The bills have begun to be introduced on the floor of both House and Senate and assigned to Committees for attention. In Transportation there are six bills on “the wall”. One has already generated emails and pertains to allowing for a single plate mounted on the rear of pleasure cars to be sufficient rather than the current requirement of front and rear mounted plates.
The Committee received an update from the Department of Motor Vehicles on the Automated Vehicle Inspection Program (AVIP). This is an effort to integrate electronic data collection and management in to Vermont’s Safety and Emissions Inspection process. One concern that has been relayed regards the need for sensors to be functional to pass inspection and it was stated that two “not ready” sensors are necessary for the Inspection to fail for sensor issues. The customer will receive a vehicle Inspection Report and a Notice of potential Recalls.
Secretary Flynn was introduced to the Committee and Acting Director Leblanc presented an overview of VTrans and the Budget Adjustment. The revenue performance for the Transportation funds has been less than forecast. Adjustments were made to the
FY2016 appropriations to match revenue shortfalls at the end of June and the FY2017 forecast indicates additional adjustments may need to occur.
Members of the Agency of Transportation Highway Division met with the Committee to present and discuss the service they provide and highlight some challenges. A refrain that needs to continue to be repeated in our winter driving is “don’t crowd the plow”. A new app was introduced on the VTrans website that allows individuals to view where plows are (and have been!), before starting out onto the highway.
For more information or to contact me please email me at
bmurphy@leg.state.vt.us or call 802-849-6545 or mail to 7 Lily Rd Fairfax VT 05454. The Sergeant at Arms at the State House will also relay messages.
