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Senate advances transportation bill, adopts $89 EV infrastructure fee and reallocations amid debate
Summary
The Vermont Senate advanced H.868 after floor amendments, adopting an $89-per-BEV (and $44.50-per-PHEV) 'EV infrastructure fee' to fund charging stations, one-time transit bridge grants and other program shifts; senators debated equity for rural and low-income Vermonters before ordering third reading.
Senators on the floor advanced H.868, the 2024 transportation omnibus, after a lengthy floor presentation and amendment process that added and clarified climate, transit and electric vehicle provisions. The transportation committee reporters walked colleagues through sections covering the transportation program, project lists and multiple funding changes, and senators voted to adopt committee and appropriations amendments and ordered third reading.
The bill includes a newly named EV infrastructure fee of $89 per year for battery electric vehicles and $44.50 for plug‑in hybrids, which committee reporters said will be directed to electric vehicle charging infrastructure (rather than the transportation fund). The bill also authorizes a one‑time $1,000,000 grant to Green Mountain Transit as bridge funding for FY2025 while GMT stabilizes finances and adjusts service levels, and shifts $1,860,000 out of AOT’s maintenance program with $860,000 returned to the town highway aid program.
“The money isn’t gonna go to the transportation fund. It’s gonna go to the electric…
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