[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1098 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
<DOC>
116th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 1098
To amend title 23, United States Code, to improve the transportation
alternatives program, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
April 9, 2019
Mr. Cardin (for himself and Mr. Wicker) introduced the following bill;
which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Environment and
Public Works
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To amend title 23, United States Code, to improve the transportation
alternatives program, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Transportation Alternatives
Enhancements Act''.
SEC. 2. TRANSPORTATION ALTERNATIVES PROGRAM.
(a) Set-Aside.--Section 133(h)(1) of title 23, United States Code,
is amended--
(1) in the heading, by striking ``Reservation of funds''
and inserting ``In general''; and
(2) in the matter preceding subparagraph (A), by striking
``for each fiscal year'' and all that follows through the
period at the end of subparagraph (B)(ii) and inserting ``for
fiscal year 2021 and each fiscal year thereafter, the Secretary
shall set aside an amount equal to 10 percent to carry out this
subsection.''.
(b) Allocation.--Section 133(h) of title 23, United States Code, is
amended by striking paragraph (2) and inserting the following:
``(2) Allocation within a state.--
``(A) In general.--Except as provided in
subparagraph (B), funds set aside for a State under
paragraph (1) shall be obligated within that State in
the manner described in subsection (d), except that,
for purposes of this paragraph (after funds are made
available under paragraph (5))--
``(i) for fiscal year 2021 and each fiscal
year thereafter, the percentage referred to in
paragraph (1)(A) of that subsection shall be
deemed to be 66 percent; and
``(ii) paragraph (3) of subsection (d)
shall not apply.
``(B) Local control.--A State may allocate up to
100 percent of the funds referred to in subparagraph
(A)(i) if--
``(i) the State submits to the Secretary a
plan that describes--
``(I) how funds will be allocated
to counties, metropolitan planning
organizations, regional transportation
planning organizations as described in
section 135(m), or local governments;
``(II) how the entities described
in subclause (I) will carry out a
competitive process to select projects
for funding and report selected
projects to the State;
``(III) how input was gathered from
the entities described in subclause (I)
to ensure those entities are able and
willing to comply with the requirements
of this subsection; and
``(IV) how the State will comply
with paragraph (8); and
``(ii) the Secretary approves the plan
submitted under clause (i).''.
(c) Eligible Projects.--Section 133(h)(3) of title 23, United
States Code, is amended by striking ``reserved'' and inserting ``set
aside''.
(d) Eligible Entities.--Section 133(h)(4)(B) of title 23, United
States Code, is amended--
(1) by redesignating clauses (vii) and (viii) as clauses
(viii) and (ix), respectively;
(2) by inserting after clause (vi) the following:
``(vii) a metropolitan planning
organization that serves an urbanized area with
a population of 200,000 or fewer;'';
(3) in clause (viii) (as so redesignated), by striking
``responsible'' and all that follows through ``programs''; and
(4) in clause (ix) (as so redesignated), by inserting
``that serves an urbanized area with a population of over
200,000'' after ``metropolitan planning organization''.
(e) Continuation of Certain Recreational Trails Projects.--Section
133(h)(5)(A) of title 23, United States Code, is amended by striking
``reserved under this section'' and inserting ``set aside under this
subsection''.
(f) State Flexibility.--Section 133(h)(6) of title 23, United
States Code, is amended--
(1) in subparagraph (B), by striking ``reserved'' and
inserting ``set aside''; and
(2) by adding at the end the following:
``(C) Improving accessibility and efficiency.--
``(i) In general.--A State may use an
amount equal to not more than 5 percent of the
funds set aside for the State under this
subsection, after allocating funds in
accordance with paragraph (2)(A), to improve
the ability of applicants to access funding for
projects under this subsection in an efficient
and expeditious manner by--
``(I) providing to applicants for
projects under this subsection
application assistance, technical
assistance, and assistance in reducing
the period of time between the
selection of the project and the
obligation of funds for the project;
and
``(II) by providing funding for 1
or more full-time State employee
positions to administer this
subsection.
``(ii) Use of funds.--Amounts used under
clause (i) may be expended--
``(I) directly by the State; or
``(II) through contracts with State
agencies, private entities, or
nonprofit entities.''.
(g) Federal Share.--Section 133(h) of title 23, United States Code,
is amended--
(1) by redesignating paragraph (7) as paragraph (8); and
(2) by inserting after paragraph (6) the following:
``(7) Federal share.--
``(A) Required aggregate non-federal share.--The
average annual non-Federal share of the total cost of
all projects for which funds are obligated under this
subsection in a State for a fiscal year shall be not
less than the non-Federal share authorized for the
State under section 120(b).
``(B) Flexible financing.--Subject to subparagraph
(A), notwithstanding section 120--
``(i) funds made available to carry out
section 148 may be credited toward the non-
Federal share of the costs of a project under
this subsection if the project--
``(I) is an eligible project
described in section 148(e)(1); and
``(II) contributes to the annual
safety performance targets of the
State;
``(ii) the non-Federal share for a project
under this subsection may be calculated on a
project, multiple-project, or program basis;
and
``(iii) the Federal share of the cost of an
individual project in this section may be up to
100 percent.''.
(h) Effective Date.--This section and the amendments made by this
section shall take effect on October 1, 2020.
<all>
Transportation Alternatives Enhancements Act
#1098 | S Congress #116
Policy Area: Transportation and Public Works
Last Action: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Environment and Public Works. (4/9/2019)
Bill Text Source: Congress.gov
Summary and Impacts
Original Text