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WFRC: legislative session quieter for transportation; committee hears updates on bills and policy priorities
Summary
WFRC government affairs staff told Transcom that the 2025 state legislative session is quieter on new transportation appropriations and is focused on implementing prior investments and refining policy tools for local governments.
Miranda Jones Cox, WFRC government affairs, briefed Transcom members on transportation and land‑use bills under consideration in the state legislature and framed the 2025 session as a period of building on prior investments rather than a year of large new appropriations.
Jones Cox said the legislature has invested substantial one-time funding over recent years for multimodal projects, station-area planning and tools such as the Active Transportation Investment Fund. That prior investment, she said, means the current session is quieter on appropriations but contains bills that could affect local practices and planning.
Key bills staff highlighted included: SB 174 (transit and transportation governance amendments) to clarify roles for UTA and UDOT on fixed-guideway projects; HB 229 (corridor preservation amendments) clarifying that corridor preservation can be used for transit projects; HB 454 (local government fees amendments / transportation utility fee provisions), a bill WFRC supports that sets parameters for municipal transportation utility fees (with a related bill proposing exemptions for certain non-profits); and SB 195 (transportation amendments) which in amended form requires updates to local transportation elements for prioritized connections and adds reporting requirements for station-area planning progress. Jones Cox also flagged HB 379 (population data amendments) as a bill that could change which population estimates are used for apportioning some state and local funds, and SB 290 (bicycle lane safety amendments) and SB 96 (advanced air mobility toolkit) as policy items WFRC is monitoring.
Jones Cox said WFRC maintains a bill and appropriations tracker and provides weekly session updates; she invited members to attend the Thursday morning update sessions and to contact WFRC staff with questions. Committee members asked about using the Olympics and federal advocacy in Washington as leverage for investments; staff noted members of the delegation are being briefed and that federal discretionary grants remain competitive and uncertain. Jones Cox said staff are attending committees where key measures (for example HB 454) are being heard and will provide more detail in the regular newsletter and trackers.
