Act No. 123
(H.784)
Transportation; transportation program; motor vehicles
This act:
(1) Adopts the agency of transportation's ("agency") proposed fiscal year 2011 budget to the extent federal, state, and local funds are available and makes certain amendments to the agency's personal services spending budget and to the following programs: rail; the department of motor vehicles; program development - roadway; program development - interstate bridge; program development - bike and pedestrian facilities; aviation; town highway - Vermont local roads; and public transit.
(2) Directs the secretary of transportation ("secretary") to use $1,949,321 in transportation infrastructure bond ("TIB") funds to replace state transportation fund money and to use $130,000 in federal toll credits to replace state transportation fund money.
(3) Authorizes the secretary to transfer appropriations as necessary to meet the maintenance of effort requirements of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.
(4) Authorizes issuance of $13.5 million in transportation infrastructure bonds, grants conditional authority to increase the bond issuance to $16.5 million if needed to fund required reserves, and appropriates bond proceeds to the program development spending category.
(5) Authorizes issuance of up to $15 million of additional TIB funds upon approval of the general assembly or the joint transportation oversight committee ("JTOC") and authorizes appropriation of the bond proceeds.
(6) Authorizes the agency to apply for a Federal Railroad Administration High-Speed Intercity Passenger Rail grant to cover the cost of upgrading the state's western rail corridor for intercity passenger rail service, adds the rail project to the fiscal year 2011 transportation program if the grant is awarded, and authorizes the spending of federal grant funds and transportation infrastructure bond proceeds in the event the grant is awarded.
(7) Provides that after funding of the transportation fund budget stabilization reserve, any remaining surplus in the transportation fund after the close of fiscal year 2010 up to $3 million be transferred to the TIB fund and that, in the event the July 2010 consensus revenue forecast for the transportation fund is increased above the January forecast, any increase up to $3 million be transferred to the TIB fund.
(8) Authorizes the secretary to transfer fiscal years 2010 and 2011 appropriations, other than appropriations for the town highway state aid, structures, and class 2 roadway programs, as necessary to satisfy TIB bond and debt service reserve requirements. However, the authority to reduce appropriations is limited to reductions that will not have the effect of significantly delaying the planned work schedule of the project which formed the basis of the project's funding in either fiscal year 2010 (in the case of fiscal year 2010 reductions) or fiscal years 2011 and 2012 (in the case of fiscal year 2011 reductions).
(9) Transfers $1,120,000 from the transportation fund to the central garage fund and repeals an annual report on central garage activities and equipment rental rates that the agency is required to submit to JTOC.
(10) Amends the annual transportation budget process by requiring that the agency's proposed annual transportation program include a report with respect to the most recently closed fiscal year summarizing actual expenditures in the closed fiscal year and all unexpended funds carried forward into the next fiscal year and that the report include a separate section highlighting any new projects proposed to be added to the state transportation program. In addition, the act requires notification when the secretary exercises authority to undertake projects to resolve emergency or safety issues.
(11) Amends the statute concerning JTOC activities to eliminate mandatory meetings and instead provide that meetings be convened by the chair as needed. Reports on the status of the state's transportation finances and transportation programs are required to be transmitted electronically to the joint fiscal office for distribution to JTOC members if a JTOC meeting is not convened on the scheduled date of a joint fiscal committee meeting.
(12) Repeals the bridge maintenance program (with the effect that maintenance spending on interstate, state, and town bridges will appear as separate line items in the agency's budget); adds to statute a provision that one-half of vehicle inspection sticker revenue be reserved for bridge maintenance activities and repeals corresponding session law; and provides that any unexpended funds remaining in the bridge maintenance program at the end of fiscal year 2010 be carried forward to the agency's program development program category and be expended on bridge maintenance projects.
(13) Specifies that the transportation board has appellate review over transportation-related contract disputes whether the contract is awarded by the agency or awarded by municipalities working with the agency.
