Unspent Funding Amendments

12
63J-1-601
63J-1-602.1
63J-1-604
0
Unspent Funding Amendments
2026 GENERAL SESSION
STATE OF UTAH
Chief Sponsor: Ashlee Matthews
Senate Sponsor: Luz Escamilla
LONG TITLE
General Description:
This bill modifies provisions related to unexpended balances.
Highlighted Provisions:
This bill:
creates the Unspent Balances Restricted Account (restricted account);
directs the Division of Finance to annually transfer a specified percentage of all lapsing
balances and excess account balance transfers to the restricted account; and
provides the purposes for which money in the restricted account may be used.
Money Appropriated in this Bill:
None
Other Special Clauses:
None
Utah Code Sections Affected:
AMENDS:
63J-1-601
, as last amended by Laws of Utah 2023, Chapter 330
63J-1-602.1
, as last amended by Laws of Utah 2025, First Special Session, Chapter 9
ENACTS:
63J-1-604
, Utah Code Annotated 1953
Be it enacted by the Legislature of the state of Utah:
Section 1. Section
63J-1-601
is amended to read:
63J-1-601
. End of fiscal year -- Unexpended balances -- Funds not to be closed
out -- Pending claims -- Transfer of amounts from item of appropriation -- Nonlapsing
accounts and funds -- Institutions of higher education to report unexpended balances.
(1)
As used in this section:
(a)
"Education grant subrecipient" means a nonfederal entity that:
(i)
receives a subaward from the State Board of Education to carry out at least part of
a federal or state grant program; and
(ii)
does not include an individual who is a beneficiary of the federal or state grant
program.
(b)
"Transaction control number" means the unique numerical identifier established by
the Department of Health and Human Services to track each medical claim and
indicates the date on which the claim is entered.
(2)
On
Except as provided in Section
63J-1-604
, on
or before August 31 of each fiscal
year, the director of the Division of Finance shall close out to the proper fund or account
all remaining unexpended and unencumbered balances of appropriations made by the
Legislature, except:
(a)
those funds classified under
Title 51, Chapter 5, Funds Consolidation Act
, as:
(i)
enterprise funds;
(ii)
internal service funds;
(iii)
fiduciary funds;
(iv)
capital projects funds;
(v)
discrete component unit funds;
(vi)
debt service funds; and
(vii)
permanent funds;
(b)
those appropriations from a fund or account or appropriations to a program that are
designated as nonlapsing under Section
63J-1-602.1
or
63J-1-602.2
;
(c)
expendable special revenue funds, unless specifically directed to close out the fund in
the fund's enabling legislation;
(d)
acquisition and development funds appropriated to the Division of State Parks or the
Division of Outdoor Recreation;
(e)
funds encumbered to pay purchase orders issued before May 1 for capital equipment
if delivery is expected before June 30; and
(f)
unexpended and unencumbered balances of appropriations that meet the requirements
of Section
63J-1-603
.
(3)
(a)
Liabilities and related expenses for goods and services received on or before June
30 shall be recognized as expenses due and payable from appropriations made before
June 30.
(b)
The liability and related expense shall be recognized within time periods established
by the Division of Finance but shall be recognized not later than August 31.
(c)
Liabilities and expenses not so recognized may be paid from regular departmental
appropriations for the subsequent fiscal year, if these claims do not exceed
unexpended and unencumbered balances of appropriations for the years in which the
obligation was incurred.
(d)
Amounts may not be transferred from an item of appropriation of any department,
institution, or agency into the Capital Projects Fund or any other fund without the
prior express approval of the Legislature.
(4)
(a)
For purposes of this chapter, a claim processed under the authority of
Title 26B,
Chapter 3, Health Care - Administration and Assistance
:
(i)
is not a liability or an expense to the state for budgetary purposes, unless the
Division of Integrated Healthcare receives the claim within the time periods
established by the Division of Finance under Subsection
(3)(b)
; and
(ii)
is not subject to Subsection
(3)(c)
.
