'Freedom to Move' bill asks MassDOT to align transportation spending with emission and vehicle‑miles targets

A coalition of planners, environmental groups and mobility advocates urged the Telecom, Utilities and Energy Committee to advance S.2246, the Freedom to Move Act, which would require the Massachusetts Department of Transportation to set goals to reduce vehicle‑miles traveled (VMT), create a coordinating council and ensure transportation investment plans provide a reasonable pathway to meet state emission limits.

Senator (testimony identified as) supporting the bill described the Freedom to Move Act as a three‑pronged approach: setting statewide VMT reduction goals, creating an intergovernmental coordinating council to design an implementation plan, and requiring transportation investment plans to show a pathway to meet emissions and VMT targets. The senator said the measure would guide decisions across state government and reorient investments toward public transit, walking and biking.

Speakers representing the Environmental League of Massachusetts, Union of Concerned Scientists, Conservation Law Foundation, TransitMatters and municipal advocates testified in favor. Casey Bowers of the Environmental League told the committee that transportation accounts for roughly 40 percent of the Commonwealth’s greenhouse gas emissions and that regional planning assessments would ensure public dollars achieve multiple goals. Kevin Chen of Union of Concerned Scientists presented modeling that combining electrification with mode shift and reduced VMT could lower infrastructure and vehicle ownership costs and make the electrification transition easier to achieve. Seth Gadbois of Conservation Law Foundation said Colorado and Minnesota have rules that better align spending with climate goals and that MassDOT needs explicit authority to set VMT targets.

Committee members sought clarifications about overlap with existing sublimits and mandates. Senator Barrett asked whether layering VMT targets onto current decarbonization measures risks unintended complexity or disadvantages rural residents who must travel longer distances. Witnesses responded that the bill offers regional flexibility and is designed to supplement, not replace, electrification policies; they emphasized community engagement and tailored regional planning. Several speakers said the bill would apply planning requirements to regional MPO plans rather than to block critical single‑project needs such as the Cape Cod bridges.

Discussion only: testimony supported S.2246; no formal committee vote occurred. Supporters asked the committee to report the bill favorably so MassDOT and MPOs would begin aligning investment choices with climate goals.

Ending: Proponents said VMT goals, coordinated planning and investment alignment would give state and regional decision‑makers measurable targets and help expand non‑auto transportation choices, while committee members signaled interest in careful design to avoid undue burdens on rural communities.