The Surplus Eliminator program was established by House Bill 312 during the 2015 Legislative session. The law states that at the end of the year, remaining funds will be split between the rainy-day fund and the Surplus Eliminator program for state transportation projects administered by the Idaho Transportation Department (ITD). During the 2017 Legislative session, Idaho Law makers voted to continue the Surplus Eliminator program through Senate Bill 1206, however now the money is shared 60% to the state system and 40% to the local system for the next two years.  This year the total local share of the Surplus Eliminator fund is $11M. LHTAC will administer the local share through a Local Strategic Initiatives program. Per the law, eligible projects must be related to maintenance, and address safety and mobility.
 
At the June 16, 2017 Council meeting, Council supported staff moving forward with some basic guidelines for the Local Strategic Initiatives program. The guidelines are aimed at successfully delivering the program prior to the 2019 Legislative session; to allow LHTAC to report on how the money was spent efficiently on local roadway projects.

Applications

The LHTAC Council will approve the application and program framework at their quarterly meeting on September 9, 2017. The basic guidelines supported by the LHTAC Council are that projects will be administered similar to a grant, and projects should be “shovel ready” or ready to bid within 90 days of project award. This will help ensure that projects have adequate time to be completed by late fall 2018.
 
Some other guidelines that staff is proposing include;

• Award projects that can be completed by late fall/early winter 2018
• Require that local agencies hire a contractor to complete the construction

Another piece of legislation that was passed in 2017 allows some of the Strategic Initiatives money to be spent on projects addressing “children pedestrian safety on the state and local system.” LHTAC and ITD staff are working together to develop a joint program to fund these projects. Similar to the Local Strategic Initiatives program the project should be completed by late fall/early winter 2018.
  
Both applications and programs are still in the early stages of development. Upon Council approval, both applications will be available this fall with in-depth information available during the LHTAC October Workshops. Please feel free to provide recommendations to LHTAC Council or Staff regarding development of the Local Strategic Initiatives application and program.