Vermont Legislature SmartTranscripts:

[Sen. Wendy Harrison (Clerk)]: Hey. You're live.

[Sen. Richard Westman (Chair)]: And we are the first day of the session, and it is January 6. And we are the Senate Transportation Committee. And, I wanna start with we really haven't got a chance as a committee to talk since the eighteenth when we had, our meeting. And we, I think we all know that we've got a bunch of heavy issues in front of us. And I will tell you that I did take the liberty. I went in the fall to an NCSL meeting that they had, and you will see Hawaii and you will see Virginia on the schedule this week. We're probably gonna add to that Oregon and Utah. Those are all states that have done things about revenue. So I wanted to get those on the plate. It you know, I'm gonna round up after we go around the table because I want each of you to talk about what you what your priorities are for this committee and have us we're gonna try to work in what your priorities and what I think is the overall priority of this are our finances for transportation. But what you're going to see is we're trying to work in. So this first week, we're gonna go through some

[Sen. Patrick "Pat" Brennan (Member)]: of the

[Sen. Richard Westman (Chair)]: studies and we're going to hear what those states that have done things about revenues are. That'll probably be this week and the first part of next week. But to start off, I'm gonna go from Wendy around the table this way, and if you wanted to talk about the things that you think that we should take up in the committees, that would be great.

[Sen. Wendy Harrison (Clerk)]: Great. Thank you, Mr. Chair. Sorry, I missed, I didn't miss it, but I was online for the meeting that we've had with Windham District. Yeah, you were fine. But it was, I really appreciated that meeting and a couple of takeaways from that meeting are I think we should consider the process that they use. I was I want talk about process and I want to talk about actual things that we can do but I think what would help with our process as a committee or could help is because the transportation budget is so set for multiple years. It's at least a two year budget. We could consider it a two year budget like we do in institutions because the vast majority of the expenses are

[Sen. Rebecca "Becca" White (Vice Chair)]: capital

[Sen. Wendy Harrison (Clerk)]: light expenses. And what is helpful in institutions is what we do, most of you probably already know this, but we set the budget in the first year and then we adjust the budget in the second year but that takes much less time than going through a whole new budget process and then we get to the policy, we have more time for policy. So I think that might be something useful here because what we, in my short experience on this committee, we start with budget first. And I think we should start, I personally would like to start with safety first and we had a pretty interesting conversation last year and presentation about safety but that came later in the process and I think it would be good to just highlight and center safety because that's critical importance to all of

[Sen. Richard Westman (Chair)]: us in the impacted.

[Sen. Wendy Harrison (Clerk)]: One bill that I'm going to introduce is we're going to address driving school for kids. So that's part of that safety. And then you can think about solid revenues and having

[Sen. Andrew Perchlik (Member)]: a good plan for revenues as financial safety and financial

[Sen. Wendy Harrison (Clerk)]: being able to plan and not having a crisis every other year or maybe even every year. I Working in a crisis is different and some of our crises I think have been self imposed because we haven't planned and we haven't done something when we know that the gas tax has been an issue for twenty years honestly. It's not just Vermont, it's the country. All of the states have had this issue and so it's time to address it. It's been time to address it. So talking about revenue, that's fun, we have to address revenue and I'm really appreciative, Cherry, that you've made that a top priority because it has been an issue and it's crimping us. It's impacting not just transportation proper, but it's impacting our school kids actually. It's impacting our healthcare system and having the joint committee meeting last year with health and welfare. I thought that was terrific and I think we should do more of that and we could also meet with the economic development committee. We can meet what is natural resources and energy, because so much of what we do impacts on those systems. So that's a priority for me is just having our committees meet together more because I found that very, very valuable and I hope everyone did do it. When we talk about revenue and transportation funding, I think it's really important that yes, we find better sources, newer sources, expanded sources, but we also need to make sure that we're doing the best with the money that we have. And I think we don't spend enough time on that. And it's not always money. There are things that we can do to make our systems better that don't cost anything.

