[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 6104 Introduced in House (IH)]
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116th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 6104
To amend title 23, United States Code, to direct the Secretary of
Transportation to set aside certain funds to provide parking for
commercial motor vehicles on the Federal-aid highway system, and for
other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
March 5, 2020
Mr. Bost (for himself and Ms. Craig) introduced the following bill;
which was referred to the Committee on Transportation and
Infrastructure
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To amend title 23, United States Code, to direct the Secretary of
Transportation to set aside certain funds to provide parking for
commercial motor vehicles on the Federal-aid highway system, 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 ``Truck Parking Safety Improvement
Act''.
SEC. 2. PARKING FOR COMMERCIAL VEHICLES.
(a) Sense of Congress.--It is the sense of Congress that it should
be a national priority to address the shortage of parking for
commercial motor vehicles on the Federal-aid Highway System to improve
highway safety.
(b) Parking for Commercial Vehicles.--Chapter 1 of title 23, United
States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following:
``Sec. 171. Parking for commercial vehicles
``(a) Set Aside.--Before making an apportionment for a fiscal year
under paragraph (1), (2), (3), or (5) of section 104(b), the Secretary
shall set aside, from amounts made available to carry out the national
highway performance program under section 119, the surface
transportation block grant program under section 133, the highway
safety improvement program under section 148, and the national highway
freight program under section 167, for such fiscal year, amounts
described in subsection (b) of this section for providing parking for
commercial motor vehicles on Federal-aid highways.
``(b) Amounts Decribed.--The amounts referred to in this subsection
are at least--
``(1) $125,000,000 for fiscal year 2021;
``(2) $140,000,000 for fiscal year 2022;
``(3) $150,000,000 for fiscal year 2023;
``(4) $165,000,000 for fiscal year 2024; and
``(5) $175,000,000 for fiscal year 2025.
``(c) Distribution Among Programs.--The amounts described in
subsection (b) shall be determined by multiplying the set aside amount
for a fiscal year by the ratio that--
``(1) the total initial apportionment for each program
described in subsection (a) for a fiscal year; bears to
``(2) the total initial apportionment for all programs
described in subsection (a) for such fiscal year.
``(d) Distribution Among States.--The amounts described in
subsection (c) shall be set-aside from the States as determined by
multiplying the set aside amount for each program by the ratio that--
``(1) the initial apportionment for a State for such
program described in subsection (c) for a fiscal year; bears to
``(2) the total initial apportionment for all States for
such program described in subsection (c) for such fiscal year.
``(e) Grant Authority.--The Secretary shall provide grants from
funds set aside under subsection (a), on a competitive basis, for
projects to provide parking for commercial motor vehicles on Federal-
aid highways or on a facility with reasonable access to--
``(1) a Federal-aid highway; or
``(2) a freight facility.
``(f) Applications.--To be eligible for a grant under this
subsection, an entity shall submit to the Secretary an application at
such time and in such manner as the Secretary may require.
``(g) Application Contents.--An application under subsection (f)
shall contain--
``(1) a description of the proposed project; and
``(2) any other information that the Secretary may require.
``(h) Eligible Entities.--The following entities shall be eligible
to receive amounts under this section:
``(1) A State.
``(2) Any public agency carrying out responsibilities
relating to commercial motor vehicle parking.
``(3) A metropolitan planning organization.
``(4) A local government.
``(i) Eligible Projects.--
``(1) In general.--An entity may use funds provided under
this section only for projects described in paragraph (2) that
are located--
``(A) on a Federal-aid highway; or
``(B) on a facility with reasonable access to--
``(i) a Federal-aid highway; or
``(ii) a freight facility.
``(2) Projects described.--A project referred to in
paragraph (1) is a project to--
``(A) construct safety rest areas (as such term is
defined in section 120(c)) that include parking for
commercial motor vehicles;
``(B) construct commercial motor vehicle parking
facilities--
``(i) adjacent to private commercial truck
stops and travel plazas;
``(ii) within the boundaries of, or
adjacent to, a publicly owned freight facility,
including a port terminal operated by a public
authority; and
``(iii) at existing facilities, including
inspection and weigh stations and park-and-ride
locations; and
``(C) convert existing weigh stations and rest
areas to facilities for the exclusive use of commercial
motor vehicle parking.
