Sponsors (4)
The bill makes highway funding more predictable and ties shares more closely to Highway Trust Fund contributions—simplifying administration and improving planning—while shifting relative funding in ways that may reduce support for some states (especially lower-income or rural areas) and create transition uncertainty for ongoing projects.
State governments will receive more predictable, formula-based federal highway funding starting in FY2027, enabling better multi-year planning for road and transit projects.
States that contribute more to the Highway Trust Fund will get at least 95% of a funding share tied to their recent HTF tax payments, aligning benefits more closely with tax contributions.
Combining multiple programs into a single apportionment calculation simplifies administration and gives states greater flexibility to allocate funds across listed transportation programs.
Some states (and their local communities) could receive relatively less funding than under current law, reducing dollars available for local road and transit projects.
Tying minimum funding guarantees to recent Highway Trust Fund tax payments may favor wealthier or higher-vehicle-use states and disadvantage lower-income states with fewer taxable motor fuel purchases.
Shifting to a new annual apportionment formula could create transitional uncertainty for multiyear projects that were planned under prior funding expectations.
Based on analysis of 4 sections of legislative text.
Revises the formula for apportioning federal highway funds to states starting in FY2027, using FY2012 apportionment shares and recent Highway Trust Fund tax-payment shares with a 95% floor.
Introduced March 3, 2026 by Rafael Edward Cruz · Last progress March 3, 2026
Changes how federal highway dollars are divided among states starting in fiscal year 2027. It sets an initial share based on each state's share of apportionments in 2012, then adjusts that share so each state receives at least 95% of a percentage tied to the state's most recent share of Highway Trust Fund tax payments (excluding the Mass Transit Account). The Secretary of Transportation must carry out the apportionments each fiscal year on October 1 using this formula.