(14) Replaces a requirement that the agency advertise and award contracts of more than $50,000 to the lowest qualified bidder with a requirement that the agency in its solicitation and award of contracts follow procurement standards approved by the secretary of administration as well as applicable federal laws and regulations.
(15) Requires a municipality or other local sponsor managing a project under a grant agreement with the agency to repay federal funds required by the federal government to be repaid if the municipality or other local sponsor cancels the project due to circumstances wholly or partially within its control, and provides that the municipality or other local sponsor may seek review before the transportation board to challenge the agency's determination that it is responsible for such repayments.
(16) Expands the scope of an exemption regarding the agency's obligation to file land conveyance documents with the secretary of state to include all transportation-related conveyance documents.
(17) Removes the transportation board from the list of entities that annually receive copies of municipal reports.
(18) Provides that the latest version of the Federal Highway Administration's Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices ("MUTCD") is adopted upon its effective date except that the agency shall have the flexibility to use the version of the MUTCD in effect at the time a project is designed if the project is beyond a preliminary state of design and is anticipated to be constructed within two years of the latest MUTCD revision.
(19) Specifies that school zone signs conform to standards set forth in the MUTCD and provides that the term "school" include school district-operated prekindergarten program facilities owned or leased by a school district.
(20) Authorizes the secretary to accept ownership from Air Now of an existing hangar building at the William H. Morse State Airport and authorizes certain amended lease conditions.
(21) Authorizes the secretary to sell state-owned railroad property (other than rail property within 33 feet of the centerline of main line track) with an appraised value below $100,000 without first obtaining approval of the general assembly while requiring advance approval of sales of such property appraised at $100,000 or above. The act also requires the secretary to provide advance notice of a decision to place a rail line in railbanked status.
(22) Authorizes the sale for fair market value of two segments of the Fonda Branch of the former Central Vermont Railway, Inc., in the town of Swanton.
(23) Provides that an out-of-state law enforcement and first responder vehicle properly permitted in its home state or province may use sirens and signals in Vermont when responding to an emergency despite lacking a permit authorizing such use from the Vermont department of motor vehicles.
(24) Specifies that when declaring speed limits based on engineering and traffic investigations, the traffic committee must take into account safe speeds within school zones when children are traveling to or from schools or facilities and expands the traffic committee's authority to declare speed limits based on such investigations to include interstate highways.
(25) Specifies that during special occasions and when town highway maintenance is under way, towns may make special regulations as to motor vehicle operation and may exclude motor vehicles from "town highways" rather than "certain public highways" and provides that the public must be given as much notice as possible of such special regulations.
(26) Eliminates language requiring that gasoline retailers install "new" triple data encryption standard (TDES) gasoline dispensers when replacing existing dispensers in order to qualify for an exemption from stage II vapor recovery rules so as to allow installation of new or used TDES dispensers.
(27) Authorizes the agency of transportation to enter into an agreement with the town of Belvidere to relinquish to the town's jurisdiction over a segment of former Vermont Route 109; authorizes the agency to enter into an agreement with the town of Norwich to relinquish to the town's jurisdiction a segment of Vermont Route 10A and a segment of U.S. Route 5; and authorizes the agency to enter into an agreement with the town of Bennington to relinquish a segment of U.S. Route 7 and to accept from the town a segment of Vermont Route 9.
(28) Repeals the definition of "short range public transit plan" as well as another statutory reference to such plans which were eliminated in Sec. 73 of No. 50 of the Acts of 2009.
(29) Requires the agency to examine the functions of the rail, aviation, and public transit modal councils and the scenery preservation council in consultation with each council and to make any recommendations to improve each council's efficiency and effectiveness by January 15, 2011.
(30) Updates the description of the scenery preservation council's duties to describe its present-day functions; eliminates references to the "state planning office," which no longer exists; eliminates legislative members of the council; and specifies the frequency of council meetings.
(31) Changes the time period in which the transportation board must issue an order following a condemnation hearing and in which the agency must file a copy of this order and tender payment to the landowner from a single 45-day period to separate 30-day periods.
