States gain flexibility to spend more highway money on transit
H.R. 4926 — Highway Funding Transferability Improvement Act · Filed by Harriet Hageman (R-WY) · 4 cosponsors · Introduced Aug 8, 2025 · Referred to committee
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What it does
This bill increases the share of federal highway funds that states can redirect to non-highway transportation projects (transit, bike, pedestrian infrastructure) from 50% to 75%. States gain more flexibility to spend federal road money on other transportation modes without losing it.
Why we flagged it
The bill is a straightforward technical amendment to federal highway law that increases state discretion over fund allocation. It is a procedural/structural change to existing grant rules, not a new program or appropriation.
What the text implies
- States with strong transit advocacy or urban centers may see increased federal support for non-highway modes; rural or highway-dependent states may experience relative disadvantage if they do not redirect funds.
- The change may incentivize states to develop transit/active-transportation plans to capture the newly available federal dollars, potentially accelerating modal shift in transportation planning.
- Federal highway construction contractors may face reduced project volume if states redirect more funds away from road projects, though total federal transportation spending remains unchanged.
Section numbers refer to the bill text the analysis read — linked under Primary records below.
Who it affects
The bill expands state flexibility to allocate federal transportation funds toward transit, cycling, and pedestrian infrastructure—modes that serve lower-income and car-free populations disproportionately. Citizens in transit-dependent communities gain access to more federal dollars for non-highway transportation; the change does not reduce total federal funding, only shifts discretion.
Who stands to gain
- public transit agencies
- municipal governments with transit systems
- active transportation (bike/pedestrian) infrastructure providers
Named in the bill
23 U.S.C. § 126(a), Federal-aid highway program, State transportation departments, Transit agencies
Where it stands
4 cosponsors: 3 Democrats, 1 Republicans.
- Aug 8, 2025 — Introduced · Congress.gov: “Introduced in House”
- Aug 8, 2025 — Referred to House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure · Congress.gov: “Referred to the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure”
Dates and quoted wording are Congress.gov's action record; the timeline shows status changes, not every procedural step.
How this was measured
Analysis — Quorum's AI read the bill text published by Congress.gov (247 characters) on Jun 8, 2026. Section numbers in the findings refer to that text, linked below; transparency and hidden-provision scores are compared against the median of 16,222 analysed bills.
Status and sponsors — Congress.gov's bill record — actions, committee referrals and cosponsors — loaded nightly. The timeline shows status changes, not every procedural action.
As of — page rendered 2026-10-20.
“States gain flexibility to spend more highway money on transit” QuorumCivic. https://share.quorumcivic.app/bill/119/hr4926 Report an error
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