[Sen. Andrew Perchlik (Member)]: So

[Sen. Wendy Harrison (Clerk)]: that's something that I think we we need to look at. That's one of the reasons that I am still going to keep advocating for the transit agency boards to be representative of the communities they serve so that the transit systems are as effective as they can be and that it doesn't necessarily require additional funding. It just requires being very deliberate about how the systems are designed and implemented. Then the other thing I want to talk about I don't know if any of you, there's two studies that I've looked at. One is like a one page study and this one is a longer, really helpful one. Transportation support study, I saw is on our agenda, which is yes. I think that's So, on the third I can, I'll probably hold my comments but on I do think it's very helpful and I hope that everybody takes the time to look at it. There are a couple of, I'll just say two things. This study came about from the Ag two fifty changes that we did a couple of years ago. I was very concerned that we didn't include transportation in the process really very much. We kind of got to the end of the process and it was like, oh, what are we going to do about permitting versus transportation? So it's permitting of new developments And the VTrans has a role in Act two fifty, but it doesn't have a role when the towns permit development. So that's a gap. And so this study is intended to tell us what we can do to fix that gap. And so that gap is in, again, not just funding, but it's also in how the system works. So I think this is just really important. And then they do mention a few things that we could do or that we already have done in the state but they, sometimes we look at incremental benefits as not enough and if it's not enough then it's put aside. So I think we need to have multiple strategies not just wait for one big answer to our problems. And when we diversify our strategies and our mechanisms then they're more stable because the system is more stable because we're not relying just on one mechanism. So, there are some good things that Vermont is already doing and there's things that New Hampshire is doing. So, for example, New Hampshire required Dartmouth Medical and University to financially support transit and they're financially supporting transit that is in Vermont. So, that's where their folks are, right? And that's advanced transit. So, the towns actually, New Hampshire has enabled their towns to require that. So, it's a pretty standard thing that is done. And so I think it's something that Vermont should empower its towns to do. And we can talk more about that when we get to that study. So I appreciate that study. The other study is, there's a lot less detail and I think I'm going to ask for more detail because we have assets. We have mostly land assets and we need to be using those assets for what they're intended for and if businesses are using those as part of their business, then there needs to be a fair payment to the state for those assets. So that's something that I'm going to ask when we look at that. So, I think that is where I will stop for today and again thank you Mr. Chair for having this conversation and leading us to something exciting.

[Sen. Richard Westman (Chair)]: So I'm gonna say in my notes, process, you wouldn't mind taking a look at whether a two year budget would make sense to us. There's some safety issues that you want us to focus on. You like the idea that if we work more collaboratively with the other committees in the Senate, Revenues came up as an issue, kind of an underlying issue, and then the transportation support study and there are a couple of studies that were important to you. Is that a quick overview of?

[Sen. Wendy Harrison (Clerk)]: That is and then I would just say one other thing that was, is just everything isn't money. There are things we can do to improve the system and improve Vermonters lives that don't require money.

[Sen. Richard Westman (Chair)]: Makes sense.

