House Transportation Committee approves draft 4.1 of T bill in 11-0 committee vote

The House Transportation Committee on Wednesday, March 18, 2026, approved draft 4.1 of the transportation (T) bill in an 11-0 committee vote.

The committee chair moved to approve draft 4.1 of the bill, saying the work represented about 13–14 weeks of work and that members had received a final copy by email and on their desks. "I move that we approve draft 4.1 of the transportation," the chair said.

A Legislative Council staff member interrupted with a technical correction: the allocation of fiscal year 2027 mileage-based user fee (MBUF) revenues to town highway should carry an effective date of Jan. 1, 2027. The chair said a clean copy (4.1) would be posted to the committee.

Before the vote, a member asked why nearly identical emergency-event provisions appeared on pages 5 and 7. Staff explained the duplication was intentional: one section covers bonding tied to contract compliance, while the other covers bonding tied to tax and unemployment-insurance obligations.

A member also asked about a roughly page-and-a-half list of commissioner powers at the end of the MBUF section (page 30). Committee staff described those items as "boilerplate powers" drawn from taxing-authority language, with one power removed as not applicable to MBUF. Staff said the provisions include authority to adopt rules, prescribe forms, contract with an account manager, enter into reciprocal enforcement agreements with other states, hold hearings and compel attendance of witnesses, conduct examinations under oath, and use a judge to enforce subpoenas, referencing sections 105 to 107.

Clerk Jen Tomlinson called the roll for the vote. Representative Burke, Representative Casey, Representative Copeland, Representative Keiser, Representative Lalley, Representative McCoy, Representative Palmisano, Representative White and Representative Walker each recorded "yes." Representative Kenneth Lance Wells, participating remotely, said, "I certify I am Kenneth Lance Wells, Orleans County District 3. I vote yes." The committee chair noted the vote was 11-0.

After the vote the chair thanked committee members, Legislative Council, the Joint Fiscal Office and agency witnesses for their work. The chair acknowledged that the T fund and related projects had gone through "pretty substantial difficulties" since the previous fall and said committee members had kept the fund’s financial situation in mind during deliberations. The chair also highlighted support in the bill for public transit, including Mountain Transit Authority, and referenced potential economic opportunities in the Northeast Kingdom.

The committee did not take further formal action Wednesday; members scheduled a reconvening for 9:30 a.m. the following day to continue with presentations and work through sections of the bill.