This bill proposes an appropriation of $40,000,000 to the Department of Transportation for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2024. The funds are to be allocated for two specific purposes: $20,000,000 is designated for municipal bridges, and the remaining $20,000,000 is for additional "Apportionment A" distributions. The $20,000,000 for municipal bridges will be distributed among municipalities with existing bridges, with half based on the total bridge deck area and the other half based on the municipality's share of the total state population. These funds are to be nonlapsing and cannot be used to replace locally budgeted funds for bridge maintenance or construction. They may be considered unanticipated money under RSA 31:95-b and can be accepted and expended accordingly.
The second appropriation of $20,000,000 is for "Apportionment A" distributions under RSA 235:23, I, which pertains to highway block grants. Similar to the bridge funds, this money is nonlapsing and cannot be used to supplant locally budgeted funds for road maintenance or construction. The governor is authorized to draw warrants for these sums from the treasury, and they will be charged against the highway fund. The bill also includes a fiscal note indicating that the funding source for the appropriations is the highway fund, and there is no fiscal impact on state, county, or local revenues or expenditures beyond the appropriations for the fiscal year 2024. The act is set to take effect upon its passage.