Transportation

MINUTES
SENATE TRANSPORTATION COMMITTEE
DATE: Thursday, February 12, 2026
TIME: 1:30 P.M.
PLACE: Room WW53
MEMBERS
PRESENT:
Chairman Okuniewicz, Vice Chairman Bjerke (Keyser), Senators Burtenshaw, Hart,
Adams, Galloway, Kohl, Rabe, and Semmelroth
ABSENT/
EXCUSED:
Vice Chairman Keyser
NOTE: The sign-in sheet, testimonies and other related materials will be retained with
the minutes in the committee's office until the end of the session and will then be
located on file with the minutes in the Legislative Services Library.
CONVENED: Chairman Okuniewicz called the meeting of the Senate Transportation Committee
(Committee) to order at 1:30 p.m.
H 533 TRANSPORTATION - Amends and adds to existing law to provide for the
elimination of vehicle registration stickers. Representative John Weber
presented HB 533, which would eliminate the requirement to display registration
stickers on license plates. He explained that stickers were no longer useful for
law enforcement due to overlapping color schemes and widespread reliance
on electronic plate checks. He noted the change would save approximately
$300,000 for the Idaho Transportation Department (ITD), and that law enforcement
organizations remained neutral.
DISCUSSION: Senator Adams asked whether other states had eliminated their registration
sticker programs. Rep. Weber responded that several states had done so, though
he did not have a specific list available, and indicated the number was growing.
Senator Adams inquired about the original purpose of registration stickers. Rep.
Weber responded that the original purpose had been to provide a visual cue for
law enforcement. There were several different colors, and officers could look at the
color to determine whether a registration had expired. However, that was no longer
the case. The multiple color system had gone away, and only three colors—red,
white, and blue—had been in rotation at any given time.
Senator Galloway asked why the Fraternal Order of Police (FOP) and the Sheriff's
Association remained neutral and whether they had expressed any concerns
about not supporting the measure. She also asked if he could explain why they
had chosen to remain neutral rather than taking a position for or against it. Rep.
Weber stated that law enforcement had been relying on running license plates to
obtain all necessary vehicle information. The sticker had no longer played the role
it once had, as the relevant details were being accessed electronically. The ITD
had been very helpful in providing information on the matter, and had indicated that
eliminating the sticker would save approximately $300,000, which could be used
in a more effective and efficient way.
MOTION: Senator Kohl moved to send HB 533 to the floor with a do pass recommendation.
Senator Semmelroth seconded the motion. The motion carried by voice vote.

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RS 33330 RELATING TO HIGHWAYS AND RIGHTS-OF-WAY. Senator Hart explained that
RS 33330 had been created to clarify what constituted a valid public right-of-way
or highway, particularly in cases where the original creation process had not been
properly completed by a county. He described a case in Shoshone County that had
gone to the Idaho Supreme Court. The dispute had involved a right-of-way crossing
private property that a Jeep club had used to access Bureau of Land Management
(BLM) land several miles up a canyon. The property owner had placed a gate
across the road at his property line, blocking access. The Jeep club had continued
attempting to use the route. The original paperwork to establish the road had begun
in 1905, but the county commissioners had never fully completed the process. The
right-of-way had been described using a metes-and-bounds legal description, which
had been inappropriate for defining a road.
Senator Hart explained that the proposed legislation would have required a
recorded survey and a public hearing process when creating a road. It would
have clarified the distinction between a valid public right-of-way and one that had
not been properly established.
MOTION: Senator Adams moved to send RS 33330 to print. Senator Kohl seconded the
motion. The motion carried by voice vote.