[Sen. Rebecca "Becca" White (Vice Chair)]: Okay, so I have three, and very similar, Wendy, to your three. I think that might be a theme. We might all have similar things. The first main priority for me is shoring up the $33,000,000 shortfall and preventing a future rescission plan. That's my number one. And it's the thing that I wanna spend, I feel like, two thirds of my time working on if possible rather than, like, an equal third of each of these. I have a few bills on the wall that are revenue sources like the delivery fee that's in the Kurtz bill and a fee bait that's also in the Kurtz bill that we introduced last year. I was also very open to introducing a gas tax increase, but chose not to introduce that bill in hopes that we could find an alternative to raising the gas tax. And I'm very interested in the idea of Senator Perchlik's concept around requiring payment for jet fuel. So like a gas tax essentially on jet fuel. And the idea there wouldn't be to replace necessarily that, to use that money to fill the hole, but to potentially offset some of the costs we have in in air. Oh, and then my thing turned off. And then my second one is pedestrian and bike safety. I don't know if you've Oh, it did. Oh, it did. If you are familiar with what's been happening on our roads in the last year, we've had multiple pedestrian casualties on our roads. High profile, completely avoidable accidents. And I think that we need to spend a significant amount of time talking about that. I don't know what the solution there is, but I know senator Tom Chittenden has put forward a super speeders bill that I've co sponsored. I'm not sure. I think others may have also spoken to him about it, but it's similar to an interlock device on a vehicle where you just can't go over the speed limit. It prevents you. And what we know is that just about nationally, seventy five percent of drivers who have had their licenses, they can't use their license. They have restrictions on them. Seventy five percent of them, from our understanding nationally, continue to drive. So clearly our methods aren't working and people are getting killed on our roof. So that's really concerning. So pedestrian safety, I can see super speeders. I can also see, especially with ACT 181, like how do we design our downtowns or our places with high pedestrian use to be safer? So lots on that. And then my last priority is to add some stuff to the DMV miscellaneous bill, which I know we're going to be hearing first. And so I have a flotation device bill, which would require on boats, for example, you have to wear a flotation device all times of the year.

[Sen. Andrew Perchlik (Member)]: It's not required now?

[Sen. Rebecca "Becca" White (Vice Chair)]: There's you'll find out. It gets it gets real fun. But that's like a basic so a couple of small DMV things, including mini trucks and how those mini trucks are being required to register and confusion with owners of the mini trucks and I think also confusion on the DMV side on how we should properly register them. And this is a national conversation. They're kinda new to our market, so we're not alone in having to figure it out. And then the last one within the DMV miscellaneous bill is moving from an every year inspection, safety inspection, to a two year safety inspection. And I do have a bill that has been introduced. I didn't see, I didn't break down what the number was, but it was introduced today and it's being sent here. And I would like this to prioritize, maybe similar to what the protem said, it doesn't need to be my idea. It doesn't need to be my bill, But I think we should prioritize that conversation in the DMV miscellaneous bill around safety inspections and are they doing what we want them to do, and are they meeting the needs of Vermonters?

[Sen. Wendy Harrison (Clerk)]: Yeah. That's my big three.

[Sen. Richard Westman (Chair)]: So I get revenues again, and I think we're all gonna have that. Safety and our accidents up, our people driving faster, and then I think we should probably take a look at and dig into that. I'll look for suggestions about who anybody thinks we ought to have in because I suspect there's others listening to us as we're talking. And then you have three or four issues around the miscellaneous DMV bill, mini trucks, flotation devices, which I know nothing about. And, and then, I know you have the two year inspection bill, in in that case.

[Sen. Wendy Harrison (Clerk)]: Yep. You got it. And.

[Sen. Rebecca "Becca" White (Vice Chair)]: We do have my clean fuels bill that's coming here, but

[Sen. Wendy Harrison (Clerk)]: I don't expect this to take it up, I guess, in my list.

[Sen. Richard Westman (Chair)]: Well, I'm know, I I would generally say to you, I think they're around the two year inspections. There's a number of issues in that. One of them is and I'm totally into taking a look at that issue in the overall, but I think there's a number of points in there. Are the requirements from DMV too strict? And with that, and the other piece is I'm totally, I totally think that what we do around those inspections is to owners, particularly on lower income people, in in in that place. It is a big issue because there are lots of inspection stations and all that, and it takes a lot of time. And and where that fits in our overall discussion of revenue, it's gonna bump up against that discussion. And so there'll be a lot to come on that, but but I certainly want us to take a look

[Sen. Wendy Harrison (Clerk)]: at that, I'm sure. Thank you. K. Well, fest. Have you good notes, sir?

