Local Jurisdictions Receive One-Time Funds for Building Idaho’s Future Program Investments in Local Roads & Bridges

Cities, highway districts, and counties (with road and bridge responsibility) are receiving additional revenue this year as a result of the state’s large General Fund surplus.  The Governor signed House Bill 308 into law on March 23 and the bill took effect immediately, transferring $47.2 million from the state General Fund to the Local Highway Distribution Fund for local road and bridge maintenance and construction.

There are no restrictions on the use of the revenues other than being dedicated for local road and bridge purposes.

Governor Little’s Building Idaho’s Future Plan involves tax relief and strategic investments in transportation, water and agriculture, broadband and economic development, education, public safety, and state facilities.

Idaho’s projected current Fiscal Year budget surplus is about $500 million, not counting roughly $300 million already set aside for the Building Idaho’s Future investments.

“That surplus is made up of revenues stronger than we had expected, spending reductions, and then general fund that had been freed up based on how we used the federal dollars,” said Alex Adams, Administrator of the State Division of Financial Management in a recent Idaho Press article.  “All of that just adds to the surplus.”

“We believed many of those dollars were one-time in nature, so we made one-time investments that will have long-lasting value for Idaho’s future,” Adams said.

Like any large one-time infusion of money, LHTAC recommends that the local highway jurisdictions spend the money on road and bridge maintenance and construction and not in the local highway jurisdictions operating budget, which would leave a hole to fill in future years.

The Idaho Transportation Department has posted the most recent quarterly distribution amounts. HERE you can see the HUR amount, HB312 HUR amount, and this 1-Time General Fund amount split out.