Conference committee agrees to add language, schedule two weeks of testimony on transportation bill; edits railroad-lease wording

Members of the conference committee on the transportation bill agreed Tuesday to add new language to the measure and to schedule two weeks of additional testimony, and they approved an edit to how the bill describes state railroad lease revenues.

The agreement came during informal conference work where committee members reviewed a side-by-side of changes and discussed placement of the topic in the miscellaneous motor-vehicles section. "We can confidently say with full assurance that we can ... add the language or bring that language to our miscellaneous motor vehicles and take the testimony that we need over the next 2 weeks," one committee member said, describing a commitment to collect further testimony before finalizing the text.

Why it matters: committee members said the extra testimony will inform final drafting and any adjustments to the bill language. Committee staff and members also focused on precise wording for revenue language tied to state-owned railroad rights of way, because that phrasing affects which revenues are counted in the bill's fiscal provisions.

During the review, a committee speaker identified the relevant drafting as in "section 30" (also referenced earlier as "section 37" in the working draft) and proposed tightening the clause that describes lease revenues. Another participant summarized the edit as: "Take out 'following types of' ... Put in 'related to' at the end." The change replaces a phrasing that listed types of lease revenues with a shorter phrase linking the revenues to state-owned railroad rights of way and related wireless or telephone uses.

Committee members also confirmed that the bill does not change an existing statute: "The existing statute stays the way it is," a committee speaker said, noting that the conference draft preserves current statutory language while adding the new provision in the conference version.

Other items raised during the working session included ensuring identical language where the bill overlaps with budget provisions (for example, a reference to underground utilities) and logistical steps to finalize the draft. Staff said they would circulate a clean copy once edits are complete and send the draft to two staff members referred to in the discussion as Cam and Megan; the group indicated they planned to have one copy for signature and to sign the last page when ready.

No formal motions or roll-call votes were taken during the recorded discussion; participants described the session as an editing and scheduling step in the conference process and committed to gathering more testimony and producing a finalized draft for signature.

The discussion included references to prior suggestions by Senator White, who had earlier proposed opening two weeks of testimony on related topics; the committee speaker said the conference group would consider that approach as part of the planned testimony period.