National VMT Pilot Advisory Board Appointed (Quietly)
The 50-state pilot program for a national mileage fee in lieu of a motor fuel tax – a program created and funded by a unanimous vote of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, with strong bipartisan backing (at the time) in the House – has become politically charged after elements of the MAGA conservative movement have turned against the idea (which was originally proposed by traditional and libertarian conservative economists).
The first substantive step towards the 50-state pilot program was to be the appointment of an Advisory Board to set it up and oversee it. Under the law (section 13002 of the IIJA), this appointment was to take place by Valentines Day 2022. It did not happen, and we waited and waited.
Apparently, the Biden Administration appointed the panelists on December 31, 2024, but didn’t notify anyone until two weeks later, when the announcement (to Capitol Hill, not to the press) was getting caught up in a lot of other news. But the 15 members of the Advisory Board are now listed on the Federal Advisory Committee Act website, appointed for two-year terms starting December 31, 2024.
Carlos Braceras, the head of the Utah DOT, is chairman of the Advisory Board. The other members of the panel, and the role defined in sec. 13002 of the IIJA which we think their appointment fills, are listed below in alphabetical order.
| Sec. 13002 | Type of organization | Board Member | Member’s Affiliation |
| (g)(2)(A) | State DOTs | Maureen Bock | Oregon DOT |
| (g)(2)(A) | State DOTs | Carlos Braceras | Utah DOT |
| (g)(2)(D) | Data security experts | Nate Bryer | WSP Consulting |
| (g)(2)(K) | Any other representatives | Marcy Coleman | Amer. Assn. of Motor Vehicle Administrators |
| (g)(2)(F) | Consumer advocates | Stephan Finnegan | American Automobile Association |
| (g)(2)(I) | Toll facility owner-operators | Andrew Fremier | Bay Area MTC |
| (g)(2)(A) | State DOTs | Reema Griffith | Washington State Transportation Commission |
| (g)(2)(B) | Led earlier pilot projects | Trish Hendren | Eastern Transportation Coalition |
| (g)(2)(K) | Any other representatives | Eleanor Joseph | Via Transportation |
| (g)(2)J) | Tribal groups | Michael Lynn | Cherokee Nation |
| (g)(2)(H) | Owners of fleets | Geraldo Maldonado | Laredo and Mexican Fleet Association |
| (g)(2)(K) | Any other representatives | Craig Marris | EROAD USA |
| (g)(2)(K) | Any other representatives | Carmen Martoana | International Fuel Tax Association |
| (g)(2)(C) | Trucking industry reps. | William Pugh | Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Assn. |
| (g)(2)(E) | Academic experts | Asha Weinstein-Agrawal | Mineta Transportation Institute |
Of the 15 members of the new Advisory Board, four (Maureen Bock, Trish Hendren, Carmen Martoana, and Asha Weinstein-Agrawal) were members of the advisory panel for the Eno Center’s research project that led to our 2023 paper Driving Change: Advice for the National VMT Pilot, which the remainder of the Advisory Board really ought to read at some point.
But the question is: what will the Advisory Board be allowed to do? Will it even be able to remain? The new Trump Administration has already abolished several DOT advisory committees appointed by the Biden Administration (mostly in the DEI space). It is still an open question whether or not they will keep this Advisor Board or not, or allow the national VMT pilot program to continue.
