Vermont H 944: An act relating to the fiscal year 2027 Transportation Program and miscellaneous changes to laws related to transportation

Bill Text

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No. 168. An act relating to the fiscal year 2027 Transportation Program
and miscellaneous changes to laws related to transportation.
(H.944)
It is hereby enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Vermont:
* * * Legislative Findings * * *
Sec. 1. LEGISLATIVE FINDINGS
The General Assembly finds that:
(1) State fiscal year 2025 Transportation Fund revenues came in nearly
$7,400,000.00 below the revenue forecast.
(2) In July 2025, the revenue forecast for the Transportation Fund was
downgraded for State fiscal years 2026–2030 because of reductions in the
projected revenues from the purchase and use tax and Department of Motor
Vehicles fees.
(3) Revenues from the taxes on gasoline and diesel fuel are projected to
gradually decrease in State fiscal years 2026–2030. That trend is expected to
continue because of improving vehicle fuel efficiency among all vehicles and
increasing adoption of electric vehicles.
(4) The July 2025 consensus revenue forecast estimates a 1.33 percent
compound annual growth rate in Transportation Fund revenues between 2026
and 2030, which is far below recent inflation levels.
(5) In contrast with the slow growth in Transportation Fund revenues,
the National Highway Construction Cost Index increased by approximately
62 percent between 2020 and 2025.

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(6) In addition to rising construction costs, salaries and benefits have
also increased significantly in recent years, creating significant ongoing cost
pressure on the Transportation Fund.
(7) To address budget shortfalls in the past year, the Agency has been
forced to eliminate 62 permanent positions.
(8) Continuing deficits in the Transportation Fund threaten the State’s
ability to provide the required match for federal funds, which make up more
than half of the State’s annual transportation budget.
(9) Municipalities face the same cost pressures as the State. However,
State aid for town highways has only increased by 2.7 percent, which places
increasing pressure on chronically underfunded town highway programs and
puts pressure on the property tax.
(10) If Vermont is unable to keep up with the maintenance and capital
needs of its transportation system, the infrastructure will continue to
deteriorate, and restoring the system to a state of good repair will cost
significantly more.
(11) Prompt legislative action is necessary to ensure the future health
and stability of the Transportation Fund and to enable the Agency of
Transportation to keep Vermont’s transportation system in a state of good
repair.
* * * Transportation Program Adopted as Amended; Definitions * * *
Sec. 2. TRANSPORTATION PROGRAM ADOPTED; DEFINITIONS

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(a) Adoption. The Agency of Transportation’s Proposed Fiscal Year 2027
Transportation Program appended to the Agency of Transportation’s proposed
fiscal year 2027 budget, as amended by this act, is adopted to the extent
federal, State, and local funds are available.
(b) Definitions. As used in this act, unless otherwise indicated:
(1) “Agency” means the Agency of Transportation.
(2) “Candidate project” means a project approved by the General
Assembly that is not anticipated to have significant preliminary engineering
expenditures or right-of-way expenditures, or both, during the budget year and
for which construction funding is not anticipated within a predictable time
frame.
(3) “Development and evaluation (D&E) project” means a project
approved by the General Assembly that is anticipated to have preliminary
engineering expenditures or right-of-way expenditures, or both, during the
budget year and that the Agency is committed to delivering to construction on
a timeline driven by priority and available funding.
(4) “Electric vehicle supply equipment (EVSE)” and “electric vehicle
supply equipment available to the public” have the same meanings as in
30 V.S.A. § 201.
(5) “Front-of-book project” means a project approved by the General
Assembly that is anticipated to have construction expenditures during the

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budget year or the following three years, or both, with expected expenditures
shown over four years.
(6) “Plug-in electric vehicle (PEV),” “plug-in hybrid electric vehicle
(PHEV),” and “battery electric vehicle (BEV)” have the same meanings as in
23 V.S.A. § 4(85).
(7) “Secretary” means the Secretary of Transportation.
(8) “TIB funds” means monies deposited in the Transportation
Infrastructure Bond Fund in accordance with 19 V.S.A. § 11f.
(9) The table heading “As Proposed” means the Proposed
Transportation Program referenced in subsection (a) of this section; the table
heading “As Amended” means the amendments as made by this act; the table
heading “Change” means the difference obtained by subtracting the “As
Proposed” figure from the “As Amended” figure; the term “change” or
“changes” in the text refer to the project- and program-specific