Appropriations committee advances DOT budget, funds transit and rural grants; several policy bills rejected

The Appropriations - Government Operations Division met to deliberate multiple appropriations and policy bills, moving the Department of Transportation budget and several rural and transit measures while taking do-not-pass action on others.

A single-item summary: the committee approved the DOT budget (Senate Bill 2012) as amended, approved a reduced appropriation for a fixed-route transit bill, advanced a rural grocery grant for further consideration, and voted not to advance several standalone bills that were folded into the DOT package.

Why it matters: The committee’s actions reallocate and confirm state transportation and rural-support funding for the next biennium and set funding priorities for flexible transportation, legacy earnings allocations, short-line rail loans and several rural grant programs.

Key actions and outcomes (Votes at a glance)

- Rural grocery sustainability grant (02/1928): Motion for a due pass carried (mover: Senator Burkhart; seconder: Senator Dwyer). Tally: yes 3, no 2. Note: the motion moved the bill forward unchanged at the time of the roll call.

- Fixed-route transit appropriation (02/1954): Committee amended the appropriation downward from $5,000,000 to $2,000,000 (mover: Senator…