On Thursday, July 27, the Legislature passed a bill that includes $375 million in funding authorizations for transportation needs across the state.
Included in the bill is $200 million for the state’s Chapter 90 program, which provides municipalities with a reliable funding source for transportation-related improvements, including road and bridge repairs.
Also included is $175 million for programs that will support various transportation-related projects. This includes $25 million for each of the following:
- the municipal small bridge program;
- the complete streets program;
- a bus transit infrastructure program;
- grants to increase access to mass transit and commuter rail stations;
- grants for municipalities and regional transit authorities to purchase electric vehicles and the infrastructure needed to support them;
- funding for pavement and surface improvements on state and municipal roadways; and
- new funding dedicated to additional transportation support based on road mileage, which is particularly helpful for rural communities where we have the road mileage, but do not have large populations, which is a highly-weighted factor in the traditional Chapter 90 formula.
The final bullet point above, the funding based on road mileage, has been a particular focus of mine. The formula that will be used to distribute this funding is still being worked on and I have weighed in to ensure the final formula sends as much money as possible to the communities in our district.
The House and Senate initially passed this legislation back in March, and a conference committee that had been appointed to reconcile the differences between the House and Senate proposals recently completed its work. The transportation bill now moves to the Governor’s desk for her signature.
To read the full text of the bill, visit: https://malegislature.gov/Bills/193/H4013.