(b)
The transaction control number that the Division of Integrated Healthcare records on
each claim invoice is the date of receipt.
(5)
(a)
For purposes of this chapter, a claim processed in accordance with
Title 35A,
Chapter 13, Utah State Office of Rehabilitation Act
:
(i)
is not a liability or an expense to the state for budgetary purposes, unless the Utah
State Office of Rehabilitation receives the claim within the time periods
established by the Division of Finance under Subsection
(3)(b)
; and
(ii)
is not subject to Subsection
(3)(c)
.
(b)
(i)
The Utah State Office of Rehabilitation shall mark each claim invoice with the
date on which the Utah State Office of Rehabilitation receives the claim invoice.
(ii)
The date described in Subsection
(5)(b)(i)
is the date of receipt for purposes of
this section.
(6)
(a)
For purposes of this chapter, a reimbursement request received from an education
grant subrecipient:
(i)
is not a liability or expense to the state for budgetary purposes, unless the State
Board of Education receives the claim within the time periods described in
Subsection
(3)(b)
; and
(ii)
is not subject to Subsection
(3)(c)
.
(b)
The transaction control number that the State Board of Education records on a claim
invoice is the date of receipt.
(7)
Any balance from an appropriation to a state institution of higher education that remains
unexpended at the end of the fiscal year shall be reported to the Division of Finance by
the September 1 following the close of the fiscal year.
Section 2. Section
63J-1-602.1
is amended to read:
63J-1-602.1
. List of nonlapsing appropriations from accounts and funds.
Appropriations made from the following accounts or funds are nonlapsing:
(1)
The Native American Repatriation Restricted Account created in Section
9-9-407
.
(2)
Certain money payable for expenses of the Pete Suazo Utah Athletic Commission, as
provided under Title
9, Chapter 23
, Pete Suazo Utah Athletic Commission Act.
(3)
Funds collected for directing and administering the C-PACE district created in Section
11-42a-106
.
(4)
Money received by the Utah Inland Port Authority, as provided in Section
11-58-105
.
(5)
The Commerce Electronic Payment Fee Restricted Account created in Section
13-1-17
.
(6)
The Division of Air Quality Oil, Gas, and Mining Restricted Account created in Section
19-2a-106
.
(7)
The Division of Water Quality Oil, Gas, and Mining Restricted Account created in
Section
19-5-126
.
(8)
State funds for matching federal funds in the Children's Health Insurance Program as
provided in Section
26B-3-906
.
(9)
Funds collected from the program fund for local health department expenses incurred in
responding to a local health emergency under Section
26B-7-111
.
(10)
The Technology Development Restricted Account created in Section
31A-3-104
.
(11)
The Criminal Background Check Restricted Account created in Section
31A-3-105
.
(12)
The Captive Insurance Restricted Account created in Section
31A-3-304
, except to the
extent that Section
31A-3-304
makes the money received under that section free revenue.
(13)
The Title Licensee Enforcement Restricted Account created in Section
31A-23a-415
.
(14)
The Health Insurance Actuarial Review Restricted Account created in Section
31A-30-115
.
(15)
The State Mandated Insurer Payments Restricted Account created in Section
31A-30-118
.
(16)
The Insurance Fraud Investigation Restricted Account created in Section
31A-31-108
.
(17)
The Underage Drinking Prevention Media and Education Campaign Restricted
Account created in Section
32B-2-306
.
(18)
The School Readiness Restricted Account created in Section
35A-15-203
.
(19)
Money received by the Utah State Office of Rehabilitation for the sale of certain
products or services, as provided in Section
35A-13-202
.
(20)
The Property Loss Related to Homelessness Compensation Enterprise Fund created in
Section
35A-16-212
.
(21)
The Homeless Shelter Cities Mitigation Restricted Account created in Section
35A-16-402
.
(22)
The Oil and Gas Administrative Penalties Account created in Section
40-6-11
.
(23)
The Oil and Gas Conservation Account created in Section
40-6-14.5
.
(24)
The Division of Oil, Gas, and Mining Restricted account created in Section
40-6-23
.
