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House of Representatives
HB5501 / File No. 273 1
General Assembly File No. 273
February Session, 2026 House Bill No. 5501
House of Representatives, March 31, 2026
The Committee on Planning and Development reported
through REP. KAVROS DEGRAW of the 17th Dist.,
Chairperson of the Committee on the part of the House, that the
bill ought to pass.
AN ACT EXPANDING PERMISSIBLE USES FOR TOWN AID ROAD
GRANT FUNDS.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General
Assembly convened:
Section 1. Section 13a -175a of the 2026 supplement to the general 1
statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof 2
(Effective October 1, 2026): 3
(a) For each fiscal year there shall be allocated twelve million five 4
hundred thousand dollars out of the funds appropriated to the 5
Department of Transportation, or from any other source, not otherwise 6
prohibited by law, to be used by the towns for (1) [for] the construction, 7
reconstruction, improvement and maintenance of highways, sections of 8
highways, bridges and structures incidental to highways and bridges, 9
including (A) construction, reconstruction, improvements and 10
maintenance intended to increase resiliency against increased 11
precipitation, flooding, sea level rise and extreme heat, and (B) the 12
plowing of snow, the sanding of icy pavements, the trimming and 13
removal of trees, the installation, replacement and maintenance of traffic 14
signs, signals and markings, (2) [for] the purchase and maintenance of 15
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equipment used for the purposes described in subdivision (1) of this 16
subsection, including, but not limited to, street sweepers, roadside 17
mowing and vegetation management equipment, snow removal and 18
de-icing equipment and equipment to clean catch basins, (3) traffic 19
control and vehicular safety programs, traffic and parking planning and 20
administration, and other purposes and programs related to highways, 21
traffic and parking, and [(3) for ] (4) the purposes of providing and 22
operating essential public transportation services and related facilities. 23
(b) Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (a) of this section, 24
the Secretary of the Office of Policy and Management, in the secretary's 25
discretion, may approve the use of funds by a town for purposes other 26
than those enumerated in said subsection. 27
(c) Not later than September 1, 2022, and annually thereafter, each 28
town or district that received funds pursuant to subsection (a) of this 29
section in the preceding fiscal year shall submit a report to the 30
Commissioner of Transportation, in the form and manner prescribed by 31
the commissioner, detailing the amount of such funds expended in such 32
fiscal year for each of the usages enumerated in said subsection or 33
approved pursuant to subsection (b) of this section. 34
(d) The Secretary of the Office of Policy and Management shall reduce 35
the grant payable to a town or district in accordance with subsection (a) 36
of this section by ten per cent in any fiscal year that the town or district 37
fails to timely submit the report required by subsection (c) of this 38
section. The secretary shall waive such reduction if the town or district 39
submits such report after the due date and provides proof of such 40
submission to the secretary. 41
This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following
sections:
Section 1 October 1, 2026 13a-175a
PD Joint Favorable
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HB5501 / File No. 273 3
The following Fiscal Impact Statement and Bill Analysis are prepared for the benefit of the members of
the General Assembly, solely for purposes of information, summarization and explanation and do not
represent the intent of the General Assembly or either chamber thereof for any pur pose. In general,
fiscal impacts are based upon a variety of informational sources, including the analyst’s professional
knowledge. Whenever applicable, agency data is consulted as part of the analysis, however final
products do not necessarily reflect an assessment from any specific department.
OFA Fiscal Note
State Impact: None
Municipal Impact: None
Explanation
The bill, which expands the allowable municipal uses of Town Aid
Road (TAR) funds, does not result in a fiscal impact . Since TAR funds
are fully expended annually, the bill may result in a change to the
purposes of grants but not the amount spent.
The Out Years
State Impact: None
Municipal Impact: None
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HB5501 / File No. 273 4
OLR Bill Analysis
HB 5501
AN ACT EXPANDING PERMISSIBLE USES FOR TOWN AID ROAD
GRANT FUNDS.
SUMMARY
This bill expands the purposes for which municipalities may use
Town Aid Road (TAR) grants, allowing them to buy certain equipment.
Existing law allows towns to use these grants to do specified work,
which includes building and maintaining highways and bridges. Under
the bill, towns may also use TAR grant funds to buy and maintain
equipment to do that work, such as equipment for street sweeping,
roadside mowing, vegetation management, snow and ice removal, and
cleaning catch basins.
Under existing law, unchanged by the bill, the Office of Policy and
Management secretary may approve a town’s request to use grant funds
for other purposes.
EFFECTIVE DATE: October 1, 2026
COMMITTEE ACTION
Planning and Development Committee
Joint Favorable
Yea 21 Nay 0 (03/13/2026)