[Sen. Richard Westman (Chair)]: I'm trying to take notes.

[Sen. Wendy Harrison (Clerk)]: I'm frank, you said do be here. Take notes. You want a note of? Right.

[Sen. Richard Westman (Chair)]: My notes are longer than I thought they should be.

[Sen. Andrew Perchlik (Member)]: Ready? Yeah. Time of the third, the safety discussion. So these are not in order, but just the order of what I've done. We had another death in my district from a wrong way, driving around the interstate, And so and I had a couple of constituents that passed that vehicle, you know, coming the wrong way. And it turned out that person just drove past me and people hopped in somehow just got on

[Sen. Rebecca "Becca" White (Vice Chair)]: the highway the wrong way. But

[Sen. Andrew Perchlik (Member)]: just overall the discussion in pedestrian safety as well. It seems like we used to, early on in this committee, have the Governor's Highway Safety Council come in and talk about the statistics. I think we've taken testimony on the statistics, but there are suggestions that it would be good to hear and think about.

[Sen. Wendy Harrison (Clerk)]: Are they still active? I don't know. Are appointed? Yeah.

[Sen. Andrew Perchlik (Member)]: Yeah. I think so. Okay. And I think We

[Sen. Wendy Harrison (Clerk)]: got one in the past. Yeah.

[Sen. Richard Westman (Chair)]: Well, we'll we'll ask some

[Sen. Andrew Perchlik (Member)]: questions. So there's they're charged with kinda working on that issue and looking at the the trends and what we can do to prove those. Definitely inspections, I hear that a lot. I think it's the one thing I've heard the most from constituents over the eight, nine years that I've been here.

[Sen. Rebecca "Becca" White (Vice Chair)]: I have a bill that I'll

[Sen. Andrew Perchlik (Member)]: be putting in also just to get the conversation going that does go further than senator White's bill in restricting inspections. But, again, it's just interested in having a discussion really about the revenue is and what.

[Sen. Richard Westman (Chair)]: Can we fast put in what's the direction?

[Sen. Andrew Perchlik (Member)]: To eliminate it except for the purchase of when you sell a used vehicle, but it has to be inspected. So and then also for only heavy vehicles that go over 10,000 pounds. But other than that, he wouldn't have safety inspection like other states have been. Okay. But I'm open to the discussion. I want to kind of keep I started there because I want to hear the argument why we would need safety inspections. I know they're out there, but I think it's good to have that discussion. Enforcement, I would like us to take some testimony on enforcement. I notice it myself and I get a lot of constituents asking about why the car that they see that isn't inspected and doesn't have a license plate or has an obviously fake license plate or has blacked out windows or doesn't have a bumper or is not being pulled over. And so I don't know if that's why that is. And so I think just in testimony about that and-

[Sen. Richard Westman (Chair)]: I think, I don't really ever just say to you from why people are driving way faster out there. Yeah. There isn't as much enforcement on

[Sen. Andrew Perchlik (Member)]: them. Right. So it's not only just about a vehicle, like, don't have a license plate, but it's also about speeding and other. In part of that enforcement, it goes with safety and goes in with my interest in automatic traffic law enforcement. So I had a bill in there that would, you know, we were going to do the pilot program. I thought it was, they still don't really understand why the agency of transportation didn't go ahead with that, but let that go. Is there an opportunity to still do the work zone automatic traffic law enforcement? If not, can we allow municipalities to do it? So I have

[Sen. Rebecca "Becca" White (Vice Chair)]: a bill coming out of it.