``(j) Eligible Activities.--
``(1) In general.--Entities may use allocations under this
subsection for the following activities of an eligible project:
``(A) Development phase activities, including
planning, feasability analysis, benefit-cost analysis,
environmental review, preliminary engineering and
design work, and other preconstruction activities.
``(B) Construction, reconstruction, rehabilitation,
acquisition of real property, environmental mitigation,
construction contingencies, acquisition of equipment,
and operational improvements directly related to
expanding commercial motor vehicle parking.
``(2) Limitation.--An entity may not use more than 25
percent of a grant under this subsection for activities
described in paragraph (1)(A).
``(k) Priority.--In making grants under this subsection, the
Secretary shall give priority to entities that--
``(1) demonstrate a safety need for commercial motor
vehicle parking capacity in the corridor in which the project
described under subsection (d)(1) is proposed to be carried
out;
``(2) have consulted with affected State and local
governments, trucking organizations, and private providers of
commercial motor vehicle parking;
``(3) demonstrate that the project described under
subsection (d)(1) will likely--
``(A) increase commercial motor vehicle parking
capacity;
``(B) facilitate the efficient movement of freight;
and
``(C) improve highway safety, traffic congestion,
and air quality; and
``(4) demonstrate the ability to provide for the
maintenance and operation cost necessary to keep the facility
available for use after completion of construction.
``(l) Federal Share.--Notwithstanding any other provision of law,
the Federal share for a project carried out under this subsection shall
be 100 percent.
``(m) Treatment of Funds.--Notwithstanding section 126, funds made
available under this subsection shall remain available until expended
and shall not be transferable.
``(n) Prohibition on Charging Fees.--To be eligible for a grant
under this section, an entity shall agree that no fees will be charged
for a commercial motor vehicle to access and park at any part of the
facility constructed with funds made available under this subsection.
``(o) Notification of Congress.--Not less than 3 days before making
a grant for a project under this section, the Secretary shall notify,
in writing, the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure of the
House of Representatives and the Committee on the Environment and
Public Works of the Senate of the--
``(1) the amount of each proposed grant to be made under
this subsection;
``(2) evaluation and justification for the project
selection.
``(p) Survey and Comparative Assessment.--
``(1) In general.--Not later than 18 months after the date
of enactment of this subsection, and every 2 years thereafter,
the Secretary, in consultation with appropriate State motor
carrier safety personnel and State departments of
transportation, shall submit to the Committee on Transportation
and Infrastructure of the House of Representatives and the
Committee on the Environment and Public Works of the Senate a
report that--
``(A) evaluates the capability of the States to
provide adequate parking and rest facilities for
commercial motor vehicles engaged in interstate
transportation;
``(B) evaluates the effectiveness of the projects
funded under this subsection in improving access to
truck parking;
``(C) evaluates the ability of entities receiving a
grant under this subsection to sustain the operation of
parking facilities constructed with funds provided
under this subsection; and
``(D) reports on the progress being made to provide
adequate commercial motor vehicle parking facilities in
the State.
``(2) Results.--The Secretary shall make the report under
paragraph (1) available to the public on the website of the
Department of Transportation.
``(q) Treatment of Projects.--Notwithstanding any other provision
of law, a project carried out under this section shall be treated as if
the project is located on a Federal-aid highway under this chapter.
``(r) Commercial Motor Vehicle Defined.--In this section, the term
`commercial motor vehicle' has the meaning given such term in section
31132 of title 49.''.
(c) Clerical Amendment.--The analysis for chapter 1 of title 23,
United States Code, is amended by adding after the item relating to
section 171 the following:
``171. Parking for commercial vehicles.''.
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