This bill proposes the transfer of ownership and responsibilities for four specific rail corridors from the Department of Transportation to the Department of Natural and Cultural Resources (DNCR). The corridors involved are the Presidential, Pondicherry Section, Ammonoosuc Rail Trail, New Littleton-Bethlehem Segment, and Cheshire Rail Trail. To enhance the management and maintenance of these state-owned rail trails, the bill establishes a four-year pilot program managed by the Bureau of Trails in collaboration with the New Hampshire Rail Trails Coalition, focusing on the rehabilitation and improvement of 83 miles of rail corridors.

To support these initiatives, the bill creates two new funds: the Rail Trails Program Fund and the Emergency Trail Repair Fund. The Rail Trails Program Fund will be continually appropriated and nonlapsing, with appropriations of $250,000 for fiscal years 2026 and 2027, while the Emergency Trail Repair Fund will receive $1 for each of those years. Notably, the bill prevents the Department of Transportation from accessing the Emergency Trail Repair Fund, thereby designating DNCR as the primary manager of these funds. The act is set to take effect on July 1, 2025, and is based on recommendations from the 2022 NH State Rail Trails Plan, although DNCR has indicated that the proposed funding may be insufficient to meet its estimated needs of $3.6 million for the same fiscal years.

Statutes affected:
Introduced: 215-A:3, 6:12
As Amended by the Senate: 215-A:3, 6:12