[Sen. Andrew Perchlik (Member)]: If a municipality votes for it, so not just city council, but actually the voters say we want to have automatic traffic law enforcement for speeding and red lights, that they're allowed to do it. Don't have to come and get a charter approval here. Or it would just kind of get caught up. So I think that's a way to do the safety, it's a way to do enforcement. Funding obviously, was a top one, but it's already mentioned. I also would like some testimony discussion about the project selection, especially since funding is more tight. In towns that were told they were gonna get a project are now told, like, you won't get that project or it'll be five years later than you thought it was gonna be. How those decisions were made, I misunderstood some earlier year about the project selection process that the agency does. I thought it was for all projects, but then just learned that it's just for projects when we have access and money for them. It's a very robust system, but they don't use it for all projects. So I want to know more about how they decide what projects they are going to do. And then if there is something we can do about permitting, the agency has come in often and said like we have to go through the federal process and we have to go through the state process, but I don't know if there is that issue. I don't know if there's a way to do that because I don't trust the Feds at this point. If there are other things that we can do to make permanent easier, I would like to try to do that.

[Sen. Richard Westman (Chair)]: You safety again. I'll check and see if the Governor's Highway Safety is saying I get that piece around inspections. We're gonna I think it's gonna be a big broad discussion about inspections in the industry. But your safety pulls into what I see as enforcement.

[Sen. Andrew Perchlik (Member)]: Yeah.

[Sen. Richard Westman (Chair)]: And it's around fast drivers. It's around why people aren't getting the enforcement isn't there for fast drivers. It isn't there for people that aren't getting inspected, registering their vehicles. But what's going on with all of that? And do we are we have we made a conscious decision not to have enforcement on our highways for multiple reasons.

[Sen. Andrew Perchlik (Member)]: I understand that law enforcement at one point was to get a criticism for supposedly pulling people who pulling too many people over or falling for the wrong reason. So I don't know if that's a reason or if there were other reasons. So, yeah, like that, that's a discussion.

[Sen. Richard Westman (Chair)]: Yeah, I would just say from, this is anecdotal and from just my simple, I think there's less, it feels like less enforcement Yeah, since

[Sen. Andrew Perchlik (Member)]: That's what I feel. So

[Sen. Richard Westman (Chair)]: we'll definitely take the enforcement of project selection, which I think we ought to get into that a little. And then then the permitting issue, I think I constantly hear from towns, particularly, we're replacing this bridge, we aren't leaving the footprint of where we are, why do we have to

[Sen. Andrew Perchlik (Member)]: Yeah. So,

[Sen. Richard Westman (Chair)]: Pat?

[Sen. Patrick "Pat" Brennan (Member)]: Yeah. My number one issue, I think, is everyone's issue, is revenues, is how we, our revenue sources, and I think, you know, $33,000,000 pull, and that's this year, I think we have to take a really good look at, the future rather than just, you know, patching it with $20,000,000 here and $20,000,000 there. It's it's, we've gotta look long term. And I'd like to do it or take a look at doing it in in a source that's one that takes care of the whole problem in itself. We could do it gradually over a period of years, but I'd like to take a really good look at, the third of the purchase and use that heads to education, is about what, $52,000,000 a year. Like I said, it doesn't have to be done in one lump sum, and I know that's a tough sell in this building right now, but at least have it be part of the discussion. Number two ties into that, my main concern with infrastructure and how it's deteriorating and, know, being on transportation for fourteen of my years here, along

[Sen. Richard Westman (Chair)]: with mister chair. Five of whom I was your chair. Yeah. Now six.

[Sen. Patrick "Pat" Brennan (Member)]: Seven. Yeah. You you know what we went through in the house to bring infrastructure in Vermont back to where Mhmm. It was respectable, and it was in really tough shape. And I I just worry that we're heading back in that direction. You know, and anybody else who sat on this committee knows how tough it is to regain that momentum once it's lost, and the money it takes to do that. That's concern, ties in those revenue. Inspections, I wouldn't mind seeing us or DMV take another look at the manuals. I I don't know about going every end of the year or any of that. I'm I'm on the on it, but the manual needs a little bit of revamping. You know, people come in here and pluck rotors on our desks.

