House Transportation Committee reviews draft 'T bill,' flags bonding, bridge-posting and inspection questions

Legislative counsel delivered a section-by-section walkthrough of the draft transportation bill to the House Transportation Committee on Jan. 30, calling out technical clarifications and several policy questions the committee wants the Agency of Transportation (AOT) and the Treasurer’s Office to address next week.

“For the record, I’m Damien Leonard from the Office of Legislative Council,” Leonard said as he opened the committee’s review and displayed the draft language. He described the front-of-book language as the standard annual adoption of the agency’s proposed fiscal year transportation program and said he had copied many definitions from last year’s bill as a starting point.

The draft includes a mix of housekeeping and substantive changes. It would: adopt the agency’s FY27 transportation program “as amended by this act to the extent that federal, state, and local funds are available;” carry forward standard definitions (agency, candidate project, plug-in electric vehicle, FIB funds); raise the contract-bonding threshold the secretary may waive to $250,000; permit the secretary to waive bonding for immediate temporary stabilization work during an emergency event; codify state compliance with the federal National Bridge Inspection Standards and require AOT to notify municipalities of bridge inspection findings; require municipalities to post or close…