PRESENTATION: LHTAC Annual Report and Update. Laila Kral, Administrator, Local Highway
Technical Assistance Council (LHTAC) explained that LHTAC was created by the
Legislature in 1994 under Idaho Code Title 40, Chapter 24. It served Idaho's local
highway jurisdictions, including cities, highway districts, and the 33 counties with
road and bridge responsibilities. The agency was governed by a 12-member
council primarily made up of elected officials representing those local entities. She
reported that LHTAC provided training, administered multiple state and federal
funding programs, oversaw project delivery from planning through construction, and
offered broad technical assistance. Through a stewardship agreement with the ITD,
LHTAC administered approximately $71 million annually in federal formula funds
dedicated to local roads. One key program, the Local Rural Highway Investment
Program (LRHIP), used exchanged federal funds to operate as a true grant program
for smaller local projects.
Ms. Kral highlighted several federal-aid projects, including bridge replacements
and emergency roadway repairs, noting how the programs helped local agencies
address critical infrastructure needs. She described the agency's T2 training
program, which offered safety, maintenance, construction, and leadership training
for local roadway employees. The program also included recognition initiatives
and safety equipment grants to improve work-zone protection. In technical
assistance, she reported that staff had supported local agencies with bridge
management, environmental permitting, federal grant applications, and other
transportation-related needs. In the past year, LHTAC had helped secure $15
million in competitive federal grant funding for local jurisdictions.
Ms. Kral summarized two major state-funded programs. The Children Pedestrian
Safety Program (CPS) had invested $36 million in 134 projects statewide since
2018, improving sidewalks and safe routes near schools and parks. The Leading
Idaho Local Bridge Program (LILB), launched in 2022, had received $564 million
to repair or replace deficient bridges. She stated that 91 bridge projects had been
completed, 55 were under construction, and 90 were in design. She emphasized
that the use of state funds had significantly accelerated delivery compared to
federal processes and had restored access for agriculture, recreation, and public
safety across the state. She concluded by noting that the investment had supported
engineering firms, contractors, and local economies throughout Idaho and had
reduced the financial burden on local property taxpayers (Attachments 1 and 2).
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DISCUSSION: Chairman Okuniewicz inquired how the LHTAC board coordinated with ITD and
the federal aid programs, and who decided on the projects. Ms. Kral explained
that federal highway funds ultimately came to ITD, which had been responsible for
how the funds were spent and for reporting back to the federal government. Idaho
Code required the council to make recommendations to the ITD on projects. Under
a stewardship agreement with ITD, roles and responsibilities for these programs
had been clearly defined. The council had taken applications from local agencies,
scored them, and made recommendations to the board, which had consistently
approved them for inclusion in the Transportation Investment Program. The
agreement ensured that ITD and LHTAC staff did not duplicate efforts in managing
the programs and projects.
Senator Hart asked if a county had been seeking funds whether the LHTAC staff
provided assistance in writing grant requests, completing applications, or guiding
them through the process. Ms. Kral explained that helping local agencies secure
funding had been the most common request for technical assistance. They first
reviewed the agency's project to see if it fit within one of the federal programs
LHTAC administered. If not, they explored other federal competitive grants and
helped match the project with available funding
MINUTES
APPROVAL:
Senator Burtenshaw moved to approve the Minutes of February 10, 2026.
Senator Bjerke seconded the motion. The motion carried by voice vote.
ADJOURNED: There being no further business at this time, Chairman Okuniewicz adjourned
the meeting at p.m. 2:03 p.m.
___________________________ ___________________________
Senator Okuniewicz Melissa Price
Chair Secretary
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MINUTES
SENATE TRANSPORTATION COMMITTEE
DATE: Tuesday, January 27, 2026
TIME: 1:30 P.M.
PLACE: Room WW53
MEMBERS
PRESENT:
Chairman Okuniewicz, Vice Chairman Keyser, Senators Burtenshaw, Hart,
Galloway, Kohl, Rabe, and Semmelroth
ABSENT/
EXCUSED:
Senator Adams
NOTE: The sign-in sheet, testimonies and other related materials will be retained with
the minutes in the committee's office until the end of the session and will then be
located on file with the minutes in the Legislative Services Library.
CONVENED: Chairman Okuniewicz called the meeting of the Senate Transportation Committee
(Committee) to order at 1:32 p.m.
