The Colorado Senate is expected to hear the second reading Monday of a bill that would remove up to $5 million from the state transit and rail fund.

If Senate Bill 16-011 eventually becomes law, it would repeal the portion of the Funding Advancements for Surface Transportation and Economic Recovery Act (FASTER) that provides grants to local transit agencies like Colorado Springs’ Mountain Metropolitan Transit as well as several nonprofits.

“We’re retreating and going backwards if we cease to fund transit,” said Sen. Michael Merrifield (D-El Paso County). “A lot of people have no other opportunities to move about the community.”

Mountain Metro spokeswoman Vicki McCann said in an email Thursday that her agency would lose $700,000 each year that goes toward bus replacement, the vanpool program and park-and-ride lots. Mountain Metro’s annual budget is about $21.5 million.

McCann also said that the bill would mean lost funding opportunities for organizations that provide transportation services for the elderly and people with disabilities.

The Bustang regional bus service, which started along the Front Range in July 2015, could also be in jeopardy. Bustang uses a 13-bus rotation that connects commuters to Denver from Colorado Springs, Glenwood Springs and Fort Collins.

The bill, sponsored by Sen. Tim Neville (R-Jefferson County), hit the Senate floor for a first reading on Tuesday after the Transportation Committee voted in favor of it by a 3-2 margin. It was scheduled to go before the Senate again on Friday, but was pushed back to Monday’s calendar.

The bill summary says that $15 million from road safety and vehicle surcharges, fees and fines would be affected by the legislation. FASTER allots $10 million of that to Colorado Department of Transportation projects with the remaining $5 million going to the transit grants. If passed, the bill would require all of the money to be used for CDOT road safety projects.

Merrifield said he will oppose the legislation. He doesn’t believe it would have any chance if it gets to the House, he said.

“I just think it’s a mistake to turn our backs on transit.”