A House committee will hear from the public tonight about public transportation spending and ways to fund it.
The governor has proposed spending a little more than $17 million on buses and vans in next year’s budget. That’s about $400,000 less than the current budget.
And leaders of the state’s dozen transit agencies say the amount is far below what they need to replace their aging fleets.
Some lawmakers believe the law would help the environment even more if they raised money to buy new buses and vans by tacking an extra $150 charge onto the registration fees of gas-guzzling passenger vehicles.
The surcharge is opposed by the governor and automobile dealers.