Committee examines town-highway aid formula and proposals to index structures and class‑2 programs

The House Transportation Committee on Feb. 26, 2025 reviewed the statutory formula that determines annual town‑highway aid and heard options to add an automatic increase for town‑highway structures and the class‑2 roadway program.

Logan Mulberry of the Joint Fiscal Office explained that town‑highway aid is a line-item appropriation from the Transportation Fund and that the FY26 town‑highway appropriation is about $30.5 million. Under current statute the appropriation ‘‘shall increase over the previous fiscal year’s appropriation by the same percentage as’’ the lesser of (1) AOT’s year‑over‑year percent change in Transportation‑Fund appropriations (excluding reversions and the town‑highway appropriation itself) or (2) the percent change in the CPI‑U. Mulberry said the committee used that statutory calculation and that in the most recent year the CPI‑U change governed, producing a 3% increase for town‑highway aid in FY26.

The appropriation is divided among buckets by…