Pew Charitable Trusts cited the work of Idaho Policy Institute in an article “How Today’s Surpluses Can Help States Invest in Budget Stability: Multiple strategies allow policymakers to prepare for economic cycles and long-term needs”. From the article, “For example, Idaho has increased ongoing transportation funding over the past decade, using strategies such as gas tax increases and higher vehicle registration fees. However, a 2020 report from Boise State University’s Idaho Policy Institute warned that challenges remain, pinpointing bridges as a particular area of concern because close to 45% of bridges in the state with spans 20 feet and longer were at least 50 years old. In response, lawmakers included $200 million in one-time spending for improvements to local bridges in Idaho’s fiscal 2023 budget—enough money to improve roughly one-third of the deficient local structures. Likewise, Maine’s supplemental 2023 budget included $100 million in one-time spending for road and bridge repair projects to avoid debt financing.”
Read the article: How Today’s Surpluses Can Help States Invest in Budget Stability