Senate Transportation advances draft to request up to $500,000 for medical transport coordination, seeks clearer ‘bolster mobility management’ language

Senate Transportation on Thursday reviewed draft language to request an appropriation intended to support nonemergency medical transport and related mobility‑management activities, and members agreed to forward a version of the language to the chair of appropriations before the committee deadline.

Staff summarized the draft as authorizing "up to $500,000 in one‑time funds," down from $600,000 the committee said it used last year, and asked members to confirm whether the wording should prioritize hiring new volunteer coordinators or sustaining existing coordinator positions and other supportive activities. "We put $600,000" into last year's effort, the meeting's convenor said, recalling earlier appropriations and joint work with Health and Welfare.

Why it matters: committee members said the funding supports transit agencies that provide thousands of nonemergency medical rides each year and could reduce duplicative trips in rural areas where service consolidation has lengthened travel. Members cited an example in St. Johnsbury where a provider sale forced transit agencies to run separate rides for three patients traveling between towns, increasing costs and complexity.

The draft adds the phrase "bolster mobility management," which staff said would expand the scope beyond hiring coordinators to include broader mobility‑management activities. Several members asked staff to clarify that the money can be used to "support the recruitment and retention of volunteers or medical transports" and not only to hire new staff. "You may want to specify that it's the [program] because that captures medical transports and some other related things," a staff member said during the review.

Members also noted that last year's bill included a requirement that grants be distributed in a geographically balanced manner and required a December 15 report; that subsection was omitted from the current draft. Staff pointed to grant reporting slides presented earlier this year showing where past grants went and how many volunteer coordinators each transit agency reported. "The geographic distribution was not requested by the public transit agencies this year," staff said.

Committee members discussed potential funding sources and whether an IT system to coordinate rides across agencies could be paid from health‑care transformation monies tied to Medicaid changes. Staff said they would follow up with the health transformation lead to determine eligibility. Members also flagged the upcoming schedule: the committee has a short window before committees close (members mentioned May 8) and planned testimony on Monday from advocates such as Local Motion and VNRC so the language could be revised before any Thursday/Friday deadline.

Other items raised during the meeting included draft language on EVSE (electric vehicle supply equipment) and a note that advocates want to present recommendations on multiple sections Monday. The meeting ended with agreement to include the clarified language in the next draft, leave the fund source blank for now, and have staff integrate member edits prior to sending the request to appropriations.

The committee did not take a formal vote during the session; members asked staff to redraft the language to clarify eligible activities, to consider restoring geographic distribution or reporting requirements, and to bring back the updated draft before the appropriations deadline.