AGENCY
UPDATE:
Idaho Transportation Department (ITD) 2026 Agency Update. Scott Stokes,
Director, Idaho Transportation Department (ITD), provided an agency update
(Attachment 1). Mr. Stokes introduced Dave Kuisti, their new Chief Deputy and
noted his accomplishments during his 35 years at ITD (slide 2) including the
replacement of the Goff Bridge and I-84 construction. ITD completed several major
projects in 2025 which included the South Saint Anthony Interchange, US-95
from Thorn Creek to Moscow, and the I-86/I-15 Interchange, State highway 35
Banks/Lowman traffic signals, Little Goose Creek bridge repair, US-93 South
road widening, and I-90 Westbound off ramp at State Highway-41. ITD is held
accountable to the public for construction costs through an online dashboard.
A second dashboard tracks performance regarding the five-year mortality rate,
employee turnover, and the condition of pavement, bridges, and highways during
winter storms (slide 10). ITD prioritized their time and resources through the
acronym OPRE for operate, preserve, restore and expand (slides 11 and 12).
Part of operating a safe highway included handling emergencies such as repair
work on US-95 after a mud slide caused by heavy rain, a culvert replacement on
Highway 21 after fires and subsequent mudslides, repair of Eckhert bridge, and
reopening the interstate near Blackfoot after a semi-truck struck a bridge pillar.
ITD preserved and restored the roads through pavement overlays and bridge
rehabilitation. ITD balanced revenues with transportation needs in high-growth
areas. Slide 19 illustrated the allocation of the fiscal year (FY) 2026 budget. The
ITD revenue sources, both federal and state, were outlined in slides 20 and 21.
Mr. Stokes explained that in FY 2022 ITD began receiving Strategic Initiatives
and Transportation Expansion and Congestion Mitigation (TECM) funds. TECM
was the sales tax provided to ITD to cover debt service for 25 years. Strategic
Initiatives funds were the General Fund dollars ITD received. The Governor's FY
2027 budget recommendation was outlined on slide 22. This included $938 million
for program maintenance and $94 million for equipment and additional line items.
Mr. Stokes explained that the line items were funded from the constitutional
spending authority for operation and maintenance of state highways rather than the
General Fund. The cost of replacing snowplows has doubled to $500,000 since
2022 due to inflation. Another line item provided spending authority to build a new
section of SH-16. In addition, ITD's funding request for FY 2027 included spending
authority for roadside safety enhancements such as tree removal. ITD encouraged
employee innovation which resulted in $5 million in savings and 1.8 million Skip the

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Trip Transactions during FY 2025. Finally, ITD connected with communities with
such things as winter driving classes (Slides 29 and 30).
DISCUSSION: Senator Hart asked whether there was a connection between the increase in
Idaho's population and the 2 percent increase of lane miles. Mr. Stokes replied that
there was not a one to one correlation. However, it was important to quickly address
those situations where roads were at a 90 to 100 percent capacity. Senator Hart
then requested an update on the new north-south roadway. Mr. Stokes explained
that there was a study of the needs in the Kootenai County area. There was also a
need to work with local communities to address congestion.
Senator Rabe expressed concern for the recent pedestrian deaths and asked Mr.
Stokes to discuss how the 2025 bill limiting the ability to spend on pedestrian and
bike projects had affected their ability to build pedestrian infrastructure. Mr. Stokes
stated that it had not affected ITD's ability to create that infrastructure because their
projects were generally for the benefit of the traveling public and involved the whole
street. However, it had likely affected local projects.
Chairman Okuniewicz noted that budget cuts were likely coming to ITD and asked
how that would affect their five-year plan. Mr. Stokes acknowledged that they
would have to make some adjustments after the legislative session.
