recommendation totaled $122,861,900 and included both capital projects and alterations and repairs. Major items the division presented to the committee included:

- An expansion of the Department of Lands Ponderosa office to add restrooms, showers and security improvements. - Utility connections for a future Army National Guard readiness center in Bonneville County to support a 2029 construction project expected to serve up to 350 military personnel at peak occupancy. - A new Idaho State Police District 2 facility in Lewiston after purchase attempts for an existing building failed; permanent building fund staff asked for additional appropriation to acquire land and build a new facility. - Additional research lab build‑outs at Boise State University's Micron Center for Materials Research to complete shelled lab space on the third floor. - A life‑science complex at Idaho State University totaling about $127.77 million when combined with agency funds and bonding, intended to replace the 50‑year‑old Gale Life Science Building and modernize teaching and research space. - A joint military science and veterans assistance center at the University of Idaho.

Members also reviewed a request to restore $12.5 million in appropriations that had been repurposed in fiscal 2025 for other priorities.

Timelines and execution: committee members repeatedly asked for project schedules. Lippett said the division typically expends 50–70% of an appropriation in a project's first year but cautioned that spending figures do not capture projects that have been authorized but not yet committed. Administrator Dale Reynolds of the Division of Public Works said project lengths vary by scale, gave the example of a multi‑year prison project that will take roughly 2½ years once construction begins, and said the division currently manages more than 500 active projects.

Costs and market pressure: lawmakers raised concerns about construction inflation, labor shortages and material availability. Reynolds said cost escalation and procurement challenges can make some projects candidates to delay, but once under contract projects must be completed. He said the industry is in a difficult period for labor and some material procurement but that price escalations have largely flattened.

Deferred maintenance and accountability: co‑chairs and members pressed for lists of projects that have been inactive. Lippett said the division produced a detailed project report available on SharePoint and agreed to provide a list of projects that had not advanced within the four‑year window established by language the Legislature adopted to allow reappropriation of stalled funds.

No votes were taken during the Permanent Building Fund presentation. The committee asked staff to supply more granular schedules for capital projects, a list of projects that have not met the four‑year advancement threshold, and additional detail about how projects were prioritized against regional need and construction market conditions.

The committee recessed to consider two other agency budgets later in the same hearing.