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House amends and advances H.944 after contentious votes on pilot-fund allocation and mileage-based charges for EVs
Summary
The Vermont House advanced H.944, a transportation omnibus bill, after Ways and Means amendments and a roll-call vote that deleted proposed automatic transfers of half any pilot surplus to town highways (84–46). The bill includes a new mileage-based user fee for battery-electric vehicles (set in committee at 1.4¢/mile in earlier text, later revised), adjustments to grant thresholds, a temporary FY27 routing for transition revenues, and programmatic changes to public transit authorities.
The Vermont House advanced H.944, the fiscal year 2027 transportation omnibus bill, after multi-committee presentations and a divided floor vote on a key pilot-fund allocation.
Representative Walker (member from Swanton), speaking for the Transportation Committee, outlined a structural funding shortfall for transportation programs and described agency reductions and savings measures, including the elimination of approximately 62 positions in the Agency of Transportation and other cost-management steps. “There are 35 Vermonters that are no longer working at the agency of transportation for an estimated annual savings of over $8,000,000,” Walker said as part of the committee’s fiscal overview.
Sections of the bill address a range of technical and programmatic changes: repealing obsolete municipal heavy-equipment-loan statutes; clarifying roadway-design and signage rules; increasing bonding waiver thresholds; amending membership and charters related to public transit authorities; increasing maximum awards for the Transportation Alternatives grant program (temporary one-time FY27 increases to obligate $2.1 million in remaining federal funds); and creating processes for appeals and use of federal funds for infrastructure projects.
Two contested policy elements drew particular floor attention. First, Transportation Committee sponsors had proposed dedicating half of any annual pilot-fund excess to town highway aid as an ongoing transfer; Ways and Means removed those sections (14–15) in its amendment and proposed an alternative mix of revenue transfers and a $2.2 million transfer from an infrastructure bond with $1.7 million dedicated to general state aid for town highways. The House divided the amendment and took a roll-call vote on deleting sections 14 and 15; the deletion was adopted by roll call, 84 yes to 46 no.
Second, the bill includes provisions for a mileage-based user fee (MBUF) or road-usage charge for battery-electric vehicles. Committee text described a calculation method and an initial illustrative rate (committee discussion recorded 1.4¢ per mile as the committee-calculated average for Vermont pleasure cars) along with transition rules that would credit prior infrastructure-fee payments and, for FY2027, route early MBUF revenues to town highway aid to ensure local programs could be supported during the shift. Ways and Means revised the MBUF language to simplify payment options, add exemptions (e.g., state vehicles) and create a road usage charge for EV rental cars equal to 1% of a rental charge. Ways and Means also extended appeal windows and allowed waivers for past due amounts in hardship cases.
After the divided roll-call on the pilot surplus language, the remainder of the Ways and Means amendment was adopted and third reading of H.944 was ordered.
The House recorded committee recommendations and multiple lines of testimony noted in the record, and sponsors promised additional materials (fiscal notes, spreadsheets, and JFO details) to help members and municipal leaders understand the bill’s local impacts.
