TITLE 40

HIGHWAYS AND BRIDGES

CHAPTER 7

APPROPRIATIONS

40-708.  Policy of legislature on expenditures. (1) It is the declared policy of the legislature that, except as otherwise provided, all highway-user revenues accruing to the state highway account be spent exclusively for the maintenance, construction and development of highways and bridges in the state highway system. By mutual cooperative written agreements, or in the event of emergencies or other unusual circumstances where the financial or general welfare of the people is concerned, two (2) or more units of government may, upon a showing of cause declared and entered upon the minutes of an official meeting of the board, the boards of county, highway district commissioners or the governing body of any cities involved, as the case may be, share jointly the costs of the maintenance, construction or development of highways and bridges in any state, county, district or city system.

(2)  It is further the declared policy of the legislature that, except as otherwise provided, all highway-user revenues accruing to the highway distribution account and all ad valorem levies accruing pursuant to chapter 8, title 40, Idaho Code, shall be spent in support of the operations, administration, maintenance, construction, and development of bridges and highways that benefit primarily motor vehicles in the local highway jurisdiction. All moneys apportioned to the board, counties or highway districts, and cities from the proceeds from the imposition of tax on fuels and from any tax or fee for the registration or operation of motor vehicles for general highway construction and maintenance, bridge and culvert moneys shall be accounted for as to the actual expenditure to the state controller, as dedicated funds by a certification of the governing unit receiving, budgeting and expending those dedicated funds. The certification shall list the actual funds received for the budgetary period in each category of dedicated funds and the actual expenditure of the used dedicated funds. Any balance of dedicated funds unexpended must be shown and accounted for as a beginning balance in the next regular budget. The certification shall be prepared by the director, county auditor or highway district treasurer or city clerk and shall be signed by the elected county or highway district commissioners, mayor, council, or board members of the respective reporting governmental unit. The certification shall certify that all highway user revenues and ad valorem levies have been expended only to support the operations, administration, maintenance, construction, and development of bridges and highways that benefit primarily motor vehicles in the local highway jurisdiction. The certification shall be made by December 31 of each year for the preceding fiscal budget year and shall be published once as a legal notice between January 1 and January 15. Failure to make certification, failure to publish or the making of false statements in the certification shall subject the person so doing to the penalties prescribed in section 40-207, Idaho Code, or be used as the grounds for removal from office of the offending officials. The state controller is empowered to withhold the distribution of funds for noncompliance with the provisions of this section, but upon compliance shall authorize the distribution to be made.

(3)  Moneys remaining unexpended in dedicated funds shall not be budgeted or expended for uses other than the limits of the dedicated fund.

(4)  Highway districts may accumulate fund balances at the end of a fiscal year and carry over those fund balances into the ensuing fiscal year sufficient to achieve or maintain highway district operations on a cash basis. A fund balance is the excess of the assets of a fund over its liabilities and reserves.

History:

[40-708, added 1985, ch. 253, sec. 2, p. 623; am. 1994, ch. 180, sec. 79, p. 478; am. 1996, ch. 386, sec. 1, p. 1310; am. 2023, ch. 288, sec. 1, p. 879; am. 2024, ch. 259, sec. 1, p. 899.]