Adds to and amends existing law to provide for the issuance of certain bonds and to establish the Transportation Expansion and Congestion Mitigation Program Capital Project Fund and the Transportation Expansion and Congestion Mitigation Program Debt Service Fund.

This legislation amends the Transportation Expansion and Congestion Mitigation (TECM) program found in Idaho Code § 40-720 to provide for a bonding mechanism for the funds already received in that section. Currently under Idaho Code § 40-720, the Idaho Transportation Department (ITD) is tasked to evaluate projectsbasedonmitigationoftraffictimes, improvementtotrafficflowandmitigationoftrafficcongestion. Once the evaluation is completed by ITD, the Idaho Transportation Board (ITB) chooses the projects. The current law allows TECM funds to "finance projects." This legislation provides a financing mechanism using the Idaho Housing and Finance Association (IHFA) to issue bonds secured by TECM funds to finance projects approved by the ITB. It also states that the ITB shall take into consideration the mitigation of traffic congestion caused by the establishment of the State offices campus located at Chinden Boulevard and Cloverdale Road in Boise. Finally, the legislation specifies that the 1% sales tax used to fund TECM, but not less than $15 million dollars, is continually appropriated to the TECM fund for the ability to support and finance TECM projects.