House Bill 324 appropriates $800,000 in nonrecurring Highway Fund money to the North Carolina Department of Transportation for transfer to the Greensboro Transit Agency for fiscal year 2025-2026. The funding is designated for two specific transit-related purposes: $500,000 for the North/South Crossmax Orange bus route and $300,000 for a pilot program to transport high school juniors and seniors to Guilford Technical Community College campuses.
The bill is a targeted local funding measure rather than a broad policy change. It directs state transportation funds to a municipal transit provider and specifies how the money must be spent, creating a one-time allocation effective July 1, 2025. If enacted, it would affect the Department of Transportation’s use of Highway Fund appropriations and provide operating support for Greensboro transit service and a student transportation pilot tied to workforce and postsecondary access.
HB324 would amend the use of appropriated Highway Fund dollars for the 2025-2026 fiscal year by earmarking $800,000 for the Greensboro Transit Agency. It would not create a new statewide program or permanently change the law, but it would require the Department of Transportation to allocate nonrecurring funds to a named local transit agency for specified transit and student-transportation purposes. The bill would directly affect the Greensboro Transit Agency, local transit riders, and high school students in Guilford County who may use the pilot service to reach Guilford Technical Community College.
The available record suggests generally favorable or at least routine support for the bill, as it was introduced as a public appropriations measure and referred to the House Appropriations Committee without any recorded votes or committee debate in the provided materials. The bill’s narrow focus on transit service and educational access suggests it is framed as a practical local investment rather than a controversial policy proposal. No opposition is documented in the supplied transcripts or voting history.
No specific points of contention are documented in the provided materials because there are no committee transcripts or recorded votes. Potential areas of debate, if raised later, would likely concern the use of Highway Fund money for local transit rather than highway projects, the one-time nature of the funding, and whether the student transportation pilot is an appropriate use of state transportation dollars. Any such concerns are not reflected in the current record.