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Senate draft tasks AOT with municipal needs assessment and review of town highway aid programs
Summary
The bill would require AOT to report back on municipal practices for tracking road needs, propose a prioritization framework and evaluate several municipal grant programs administered by the agency, with final reports due in 2026–2027.
Legislative counsel and committee members discussed two sections that would ask the Agency of Transportation to study municipal needs and the administration of municipal grant programs.
Section 13 would require a municipal needs assessment study to report on current municipal practices for tracking roadway needs, develop a framework to assess current conditions, and recommend a prioritization process so state funds target roads with the largest network impact. The draft sets a written report due Jan. 15, 2027.
Section 14 would commission a consultant, in consultation with the League of Cities and Towns and regional planning and development agencies, to evaluate how AOT administers town highway aid programs (19 V.S.A. §306) and other municipal programs administered through the Municipal Assistance Bureau — including bicycle and pedestrian, transportation alternatives, municipal mitigation, park‑and‑ride, better roads, municipal highway and stormwater mitigation programs, and grants and aid. That report is due Jan. 15, 2026 and should include recommendations for administrative or statutory changes to improve efficiency.
Committee members asked how the consultant would be selected and how the work would be funded; legislative counsel said the expectation is that the consultant would be procured using AOT appropriations with consultation from other entities. Senators emphasized the value of prioritization criteria that take regional network impacts into account.
The committee did not adopt final language at this meeting but asked staff to include clarifying edits and to confirm funding and procurement details with AOT.