(32) Authorizes the commissioner of buildings and general services (BGS) to negotiate and contract with businesses interested in providing travel information services near Exit 7 of Interstate 91 for the purpose of establishing a privately operated travel information center.
(33) Authorizes the commissioner of BGS to evaluate cross-border opportunities regarding advertising at information centers and joint operation of information centers.
(34) Directs the secretary of transportation and the commissioner of fish and wildlife to make plans regarding the upgrade of fishing access facilities at the Lake Champlain bridge at Crown Point and directs the secretary and the commissioner of BGS to work together in seeking potential federal funding for renovations of Chimney Point State Historic Site facilities and for fishing facilities.
(35) Reduces from $125 to $100 the annual renewal fees for full and half-sized official business directional signs.
(36) Repeals the Rest Area Advisory Committee.
(37) Makes permanent the authority of the commissioner of motor vehicles to issue annual permits for oversize and overweight low-bed trailers.
(38) Allows a sign directing traffic to the facilities of a postsecondary educational institution to be erected at the intersection of U.S. Route 4 Western Bypass and U.S. Route 7 in the city of Rutland.
Date Signed by the Governor: May 26, 2010
Effective Dates:
(1) Secs. 12-13 (state funding effort for transportation maintenance; authority to issue transportation infrastructure bonds), 15-16 (transportation fund surplus transferred to transportation infrastructure bond fund and pay fiscal year 2011 bonding obligations), 40-41 (traffic committee establishing speed limits within school zones and on interstate highways), 43 (gasoline vapor recovery requirements), and 56 (low-bed truck trailer permits) take effect on passage (May 26, 2010, the date on which the governor signed the bill)
(2) All other sections take effect on July 1, 2010.
H.784 FY 11 Transportation Program | Authorized Spending | ||
Administration-finance planning | |||
Central Admin & Finance | 12,842,977 | ||
Poicy & Planning | 9,400,266 | ||
Transportation Board | 86,544 | ||
Department of Motor Vehicles | 24,226,470 | ||
Sub-total | 46,556,257 | ||
Faclities | |||
Rest Areas | 4,820,000 | ||
AOT Buildings | 2,467,500 | ||
Sub-total | 7,287,500 | ||
Alternate modes | |||
Public Transit | 24,739,704 | ||
Aviation | 22,746,342 | ||
Pedestrian & Bike Facilities | 8,853,405 | ||
Park & Ride | 3,142,926 | ||
Multi-Modal Facilities | 0 | ||
Rail infrastructure | 46,679,883 | ||
Amtrak | 5,050,000 | ||
Sub-total | 111,212,260 | ||
Highway Infrastructure | |||
Maintenance | 67,381,887 | ||
Paying | 93,422,949 | ||
Roadway | 67,233,489 | ||
State bridges | 60,748,053 | ||
interstate bridges | 33,395,951 | ||
Town bridges | 19,089,340 | ||
Bridge Maintenance Program | 0 | ||
Traffic Operations | 12,197,275 | ||
PD Admin &Tech Services | 14,483,921 | ||
Sub-total | 367,952,865 | ||
Town programs | |||
TH Aid | 24,982,744 | ||
TH Class 2 | 7,248,750 | ||
TH Structures | 5,833,500 | ||
TH Class 1 supplemental grants | 128,750 | ||
Enhancements | 3,431,980 | ||
TH Emergencyfund | 750,000 | ||
FEMA grant program | 200,000 | ||
TH VT Local Roads | 390,000 | ||
Municipal mitig lion grants | 2,112,998 | ||
Sub-total | 45,078,722 | ||
Agency wide measures | -686,400 | ||
Total All Programs - Actual cash spending | 577,401,204 | ||
+ Central Garage Internal Service Funds | 17,177,863 | ||
- Bond proceeds (appropriated in H 784) | -13,297,500 | ||
Big Bill Transportation Appropriations | 581,581,567 | ||