House Transportation committee sets T-bill schedule, schedules Green Mountain Transit briefing

The House Transportation Committee reconvened and set a schedule to finish work on the T bill, with this week's meetings dedicated to bill language and accountability and next week's hearings focused on public transportation and a briefing from Green Mountain Transit.

Committee leaders said the committee will spend the current meeting block on T-bill language and accountability work. They noted the final statewide public-transportation report was released on the 15th and said Green Mountain Transit and other providers will be invited next week to present the final report and answer questions. Committee members also signaled a planned field trip on a Tuesday, pending final details and the speaker's office coordination.

Committee members described the coming weeks as intensive. The chair said the schedule includes a concentrated week for public-transit testimony, then a recess before March budget deadlines. The committee will continue drafting bill sections and bringing in additional stakeholders to reconcile outstanding language on transit and other program elements. The committee also said it meets weekly with the speaker's office and that some meetings may be via Zoom because of an illness affecting participants.

Committee staff did not report any vote or final action on transit policy at this meeting. Members emphasized that substantial debate and additional briefings remain before any final vote or formal adoption of T-bill language.

The committee directed staff to place the Green Mountain Transit briefing and the final public-transit report on next week's agenda and to finalize field-trip arrangements with the speaker's office. No hearing dates beyond next week were fixed at the session's close.