PRESENTATION: JFAC Budget Process. Senator Grow, Co-Chairman of the Joint
Finance-Appropriations Committee (JFAC), gave a presentation on the JFAC
budget process. Senator Grow explained that there would need to be budget cuts
as a result of insufficient revenues. State agencies had been requested to cut their
budgets by 3 percent. He further explained that Governor Little did not recommend
adoption of certain provisions of the One Big Beautiful Bill of 2025. The Economic
Outlook Revenue Assessment Committee (EOROC), comprised of ten House
members and ten Senate members, projected revenues that were a couple hundred
million higher than the Governor's revenue projection. JFAC adopted EOROC's
revenue projection. However, with the House proposal to adopt tax conformity for
FY 2025, and the projected cost of $155 million, that additional revenues have
disappeared. As a result, JFAC asked state agencies to cut an additional 2 percent
from their budgets, for a total of 5 percent in budget cuts.
DISCUSSION: Chairman Okuniewicz asked whether ITD might be required to make more than
a 5 percent cut in their budget. Senator Grow stated that every agency was
requested to make a 5 percent budget cut for both FY 2026 and FY 2027.
PRESENTATION: Keith Bybee, Division Manager, Budget and Policy Analysis Division, Legislative
Services Office continued the presentation with a budget update for FY 2026
and FY 2027. Mr. Bybee first clarified that the Governor's hold back plan and
the additional one or 2% cuts that JFAC requested is limited to General Fund
agencies. Some of the $275 million appropriated to ITD last year was unobligated.
Approximately $43 million was not subject to the budget cuts. Therefore, this was
not an operational cut, but rather a project cut.
Mr. Bybee next discussed General Fund structural balance. He cautioned that,
using the average actual expenditure growth rate from 2013 to 2025 of 5.7 percent
for FY 2026, FY 2027, and FY 2028, EORAC revenue projections would not keep
up with expenditures. Mr. Bybee suggested that the Legislature could either use
some one-time money to meet the projected shortfall or it could adjust the budget to
achieve structural balance. Mr. Bybee illustrated the ten year General Fund growth
in the areas of public schools, higher education, Medicaid, Health and Welfare,
adult and juvenile correction, and all other areas. Mr. Bybee explained that
Medicaid Expansion and population growth affected Medicaid's budget. Population
growth also necessitated an increase in the budget for education and corrections.
There were also some large expenditures for the Empowering Parents Program,
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water infrastructure, and the LUMA program in the State Controller's office.
Mr. Bybee then provided an update on the FY 2026 General Fund. He noted that, as
a result of lower than expected revenues from sales taxes as well as individual and
corporate income taxes, the projected beginning balance was almost $100 million
less than anticipated. The Legislature's revenue projection was higher than the
Governor's which did not include $155 million for tax conformity. If the Legislature
adopted H519, the tax conformity bill, that would reduce revenues by $155 million
as shown on line 6. Line 8 showed the FY 2026 transfers to the Strategic Initiatives
Fund and deficiency warrants for pests and hazardous materials. Those transfers
were partially offset by some transfers in from some cash balances from the
Strategic Initiatives Fund, the Building Fund, and other sources. Line 20 was
the FY 2026 ending balance under each of the Governor's and the Legislature's
proposals. That did not include any revenues from the 2 percent budget cut from
state agencies which could increase the revenue projection by about $30 million.
Slide 6 compared the State's financial position during the recession of 2008-2009
and FY 2026 and showed Idaho is in a stronger financial position now. Mr. Bybee
noted that the Budget Stabilization Fund exceeded the statutory cap.
DISCUSSION: Chairman Okuniewicz inquired what the statute required about the handling of
the excess. Mr. Bybee responded that the Legislature needed to decide whether
to leave the excess funds in the Budget Stabilization Fund or transfer it to the
General Fund as required under statute.
Senator Burtenshaw asked Mr. Bybee to provide further details on the options for
structural balance he discussed. Mr. Bybee stated that one approach to address a
budget shortfall would be to use a combination of smaller budget cuts along with
some one time cash. One time cash could come from the Budget Stabilization
Fund, cash balances from other dedicated funds, or cancelling other projects. The
other approach would be to cut additional amounts to achieve structural balance
more quickly.
