Senate advances transportation bill, adopts $89 EV infrastructure fee and reallocations amid debate

Senators on the floor advanced H.868, the 2024 transportation omnibus, after a lengthy floor presentation and amendment process that added and clarified climate, transit and electric vehicle provisions. The transportation committee reporters walked colleagues through sections covering the transportation program, project lists and multiple funding changes, and senators voted to adopt committee and appropriations amendments and ordered third reading.

The bill includes a newly named EV infrastructure fee of $89 per year for battery electric vehicles and $44.50 for plug‑in hybrids, which committee reporters said will be directed to electric vehicle charging infrastructure (rather than the transportation fund). The bill also authorizes a one‑time $1,000,000 grant to Green Mountain Transit as bridge funding for FY2025 while GMT stabilizes finances and adjusts service levels, and shifts $1,860,000 out of AOT’s maintenance program with $860,000 returned to the town highway aid program.

“The money isn’t gonna go to the transportation fund. It’s gonna go to the electric vehicle charging stations so that we can get more electric vehicles,” the senator reporting the bill said in describing the change, and noted the FY25 fiscal estimate of roughly $900,000 (rising to about $1.7 million in FY26) for charging infrastructure and multifamily/workplace installations.

Opponents on the floor urged caution on equity grounds. Senator from Windsor framed the matter around access and affordability, calling climate transition "the overarching existential issue of our time" but arguing that policies that increase costs for prospective EV owners risk excluding moderate and lower‑income Vermonters. “I think we need to operate on the understanding…this is an imperative. But I’m not sure there is universal consensus on the gravitas of that issue,” the senator said, and asked colleagues to allow a separate vote on the EV sections to give members a chance to oppose them without voting down the full transportation package.

Reporters and other supporters countered that the fee is modest relative to purchase incentives and that directing revenue to chargers addresses a primary barrier to adoption—particularly for people who live in multifamily housing or rural areas that lack workplace or residential chargers. The floor record cites existing incentives (including a $5,000 Replace Your Ride grant for low‑income Vermonters) and agency testimony asserting increased charging access is the larger barrier to EV adoption than a modest registration‑linked fee.

The transportation bill also: updates EV supply equipment (EVSE) policy and reporting requirements; sets state goals for publicly available Level 3 chargers within three driving miles of specified interstates and 25 miles of one another; adds mobility services guides and codifies the MTI grant program (with maximum grants up to $100,000); authorizes up to $2,000,000 for the Agency of Transportation to purchase property for a replacement central garage damaged in floods; modernizes railroad lease provisions; and updates the MUTCD and other technical provisions.

Several items drew targeted questions on the floor. Senators asked whether a $140,000 e‑bike allocation from the House remained; reporters confirmed the $140,000 had been struck from the bill and not placed elsewhere, prompting concern the State’s e‑bike incentives could run short. Another exchange focused on whether language in Section 31 ceded legislative prerogative to the administration on railroad leases; committee reporters responded they will provide federal regulatory context for third reading (citing 49 CFR part 1150) and that federal preemption largely governs long‑term leases.

Procedurally, the Senate divided the question to take sections 27–29 (the EV/mileage fee block) as a separate vote, then adopted those sections and the remainder of the committee’s amendment. By voice votes the body amended the committee report as offered and ordered third reading of H.868.

What’s next: The bill is ordered for third reading; reporters said they will return with any clarifying language and fiscal details for final consideration. The Senate record shows committee and appropriations recommendations and multiple technical corrections will be addressed prior to the final vote.