(25)
The Electronic Payment Fee Restricted Account created by Section
41-1a-121
to the
Motor Vehicle Division.
(26)
The License Plate Restricted Account created by Section
41-1a-122
.
(27)
The Motor Vehicle Enforcement Division Temporary Permit Restricted Account
created by Section
41-3-110
to the State Tax Commission.
(28)
The State Disaster Recovery Restricted Account to the Division of Emergency
Management, as provided in Section
53-2a-603
.
(29)
The Disaster Response, Recovery, and Mitigation Restricted Account created in
Section
53-2a-1302
.
(30)
The Emergency Medical Services Critical Needs Account created in Section
53-2d-110
.
(31)
The Department of Public Safety Restricted Account to the Department of Public
Safety, as provided in Section
53-3-106
.
(32)
The Utah Highway Patrol Aero Bureau Restricted Account created in Section
53-8-303
.
(33)
The DNA Specimen Restricted Account created in Section
53-10-407
.
(34)
The Technical Colleges Capital Projects Fund created in Section
53H-9-605
.
(35)
The Higher Education Capital Projects Fund created in Section
53H-9-502
.
(36)
A certain portion of money collected for administrative costs under the School
Institutional Trust Lands Management Act, as provided under Section
53C-3-202
.
(37)
The Public Utility Regulatory Restricted Account created in Section
54-5-1.5
, subject
to Subsection
54-5-1.5(4)(d)
.
(38)
Funds collected from a surcharge fee to provide certain licensees with access to an
electronic reference library, as provided in Section
58-3a-105
.
(39)
Certain fines collected by the Division of Professional Licensing for violation of
unlawful or unprofessional conduct that are used for education and enforcement
purposes, as provided in Section
58-17b-505
.
(40)
Funds collected from a surcharge fee to provide certain licensees with access to an
electronic reference library, as provided in Section
58-22-104
.
(41)
Funds collected from a surcharge fee to provide certain licensees with access to an
electronic reference library, as provided in Section
58-55-106
.
(42)
Funds collected from a surcharge fee to provide certain licensees with access to an
electronic reference library, as provided in Section
58-56-3.5
.
(43)
Certain fines collected by the Division of Professional Licensing for use in education
and enforcement of the Security Personnel Licensing Act, as provided in Section
58-63-103
.
(44)
The Relative Value Study Restricted Account created in Section
59-9-105
.
(45)
The Cigarette Tax Restricted Account created in Section
59-14-204
.
(46)
Funds paid to the Division of Real Estate for the cost of a criminal background check
for a mortgage loan license, as provided in Section
61-2c-202
.
(47)
Funds paid to the Division of Real Estate for the cost of a criminal background check
for principal broker, associate broker, and sales agent licenses, as provided in Section
61-2f-204
.
(48)
Certain funds donated to the Department of Health and Human Services, as provided
in Section
26B-1-202
.
(49)
Certain funds donated to the Division of Child and Family Services, as provided in
Section
80-2-404
.
(50)
Funds collected by the Office of Administrative Rules for publishing, as provided in
Section
63G-3-402
.
(51)
The Immigration Act Restricted Account created in Section
63G-12-103
.
(52)
Money received by the military installation development authority, as provided in
Section
63H-1-504
.
(53)
The Unified Statewide 911 Emergency Service Account created in Section
63H-7a-304
.
(54)
The Utah Statewide Radio System Restricted Account created in Section
63H-7a-403
.
(55)
The Utah Capital Investment Restricted Account created in Section
63N-6-204
.
(56)
The Motion Picture Incentive Account created in Section
63N-8-103
.
(57)
Funds collected by the housing of state probationary inmates or state parole inmates, as
provided in Subsection
64-13e-104(2)
.
(58)
Certain forestry and fire control funds utilized by the Division of Forestry, Fire, and
State Lands, as provided in Section
65A-8-103
.
