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JFO: unemployment insurance modernization on track this summer but a $7 million business-cost gap needs follow-up
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Summary
JFO told the House Energy and Digital Infrastructure Committee the unemployment insurance modernization project is in final testing and on track for summer completion, but JFO flagged a roughly $7 million difference between appropriated funds (about $52.3M) and recorded implementation costs ($45.3M) originally intended for business process reengineering.
Lisa Goggin, the Joint Fiscal Office IT consultant appearing before the House Energy and Digital Infrastructure Committee on April 22, said the state's unemployment insurance modernization project is in user acceptance testing and on track for completion this summer.
Goggin told lawmakers that JFO approved the release of $30 million in January 2024 and that total funds authorized for the project were about $52.3 million when appropriations from FY22 and FY23 and related operating-budget adjustments are included. She said the implementation contract total was about $45.3 million and noted a roughly $7 million difference that had been described as funding for business process reengineering; that scope was not procured and some of the work was done internally, creating an unexplained gap JFO will follow up on.
"You'll notice there's a gap in there, the 52.3 total funds available and the 45,300,000," Goggin said, adding that the committee should check the final ABC (project accounting/closeout) form to reconcile the difference.
Committee members asked when the legislature would see a reconciliation of that gap. Goggin said project closeout reporting typically shows actual expenditures and that JFO had flagged the item for follow-up to understand whether the unspent authorization remained available for other purposes or was consumed by internal operating changes.
Goggin also described strong stakeholder engagement on the project, including virtual town halls and assistance from groups such as Legal Aid and the National Association of State Workforce Agencies during testing. The committee asked to hear directly from program staff and other stakeholders as part of continued oversight.
The committee did not take formal action on the project at the meeting but asked Goggin and staff to follow up on the appropriation and spending reconciliation and to provide the final project accounting when available.
