Appropriations committee advances DOT budget bill with new flex fund allocations and 5¢ gas tax

The House Appropriations Committee on Thursday advanced Senate Bill 2012, the Department of Transportation budget, adopting an amendment and voting to send the bill to the floor. The measure as amended reallocates the former "prairie dog" bucket into a new flexible transportation fund, authorizes $155 million in bonding for Highway 85, and adds a 5-cent increase to the state gas tax projected in committee discussion to generate about $70 million in new revenue.

The committee adopted the amendment (version 02/2009) on a recorded vote (motion carried 19-1 with three members absent) and later approved a due-pass recommendation for SB 2012 as amended (motion carried 20-0 with three absent). Representative Marvin Brandenburg, the bill carrier, led the committee through line-item changes; Speaker Robin Weiss provided an overview of the policy tradeoffs. "We desperately needed more money going into the general fund," Speaker Weiss said during the presentation.

Why it matters: The bill restructures several long-standing revenue buckets that pay for roads and bridges, shifting money and control toward a grant-driven flexible fund while preserving guaranteed distributions to political subdivisions. Committee discussion focused on how the changes would affect townships, cities and counties, the ability to match federal grants, and risks to multi‑mile projects such as Highway 85 if matching funds are not secured.

Major provisions and figures discussed

- Overall DOT totals: Representative Brandenburg said the bill shows a base fund of about $1.7 billion, adjustments of roughly $1.0 billion and a total near $2.7 billion; FTEs were described as roughly 1,001 with net additions the legislature had previously approved that leave the total near 1,006.

- Highway 85 bonding: The bill authorizes $155 million in bonding to complete a 19-mile stretch; committee discussion said…