[Sen. Andrew Perchlik (Member)]: We got

[Sen. Wendy Harrison (Clerk)]: a lot of

[Sen. Patrick "Pat" Brennan (Member)]: and I've done a lot of brow beating the bush beating the bushes with inspection stations in my area and their hands are tied when it comes to really common sense solutions to an issue by the manual. Maybe we did that a few years back, but maybe it's time to refresh it again.

[Sen. Richard Westman (Chair)]: Let's

[Sen. Patrick "Pat" Brennan (Member)]: see. Yeah, I don't know how this ties in with our general conversation, but recently, I don't know if anyone, it's a Chittenden County thing so far, I think, which I am a part of still in a weird sort of way, you know, map wise. But I've been getting a lot of emails from public transit riders about the O and D program, which is I don't know

[Sen. Rebecca "Becca" White (Vice Chair)]: if any of you guys have any.

[Sen. Patrick "Pat" Brennan (Member)]: So GMT is making some cuts to that program, and I I haven't done enough homework on it yet. Just started a couple days ago with the with the emails, but I I do have 89 constituents in Colchester that are affected by the cuts. Or maybe they're just, maybe they're members that utilize the program, or some of them, I've got a couple emails from people who've actually been the authority of cuts and services. Might So be something that GMT could talk to us about and, maybe somebody from, the agency. That's pretty much all I got.

[Sen. Richard Westman (Chair)]: So I got revenues. I get where the infrastructure is and where we're headed and and focus particularly when we get to the budget. Inspections, but more from the angle of the manual, and is that manual appropriate for where we are, how can we adjust that in in those pieces. That's your

[Sen. Patrick "Pat" Brennan (Member)]: big three. Yeah. And I tag team with Andy on the public safety piece of things. Yes. It's not just super speeders. It's people just not remembering what a red light actually means when it turns red.

[Sen. Andrew Perchlik (Member)]: Yeah.

[Sen. Patrick "Pat" Brennan (Member)]: You know? And I I think we ought to have law enforcement because I Yep. Right. People are doing that. They're using that kind of behavior because they know they're there's no consequences. I think I'm hearing a

[Sen. Andrew Perchlik (Member)]: Yeah.

[Sen. Richard Westman (Chair)]: Comment from everybody here that public safety needs to come in and we need to okay. And, you know, the question will arise, you know, how many people do we think are driving out there that don't have a vehicle registered? Yeah. So that's DMV. I'm gonna not spend a lot of time, but for me, it's all ready. You know, for me, that is gonna be the centerpiece of all of it. I and I'm gonna say this to the committee and the rest of the world will hear this. I personally think we need a door open if the administration puts together a budget that doesn't do anything about revenue. I think we're gonna have to revisit where we are, and I don't wanna lead this committee into a fight on the floor of the Senate and in this building that we've got no chance. But if there is a door opening, if for example, I've heard the governor speak a few times at different events and at a couple of his press conference he mentioned purchase and use. If he mentions purchasing use in a budget, even if it's not directly related to this year, but it says over the next five years we're gonna try to move something, we're not gonna start that for a couple of years, I'm game, if this committee is game, to look at what some of the other states have done, and done it. I'm going to say this for myself. I'm a firm believer in what the policy has been since the 1920s, that transportation has always been a user base system. And I think there's validity to that. You know, for all of our revenue problems, I think nationally the average was in 1980 that the average car traveled about 10,500 miles. Today, or at this period of time, only with a blip of COVID, the average car travels about 13,500 miles. The average car today is much more efficient on the gas side and the diesel side, and we have, you know, small percentage that are moving to electric. But across the board, every vehicle is traveling more miles and using less and paying less for them. So if we were going to make an adjustment, for me, I'm I'm very interested in exploring what have people done to take high users and make adjustments based upon that. We can't be traveling more miles, doing more damage on the road, and that that's a focus that I'd like us to explore in here in a direction that I would look at. I don't wanna do that if no one else in the building seems interested. And I don't if there's any interest to that, I'm very interested in taking that.