(59)
The following funds or accounts created in Section
72-2-124
:
(a)
Transportation Investment Fund of 2005;
(b)
Transit Transportation Investment Fund;
(c)
Cottonwood Canyons Transportation Investment Fund;
(d)
Active Transportation Investment Fund; and
(e)
Commuter Rail Subaccount.
(60)
The Amusement Ride Safety Restricted Account, as provided in Section
72-16-204
.
(61)
Certain funds received by the Office of the State Engineer for well drilling fines or
bonds, as provided in Section
73-3-25
.
(62)
The Water Resources Conservation and Development Fund, as provided in Section
73-23-2
.
(63)
Award money under the State Asset Forfeiture Grant Program, as provided under
Section
77-11b-403
.
(64)
Funds donated or paid to a juvenile court by private sources, as provided in Subsection
78A-6-203(1)(c)
.
(65)
Fees for certificate of admission created under Section
78A-9-102
.
(66)
Funds collected for adoption document access as provided in Sections
81-13-103
,
81-13-504
, and
81-13-505
.
(67)
Funds collected for indigent defense as provided in Title
78B, Chapter 22, Part 4
, Utah
Indigent Defense Commission.
(68)
The Utah Geological Survey Restricted Account created in Section
79-3-403
.
(69)
Revenue for golf user fees at the Wasatch Mountain State Park, Palisades State Park,
and Green River State Park, as provided under Section
79-4-403
.
(70)
Certain funds received by the Division of State Parks from the sale or disposal of
buffalo, as provided under Section
79-4-1001
.
(71)
The Unspent Balances Restricted Account created in Section
63J-1-504
.
Section 3. Section
63J-1-604
is enacted to read:
63J-1-604
. Unspent Balances Restricted Account.
(1)
As used in this section:
(a)
(i)
"Account balance transfer" means an amount in a fund or account at the close
of a fiscal year that:
(A)
exceeds the amount statute allows to remain in the fund or account at the close
of the fiscal year; and
(B)
statute directs be transferred to the General Fund at the close of a fiscal year.
(ii)
"Account balance transfer" does not include a lapsing balance.
(b)
"Excess account balance transfer" means the greater of:
(i)
the difference between:
(A)
a fund's or account's account balance transfer; and
(B)
the fund's or account's expected account balance transfer based on the most
recent General Fund revenue estimate adopted by the Executive Appropriations
Committee; and
(ii)
$0.
(c)
"General Fund revenue surplus" means the same as that term is defined in Section
63J-1-312
.
(d)
"Lapsing balance" means any unexpended and unencumbered amount that would
otherwise lapse to the General Fund under Section
63J-1-601
.
(2)
There is created within the General Fund a restricted account known as the Unspent
Balances Restricted Account.
(3)
Notwithstanding any other provision of law, beginning with fiscal year 2026, the
Division of Finance shall comply with Subsection
(4)
for each fiscal year in which:
(a)
there is a General Fund revenue surplus; and
(b)
(i)
there is not an Income Tax Fund revenue deficit; or
(ii)
if there is an Income Tax Fund revenue deficit, the General Fund revenue surplus
is equal to or exceeds the Income Tax Fund deficit.
(4)
(a)
Subject to Subsection
(4)(b)
, for each fiscal year described in Subsection
(3)
, the
Division of Finance shall deposit into the restricted account:
(i)
50% of all lapsing balances; and
(ii)
50% of all excess account balance transfers.
(b)
The total amount transferred for a fiscal year in accordance with Subsection
(4)(a)

may not exceed $5,000,000.
(5)
Subject to legislative appropriation:
(a)
the Office of Child Care created in Section
35A-3-202
may use up to an amount
equal to 50% of the funds in the restricted account for child care subsidies or grants
as provided in Section
35A-3-209
; and
(b)
the Department of Health and Human Services may use up to an amount equal to
50% of the funds in the restricted account as directed by the Utah Behavioral Health
Commission created in Section
26B-5-702
to fulfill the commission's duties.
Section 4.
Effective Date.
This bill takes effect on
May 6, 2026
.
2-23-26 11:42 AM