During today’s subcommittee decision meetings of the Senate Budget and Taxation Committee, the Governor’s proposed funding of extra local transportation was rejected. The subcommittee adopted recommendations of its staff agency, which objected to the use of “capital grants” as the means to add further local road and bridge funding in the FY 2017 budget. The subcommittee’s recommendation indicates that legislation effecting a statutory distribution of the fund is needed to properly spend the funding being provided.

See previous Conduit Street coverage: DLS: Highway User Revenues Should be a Bill, Not Just in Budget

The full Budget & Taxation Committee will meet later this week for its full decisions, and could still decide to provide funding through legislation. Despite the lack of an all-encompassing budget reconciliation bill, other bills in the Committee could be amended to effect the Committee’s intended policies.

The full committee is expected to receive its subcommittee reports Thursday afternoon, and will likely take up related budget changes and any accompanying legislation during that meeting.