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House Transportation Committee makes revenue, T bill and DMV modernization top early priorities
Summary
Chair Matt Walker told the committee on Jan. 6 that transportation revenue will be its top priority this session, previewing a T bill, a DMV modernization briefing and a joint Ways and Means hearing to examine revenue breakdowns and options.
Representative Matt Walker, chair of the House Transportation Committee, opened the committee’s 2026 session by saying transportation revenue is the panel’s “number 1 priority,” and outlined a schedule of briefings and hearings leading up to the budget address.
“The transportation revenues and how it flows and how it gets addressed within this building is our number 1 priority,” Walker said, and asked members to continue speaking with colleagues in other committees about transportation funding.
Walker said the committee will hear Commissioner Andrew Collier of the Department of Motor Vehicles at 9:15 a.m. tomorrow for an update on the DMV modernization rollout and related issues with license renewals. He also scheduled a 1 p.m. appearance Thursday from Secretary Flynn and his team for a state-of-the-agency briefing and a joint Ways and Means session Friday at 11 a.m. to review the history, current status and breakdown of transportation revenues, including fuel taxes and purchase/use taxes.
Walker told members the committee will take up the T bill after those briefings and before town meeting and crossover, and will also examine related items such as the miscellaneous motor vehicles act and the state inspection system. “We have promised as a committee we would look at inspection,” he said, and noted that mileage‑based user fees and inspection proposals are “intertwined.”
Walker emphasized limited paving this year as a financing concern, saying, “we're only doing a 100 miles of paving this year,” and warned that without additional revenue the state risks falling further behind on maintenance. He asked members to be prepared for follow-up requests from staff and to participate in upcoming hearings.
A member also announced a bill to move funds from the education fund back to the transportation fund, saying it will be submitted Thursday with about 25 co-sponsors, though the member expressed skepticism about its prospects.
The committee plans a dedicated day of testimony on highway safety within the next three to four weeks and will continue to update its agendas as the session progresses.
