Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Transportation Mobility And Infrastructure topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Committee adopts substitute and reports bill updating project criteria, adds green space and 5% project cap
Summary
The committee adopted substitute H-2 to House Bill 4,084, revising grant/program criteria to add cost‑effectiveness language, green space consideration, earth berms as a noise‑abatement option and a 5% per‑project cap on fund use; the substitute was adopted and the bill reported with recommendation as H‑2.
Committee staff and a bill proponent summarized four changes in substitute H‑2 to House Bill 4,084: add cost‑effectiveness to project selection criteria, explicitly add green spaces to eligible considerations, include earth berms as an allowable noise‑abatement technique and cap any single project at 5% of the fund to prevent one project from exhausting available funds.
John Skotzka, appearing for proponents, told the committee the substitute makes a language change to include "cost effectiveness" in the criteria, adds space for green spaces after Representative Andrews' suggestion, inserts earth berms in the definition of noise abatement at MDOT's request and creates a 5% cap so one project cannot consume the fund. "So that way, one project doesn't come along and just eat all the money and then there's nothing left for everybody else," he said.
Representative Preston moved to adopt substitute H‑2 for House Bill 4,084; the roll call on the substitute recorded 13 yes, 0 no, 2 pass and the substitute was adopted. Later, Representative Alexander moved to report the bill as substitute H‑2; the clerk's roll call recorded 12 yes, 1 no, 2 pass and the motion prevailed. The committee therefore reported House Bill 4,084 with recommendation as substitute H‑2.
The substitute adds explicit policy choices (cost‑effectiveness and green spaces) and a new technical option for noise mitigation (earth berms). The 5% cap was presented as a fiscal-control mechanism; committee testimony did not specify the fund size or specific projects that would be affected. The bill text as amended and the substitute vote are now part of the committee record.
