AUGUSTA – For years, the budget that funds all operations of the state’s Department of Transportation (DOT) has been supported through short-term or one-time sources. Last week, Sen. Brad Farrin, R-Somerset, sought to fix that and proposed an amendment to the bill that would dedicate sustainable, permanent funding going forward.

That amended bill, LD 259, was enacted by the Maine Legislature yesterday and signed by Gov. Janet Mills today.

For Senate Republican Leader Trey Stewart, R-Aroostook, the passage of LD 259 proved to be a historic moment and will provide much-needed stable statutory funding for Maine’s roads and bridges.

“Maine owes a debt of gratitude for the leadership of Senator Brad Farrin, Representative Wayne Parry and Republicans on the Transportation Committee, without whom this critical change would not have come about,” said Stewart. “Passage of this bill eliminates the need to continually borrow against our future and pay interest when we don’t have to, particularly at a time when the State is flush with money. Instead of expanding state government by growing positions or creating new social programs, Republicans said enough is enough and that its time to actually find a way to fix our roads and bridges.”

According to Farrin, who is the Senate Republican Lead for the Transportation Committee, discussion regarding permanent funding for the State’s transportation infrastructure has been ongoing for years. A Blue Ribbon Commission was convened in 2020 to study the issue but couldn’t settle on a permanent solution.

“The proposed two-year transportation budget dedicated $200 million in one-time funds and we were able to move another $53 million in liquor fund cascade money into the budget,” Farrin said Thursday after the vote. “But as we were moving forward this session, we heard discussion about another bond issue despite our record amount of revenue.”

Farrin recalled that one of the major findings from the Blue Ribbon Commission was the growing negative impact of electric vehicles on gas tax receipts. He proposed his amendment to the Transportation Committee that would dedicated 50% of sales tax revenue from the sale of vehicles and vehicle-related parts to the Highway Fund.

Ultimately, his amendment garnered bipartisan support with 9-4 majority vote.

When the bill reached the Senate, a floor amendment reduced the allocation to 40% but also included vehicle use tax, which is collected separately from the sales tax system. The change means the Highway Fund will have at least $130-$150 million in permanent funding per year going forward.

“I want to thank all of the members of the Transportation Committee who worked hard on this issue,” Farrin said of the bipartisan effort. “This will ensure that Maine’s transportation infrastructure will have dedicated funding now and in the future and our transportation needs will be met.”

Sen. Rick Bennett, R-Oxford, the Senate Republican Lead for the Legislature’s Appropriations and Financial Affairs Committee and a fierce critic of what he calls Maine’s “broken budgeting process,” said the structural imbalance of the Highway Fund had been growing for years. Electric vehicles don’t contribute to the State’s gas tax; yet they still cause wear and tear on Maine’s transportation system.

“We’ve known for a while that the motor vehicle fuels tax was no longer sufficient to fund our transportation needs and EVs were only going to make it worse,” Bennett said. “We’ve been avoiding the problem for years through borrowing and other financial sleight of hand but this move to permanent funding will help avoid the need to do that.”

For Bennett, the State’s record amount of revenue gave Republican lawmakers the opportunity to find a long-term solution, something he said everyone knew had to happen.

“Missing this opportunity to actually solve the Highway Fund’s funding crisis for the long term would have been a tragic mistake,” he said. “This transition to dedicated sources of funding that is going to last and grow over time is a really good move for the people of Maine.”