LEGISLATIVE UPDATE
The legislature is on a two week spring break this week and next. During this time, the Senate
Transportation and Appropriations Committees are continuing their joint hearings on capital needs.
Monday, April 22nd at 1:00pm: Gail Borden Library in Elgin, IL
Monday, April 29th in Chicago, IL
VOLKSWAGEN SETTLEMENT
We have heard that the first round of Volkswagen Settlement funds has been awarded and that the second round of grants will be announced soon. As a reminder, funds are to be used for:
- A vehicle recall and repair program - $10 billion to buy back or repair at least 85 percent of the unlawful vehicles.
- Zero Emission Vehicle (ZEV) Investment Commitment - $2 billion to support the use of zero emissions technology such as battery electric vehicles, plug-in hybrid electric vehicles, and fuel cell vehicles and charging infrastructure over the next 10 years.
- An Environmental Mitigation Trust Fund - $422 million to California and $2.44 billion to be dispersed to the other states and tribes to fund projects to reduce nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions as mitigation for the unlawful emissions.
BUILD GRANTS NOTICE OF FUNDING OPPORTUNITY
USDOT announced that 2019 BUILD grant opportunities are now open. USDOT is offering a round of webinars to help with the grant application process and the grants are now available for application at Grants.gov.