[Sen. Rebecca "Becca" White (Vice Chair)]: Mister chair, to that point, do you know, to senator Harrison's point, if we could do a joint meeting with the house early on I know they're paying the transportation budget bill first, and I don't know what date they're getting it, but it might be nice if they're the first whack at it.

[Sen. Richard Westman (Chair)]: I think this one has already said she wants us to meet with other committees around the building, and we'll explore that. Okay. We'll definitely The other small issue that as we get into the budget, I am very interested in, still, in where the medical transport, what we did last year, and we opened that idea. We're looking at a year where the second half of the budget, we construct in appropriations. If they're correct, and we heard this in joint fiscal committee over the summer, that by this time next year, 45,000 people could be losing their Medicaid coverage. Oh, wow. And if we have that sort of number losing it, that's going to put tremendous pressure on rural healthcare providers. I'm on the board to an FQHC. I spent sixteen years on my hospital board there. Particularly in rural Vermont, medical transports are going to become more important. And I would like to figure out what we put in, where are they with that, is there an opportunity here to beef this up? I don't want to let this go. And particularly when I see the constriction of healthcare providers in rural Vermont. And so that's my smaller issue in the overall, but those are the two areas that I'm gonna push the committee to wanna look at. And I think that will be another meeting with health and welfare. So

[Sen. Andrew Perchlik (Member)]: I think that adds into the O and D are those are mostly medical transcripts. Yep. Yep. So

[Sen. Richard Westman (Chair)]: I hope that Megan took good notes because she has a longer memory than I do. And

[Sen. Rebecca "Becca" White (Vice Chair)]: It's recorded. And

[Sen. Richard Westman (Chair)]: but it it's helpful for me as we start to talk about where we are, what we have in, and where we might have. And but I I think we confirmed what my thought was is revenues is our number one issue. And but I would say to you, and I say this to the world, we're ready to move in here to look at the health of our system overall and look at revenues, but we're not gonna do it and just rock into the bus song. So, for those that are listening outside, they care about this issue at all, it's time for them to step up and help us if there's any opportunity. Is there anything else anybody would like to add?

[Sen. Rebecca "Becca" White (Vice Chair)]: I just have a logistics question. So in the past, I think we met at 9AM Tuesday, Wednesdays, Thursdays, Fridays. I just wanted to understand, like, is that our general schedule moving forward? And

[Sen. Wendy Harrison (Clerk)]: yeah. Just wanted to make sure that we're

[Sen. Rebecca "Becca" White (Vice Chair)]: what time you want us to be here?

[Sen. Richard Westman (Chair)]: I think in the next couple of weeks, that's probably safe. Okay. As we get into this and we go further and we find out what our opportunities might be, if the opportunities were there for us to really be serious about the overall financial health of transportation, I think I'd be pushing you to

[Sen. Wendy Harrison (Clerk)]: maybe get up a little early. Okay.

[Sen. Richard Westman (Chair)]: But I think I I would think that some of that is going to depend in the next two to three weeks on what ships out. Cool. Thank you. Just I should have mentioned,

[Sen. Wendy Harrison (Clerk)]: the five year rail plan and five year transit plan are both going to this committee. So, if you have constituents who are interested, just start letting them know. Obviously, when that will happen, we can ask to be a chance, but they are ready and they will come to this committee. Okay. I think we have Dan tomorrow, so maybe we ask him. Yeah. K. Thank you.

[Sen. Richard Westman (Chair)]: That's all I wanted from you.

[Sen. Wendy Harrison (Clerk)]: Thank Thank you, Megan.

[Sen. Richard Westman (Chair)]: We're glad that Megan is is back telling me what to do.

[Sen. Wendy Harrison (Clerk)]: What can I do best? Well,

[Sen. Richard Westman (Chair)]: you're good at it.

[Sen. Wendy Harrison (Clerk)]: Do you wanna go off five minutes? Yes.