Republican Gov. Phil Scott has signed into law this year’s annual omnibus transportation bill, which is set to invest hundreds of millions of state dollars into infrastructure projects.
Out of the ordinary in this year’s so-called T-Bill is a provision allowing for the lease or sale of the Caledonia County State Airport. Late in the legislative session, the Agency of Transportation asked lawmakers for permission to offload Lyndon’s small airport, arguing that a private company could make necessary upgrades faster than the state — while preserving public access.
South Burlington-based electric airplane manufacturer Beta Technologies has expressed interest in acquiring the site, according to agency officials. The proposal garnered little public opposition before it was added into the large annual transportation bill package.
In a Monday afternoon statement announcing his signature, Scott boasted that H.479 is the state’s “largest ever” T-Bill, and will “benefit Vermonters for years to come.”
“It includes over $140 million for paving projects, covering more than 450 miles of improvements; $18.2 million for bicycle, pedestrian and transportation alternatives program funding, going to 55 construction projects and the design of 37 additional projects across 77 Vermont communities; historic funding at $48.8 million for public transit; and $43 million in rail projects,” Scott said. “It also takes important steps to reduce carbon emissions from the transportation sector by investing $27.9 million across multiple efforts, including expanding EV charging.”
Lawmakers removed from the T-Bill hikes in the state’s vehicle fees, including car registrations, driver’s license fees, license plates and more by roughly 20%. Scott has cried foul over numerous tax and fee hikes implemented by lawmakers this year, and the increased DMV fees were no exception.
Ultimately, those fee changes were moved from the T-Bill to this year’s budget, which Scott already vetoed. Legislators will reconvene next week to consider overriding Scott’s vetoes to the budget and more.
Correction: An earlier version of this story misstated the financial impact of a potential sale or lease of the Caledonia County State Airport.
