Latest news with #FixingAmerica'sSurfaceTransportationAct
Yahoo
08-07-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
Did Florida end HOV lanes? What to know about changes to the diamond lanes
Inside the more than 150 new laws that went into effect this month was one small line in one bill: "Section 316.0741, Florida Statutes, is repealed." And with that, Florida's HOV lanes were struck down. HOV (high occupancy vehicle) lanes are lanes in public roadways reserved for vehicles with more than one occupant, or for hybrid and low-emission vehicles that are registered with the state. HB 1662, a wide-ranging transportation bill, removed HOV lanes from state law along with a variety of other changes including giving disabled veterans more specialty license plate choices and adding a more robust state framework for space flight development. Here's what to know. HOV lanes are intended to encourage carpooling and reduce traffic congestion by providing highway lanes limited to vehicles with a certain number of passengers or more. Sometimes the restriction is only for certain high-traffic times of the day. HOV lanes have diamond symbols along their length and signage listing applicable times and occupancy limits. Driving in an HOV without anyone else in the car was a moving violation and law enforcement shared stories of catching people driving with mannequins, dolls, stuffed animals, inflatable people and other workarounds. More recently, electric vehicles were added to the HOV lane list if they meet standards and are registered with the state. Florida's first HOV lane arrived in 1976, a 14-mile segment of Interstate 95 that eventually expanded to 21 miles between I-395 and I-595, according to a Department of Transportation report on managed lanes. HOVs were included in the federal Interstate Highway System Policy in 1991 and a 30-mile stretch of I-4 received an HOV lane during the morning and evening peak times. In 2015, former President Barack Obama signed the Fixing America's Surface Transportation Act (FAST Act), which, among many other things, allowed authorities to offer HOV access to low emission and energy efficient vehicles such as electric cars and hybrids if the driver pay a toll. The FDOT started selling HOV decals for such vehicles to enable them to use HOV toll lanes. However, that provision in the FAST Act was scheduled to end on Sept. 30, 2025, unless it was renewed. Meanwhile, HOVs have been fading in Florida since the development of express lanes — toll lanes that run alongside highways to provide a smoother drive, for a price — started under former Gov. Jeb Bush and dramatically increased under former Gov. Rick Scott, according to the Florida Phoenix. From 2008 to 2015, the Florida Department of Transportation converted the single HOV lanes on South Florida into two high-occupancy toll (HOT) lanes going either direction. In 2023, FDOT converted HOV lanes along portions of I-95 from Broward County to Palm Beach County into non-HOV express lanes. The state also has been reducing or removing incentives to use electric vehicles as part of Florida's energy policy, which continues to emphasize fossil fuels. In 2024, DeSantis signed a bill (HB 1645) removing references in state law to climate change or greenhouse gas, banning offshore wind-energy generation in Florida, blocked cities and counties from approving energy policy restrictions, and repealing the state's renewable energy goals. The bill followed up on former Gov. Scott's repeal of the state's carbon-reduction goals. "We're restoring sanity in our approach to energy and rejecting the agenda of the radical green zealots," Gov. Ron DeSantis posted on X. More laws passed this year prohibiting local governments from banning or restricting appliances or watercraft based on what fuel or energy source they use and blocked FDOT from providing funds to transportation-related entities for projects or programs that conflict with the state's energy policy. The bill repealed all HOV mentions in Florida statutes and repealed authorization for the FDOT to sell HOV decals. It also repealed the tax exemption for EV and hybrid vehicles, but the agency said existing decals will be active until they expire. 'With recent changes this legislative session, there are updates to the toll exemptions for electric vehicles, Inherently Low Emission Vehicles (ILEV), and hybrid vehicles,' FDOT spokesperson Guillermo Alberto Canedo told 'As a result, no new exemptions or renewals for these vehicles will be issued after June 30, 2025. All exemption decals issued prior to this date will remain active for one year from issuance of the decal.' This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Florida repealed HOV lanes. What does this mean?
