Appropriations panel outlines three‑bucket plan to reshape DOT funding, proposes bonding for Highway 85

The House Appropriations — Government Operations Division discussed a plan to reorganize Department of Transportation (DOT) funding during a committee meeting, with backers describing a three‑bucket approach, proposals to return some motor vehicle excise tax revenue to the general fund, and a proposal to bond roughly $155,000,000 for a Highway 85 project.

The discussion matters because committee sponsors said the reorganization would replace a contested “Prairie Dog” funding bucket with clearer, existing funds and create more certainty for counties, cities and townships about how DOT dollars are distributed.

Representative Brandenburg told the committee there have been ongoing meetings and that “a lot of people have been asking about what's going on with, you know, the funding that's gonna be going out.” Representative Bosch described the House plan as “a 3 bucket proposal,” saying it would move Prairie Dog money into the State Infrastructure Fund (SIF) and work off three principal buckets: the highway fund, SIF (sinking fund) and the highway distribution fund (sometimes called the flex fund).

Committee members said the plan would do several things: remove the Prairie Dog bucket and transfer those funds into SIF;…