The House Appropriations Committee on March 21 adopted language that would implement the governor’s recommended transportation program but voted to remove a one-time appropriation that would have transferred $1.4 million from the Transportation Fund to an EV charger program.

The committee’s decision keeps the T bill (transportation authorization) as the mechanism to adopt the administration’s program while striking a standalone transfer that had been placed in section 13 of the draft bill.

Why it matters: committee members said the bill is primarily an authorization measure for projects and programs at the Agency of Transportation (AOT) and that appropriation language — particularly the $1.4 million transfer for level 1 and 2 chargers at businesses and multiunit residences administered by the Agency of Commerce and Community Development (ACCD) — would be better handled in a different vehicle or with clearer budget offsets.

Damien Leonard, legislative counsel, told the committee that “the very first highlight in sections 1 and 2 is that this bill proposes to adopt the governor’s recommended transportation program in its entirety” with only one technical change to correct a typographical error in the rail program and replace a prior project with repairs to the White River Junction rail depot roof. He also walked members through provisions that would change the Green Mountain Transit Authority’s chartered area of operation and updates to how certain town-highway formula grants are indexed.

Members discussed several funding and policy items that affect the state transportation budget:

- Green Mountain Transit Authority: Leonard said the bill narrows the authority’s fixed-route service area to Chittenden County while allowing operations outside the county for specified services and permitting demand-response transit in Chittenden County under the Agency of Transportation’s grant process. Committee members asked whether fare boxes had been installed; Matt Walker, chair of the House Transportation Committee, confirmed the authority “are charging fares” and that fare collection is in place.

- Town-highway inflator: sections 10 ties state aid for town highway structures and the class 2 roadway program to the same inflator used for general state aid for town highways. Leonard explained the inflator is the lesser of T Fund appropriations growth or CPI growth, so amounts only increase when the funds permit it.

- Mileage-based user fee (MBUF): the bill updates 2023 language directing AOT to design a mileage-based user fee program. Leonard said the implementation date in the draft is tentatively July 1, 2026, and that design and final rate proposals would return to the Legislature for approval. He emphasized the work is subject to “sufficient funding” and to final legislative approval. The committee heard that the state previously appropriated $700,000 across two fiscal years to start design work and that House Transportation had sent a request for an additional approximately $3,000,000 of general-fund support to cover the shortfall if a federal grant does not arrive. Leonard said that request is not in the T bill.

- Federal grant status and timing: Leonard described a federal grant the state was awarded in the last biennium that remains in a 90-day review at the U.S. Department of Transportation; he said it is unknown whether those federal dollars will reach the state. Matt Walker said if the state does not appropriate anything now it could miss an opportunity to leverage $5 million to $6 million that the program might generate in its first year if federal funds arrive.

- One-time EV charger transfer removed: Committee amendment 1.1 strikes section 13, which would have made a one-time $1.4 million transfer from the Transportation Fund to ACCD for level 1 and 2 chargers at businesses and multiunit residences. Damien Leonard and appropriations staff said the transfer could be handled in a different bill; the committee voted to adopt the amendment.

The committee also reviewed the budget figures presented by Logan Rivera of the Joint Fiscal Office (JFO). Rivera summarized the T bill’s funding mix and noted that the transportation program is heavily supported by federal funds (more than half of the total program) while maintenance and town-highway aid rely on state T Fund dollars. He said the program development line — paving, bridges and major roadway projects — accounts for the largest share of federal dollars.

No final appropriation for MBUF design included: members pressed on whether the $3 million request should be reduced or phased. Walker and other members said a partial appropriation combined with the $700,000 already provided would allow the state to begin work without fully committing state dollars if federal money later arrives, but the committee did not add the $3 million appropriation to this bill.

Votes at a glance: the committee approved amendment 1.1 (striking section 13) and then voted to pass the T bill as amended out of committee. The amendment and the bill were carried by recorded voice and roll-call votes as reflected on the committee record.

What’s next: committee members said AOT will continue design work subject to available funding and that any final program design and proposed rates for a mileage-based user fee will be returned to the Legislature for approval. Staff and committee members also agreed that appropriation language can be shifted to a different bill if needed to clarify funding sources.

Quotations used in this story are drawn from committee remarks recorded on the March 21, 2025 House Appropriations Committee transcript.