PRESENTATION: Mr. Bybee provided a summary of the FY 2027 General Fund (slide 5). He
commented that with the Governor's adjusted revenue projection on line 2 which
increased the revenue projection by $137 million, the FY 2027 outlook had
improved. The Legislature's budget projection on line 2 included tax conformity in
the amount of $155 million each FY 2026 and FY 2027. Mr. Bybee cautioned that
those were revenue projections on paper and that the economy could change.
PRESENTATION: Brooke Dupree , Budget and Policy Analyst for the Legislative Services Office,
continued the presentation by JFAC with a discussion of transportation funding
(Attachment 3). The five sources of funding for ITD included the General Fund,
bond revenues, user fees, sales tax and cigarette tax (slide 4). A portion of those
funds were dispersed into the Transportation Expansion and Congestion Mitigation
Fund (TECM (slide 6)). This fund was funded primarily by sales tax with some
cigarette tax revenues. ITD had legislative authority to bond with TECM funds.
Those funds went to the TECM Debt Service Fund to make payments on those
bonds. Proceeds from those bonds were deposited in the TECM Capital Project
Fund.
Ms. Dupree explained that another source of funding for ITD was the Strategic
Initiatives Program Fund. General Fund monies were appropriated by the
Legislature and split with 60 percent going to ITD and 40 percent going to local
jurisdictions (slide 7).
The last funding source for ITD was the Local Highway Distribution Fund. The
Highway Distribution Fund included monies from user fees and distributions
pursuant to Idaho Code § 63-2412 with 60 percent of the funds going to the State
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Highway Fund and 40 percent going to the Local Highway Distribution Fund.
Ms. Dupree discussed legislation that had impacted ITD revenues. H 547 passed
by the 2014 Legislature authorized payments of $4.7 million annually from cigarette
tax revenues to pay the State match for the Grant Anticipation Revenue Vehicle
(GARVEE) debt. Any remaining cigarette tax revenues after the distribution went to
the State Highway Fund. S 1206, enacted by the 2017 Legislature, redirected the
cigarette tax distribution from the State Highway Fund to the TECM. H 312, enacted
by the 2015 Legislature increased vehicle registration fees for personal vehicles,
commercial vehicles, and motorcycles. Several pieces of legislation which affected
sales tax distribution to TECM were enacted after 2017. In addition, the Legislature
enacted bills in 2017 and 2019 regarding bonding authority.
In 2015 the Legislature authorized the General Fund Surplus Eliminator which
provided that any unrecognized General Fund revenues be split equally between
the Budget Stabilization Fund and the Strategic Initiatives Fund. The Legislature
extended the General Fund Surplus Eliminator in 2017 for two additional years.
Currently there was an equal split between the Budget Stabilization Fund and
Strategic Initiatives Fund with a 60/40 split of the the Strategic Initiatives Fund
between ITD and the Local Highway Technical Assistance Council (LHTAC).
Slide 16 included ITD's FY 2027 budget request. The Governor's recommendation
was outlined. The Governor recommended $94.3 million in enhancements. In
addition, the Governor recommended transfers to the General Fund (slide 18). The
Governor recommended that $45 million from the General Fund that went to ITD
be transferred back to the General Fund for FY 2026. For FY 2027, the Governor
recommended that interest earned on the Strategic Initiatives Program Fund be
transferred to the General Fund. The Governor further recommended that the
interest earned on the portion of the Strategic Initiatives Fund that went to LHTAC
be transferred back to the General Fund. Finally, the Governor recommended the
closeout of the Strategic Initiatives Programs Grant Fund.
ADJOURNED: There being no further business at this time, Chairman Okuniewicz adjourned
the meeting at 2:45 p.m.
___________________________ ___________________________
Senator Okuniewicz Melissa Price
Chair
Secretary
___________________________
Meg Lawless
Secretary
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