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Conference committee agrees on replacement language for section 27 on volunteer drivers, schedules FY2026 report
Summary
Members of the House–Senate transportation conference committee said they reached agreement on replacement language for section 27, which governs volunteer drivers and medical transportation, and that a report will be due in fiscal year 2026; agencies stressed the language must comply with federal Medicaid rules.
Conference committee members for the House and Senate transportation bills said they reached agreement on replacement language for section 27, which deals with volunteer drivers and the emergency Medicaid medical transportation program, and that a report will be due in fiscal year 2026.
The change was presented by Ashley Berliner, director of Medicaid policy at the Agency of Human Services, who told the committee, “we spent the better part of this morning working to come to an agreement on some of the language that is in this bill, specifically related to a report that will be due in fiscal year 2026.” She said the revised language is intended to keep the program “within the confines of federal regulations related to the emergency Medicaid medical transportation program, while still working in collaboration with VTrans.”
The committee and agency staff also agreed to strike yellow-highlighted language in an earlier draft after the agency indicated the highlighted text was not acceptable. Michelle Boomhower of the Agency of Transportation confirmed the agencies and committee staff were aligned on the revised text and on preserving federal compliance and agency boundaries.
Committee members said sections 26 and 28 would remain intact and that section 29 (30 in some drafts) is still under negotiation. The discussion included clarifications that the replacement affects only the text of section 27 and not the other demand-response transportation sections of the bill.
No formal committee vote was recorded on the floor during the portion of the transcript provided; participants described the outcome as an interagency agreement reached during the conference work session. Staff said the agreed language would be placed on the afternoon agenda so agencies can provide a short testimony confirming the agreement.
The exchange included repeated cautions that any sharing of information or operational changes must comply with federal privacy and Medicaid rules; AHS emphasized retaining “appropriate boundaries around the federal requirements they have.”
The committee expects the agreed language and the FY2026 report timeline to appear in the conference packet presented to members for final consideration.