Yahoo
11-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
NM uranium mine proposals receive Trump priority designation
An anti-uranium advocate stands during a protest in Window Rock, Ariz. in April, part of a protest against new uranium mines proposed around the Navajo Nation, including the sacred Mount Taylor area. The federal Permitting Council recently listed three uranium projects in New Mexico as projects it is seeking to streamline. (Photo by Patrick Lohmann / Source NM) A federal council recently placed two proposed uranium mines in New Mexico on a select list of mining projects nationwide to receive streamlined federal permitting consideration, a designation the project's owner says results from President Donald Trump's push to accelerate nuclear energy production. The Jara Mesa and Crownpoint-Churchrock mine projects are now two of six mining projects nationwide to get what's known as the 'FAST-41' designation, established under the Fixing America's Surface Transportation Act. The designation means the projects will receive 'focused, hands-on permitting support' that aims to improve coordination and efficiency among federal agencies, according to the federal Permitting Council. The council notes, however, the designation doesn't change any law or regulation, environmental or otherwise, required for federal permitting. Long-stalled NM uranium mines now 'priority projects' at Cibola Forest, leader tells employees As a result of the change, three of six mining projects nationwide to receive the designation are in New Mexico, as the Grants Precision project was added in early May. The other three projects on the list are in Arizona, California and Colorado. The permitting website shows both projects were added to the list May 30, and, last week, Laramide Resources, the company trying to build the mine in McKinley County, touted the mines' inclusion as part of Trump's domestic energy agenda. 'As momentum builds around a new era for nuclear power, it is important to recognize that uranium is the fundamental starting point of the entire fuel cycle,' Laramide CEO Marc Henderson said in a June 2 news release. The statement cited a May 23 Trump executive order supporting the acceleration of nuclear development in the United States. In addition to the FAST-41 designation, the Jara Mesa is one of two proposed uranium in the Mount Taylor Ranger District of the Cibola National Forest that forest leaders have deemed 'priority projects,' as Source New Mexico reported in March. The Jara Mesa mine's proximity to Mount Taylor, a sacred mountain to the Navajo Nation and several pueblos in New Mexico, is one reason anti-nuclear opponents have forcefully pushed back against the mine for more than a decade. They also cite the legacy of the uranium mining industry in New Mexico, which has left decades of radioactive and cancer-causing waste in its wake. New Mexico delegation, radiation victims renew call for compensation In addition to the Jara Mesa Mine, the Crownpoint-Church Rock mine was also added to the FAST-41 list in late May. Laramide Resources touted the project as 'one of the largest undeveloped uranium deposits in the U.S.,' which 'has the potential to play a central role in securing a domestic supply of this critical mineral.' A regulator with the state's Mining and Minerals Division recently told Source New Mexico that, even though the federal government is seeking to streamline its approval of the uranium projects, the state will take its time for a review. He also said no project can legally move forward without a state permit, even though the mines lie largely on federal land. An environmental lawyer in New Mexico also told Source that the Trump administration's efforts to gut federal environmental impact reviews is likely illegal and would be subject to litigation if he tried to cut them in New Mexico. The Laramide statement says while the FAST-41 designation helps its goal of breaking ground in what would be the first new uranium mine in New Mexico in more than 50 years, 'continued policy support will be essential to overcome the longstanding regulatory and permitting challenges that have constrained U.S. uranium production.' Trump's push for Southwest uranium will face stiff state review The other uranium mine proposal near Mount Taylor, known as Roca Honda, does not appear on the FAST-41 list. But it is on a list of 'transparency' projects, one of about 20 selected by the federal Permitting Council to improve the public's understanding of how the projects are progressing. Because of the designations, the public gleans a clearer sense of when the federal permits might be granted: For La Jara Mesa, permitting is expected to be approved in March 2028; for Roca Honda, it's November of 2027. The permitting website does not provide an estimate of when Crownpoint-Churchrock mine might receive a federal permit. The United States Forest Service oversees the La Jara Mesa project, whilehe Nuclear Regulatory Commission is listed as the agency overseeing the Crownpoint-Churchrock and Grants Precision project.
