JFAC moves LUMA costs onto state controller budget, adds positions and operating funds

The Joint Finance-Appropriations Committee on March 12 approved budgetary adjustments for the State Controller's office that bring LUMA-related personnel and operating costs onto the agency's fiscal 2026 budget. The action adds 10 full-time equivalent positions and $15,243,000 (approximately $10,051,300 general fund and $5,191,700 dedicated funds) to reflect project costs that had previously operated from a continuously appropriated account.

The motion incorporated six enhancement elements: LUMA personnel costs (seven FTE read into the FY26 maintenance budget), computer service center operating costs, a general-fund appropriation for enterprise business operations to cover computer service-center charges for LUMA, two financial specialists for the shared services bureau, a communications manager for transparency initiatives, and internal fund reallocations for leadership-level effort.

Analysts told the committee this is not new spending but a reallocation of existing LUMA costs onto the controller's regular budget because the continuously appropriated account expires at the end of the fiscal year. The motion passed on recorded roll call with a combined committee vote of 15 ayes, 3 nays and 2 absent/excused.

The committee also approved associated language requiring indirect cost recovery revenues to be transferred to the general fund at fiscal year end and authorized an accounting correction related to the Division of Veterans Services resulting from an erroneous FY2024 billing. That language passed by roll-call (total 17 ayes, 1 nay, 2 absent/excused).