[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 2205 Introduced in House (IH)]
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117th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 2205
To amend title 49, United States Code, to provide grants and develop
value capture policy.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
March 26, 2021
Mr. DeSaulnier introduced the following bill; which was referred to the
Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To amend title 49, United States Code, to provide grants and develop
value capture policy.
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 ``Incentivizing Value Capture for
Greener Transportation Act''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
Congress finds the following:
(1) In 2018, greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) rose sharply by
3.4 percent, the second-largest annual gain in more than 20
years, and GHG emissions have grown by approximately 1.5
percent every year over the last decade.
(2) Greenhouse gas emissions from the transportation
sector, including cars and trucks, are the largest source of
GHG emissions in the United States with the transportation
sector emitting 1,900,000,000 tons of carbon dioxide (CO2)
annually.
(3) Annual vehicle miles traveled (VMT) in the United
States have nearly tripled since 1971, rising to
3,210,000,000,000 in 2018.
(4) Consequently, in 2018, Americans lost an average of 97
hours a year due to congestion, costing them nearly
$87,000,000,000.
(5) Residents in communities located near high-capacity
transit are twice as likely not to own a car as residents who
live elsewhere, and they own half as many cars per household.
(6) Increasing transit ridership and improving our transit
systems in urban, suburban, and exurban areas, using innovative
solutions such as land value capture, will help reduce VMT,
congestion, GHG emissions, and reliance on fossil fuels and
vehicles. By reducing such factors, the United States can help
curb the effects of climate change.
SEC. 3. VALUE CAPTURE POLICY AND PLANNING PROGRAM.
Chapter 53 of title 49, United States Code, is amended by adding at
the end the following:
``SEC. 5341. TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE AND VALUE CAPTURE POLICY.
``(a) Technical Assistance and Policy Development.--
``(1) Technical assistance grants.--The Secretary may make
a grant available to a State or local government if the
Secretary determines that such grant will assist recipients
under this section to--
``(A) develop more State and local value capture
mechanisms for long-term funding that promote mobility,
public transportation, and affordable transit-oriented
development;
``(B) improve public transportation and mobility;
and
``(C) develop strategic partnerships that create
greater self-help capacity that leads to greater long
term and robust investments in public transportation,
mobility, inclusive economic development, and
affordable transit-oriented development.
``(2) Performance benchmarks and maintenance of effort.--
``(A) Performance benchmarks.--To be eligible for a
grant under this section, the grantee shall include in
its application an explanation of how the grant funds
will demonstrably increase transit capacity and
ridership and reduce carbon dioxide emissions, vehicle
miles traveled, and congestion.
``(B) Maintenance of effort.--
``(i) In general and possible reduction.--
In addition to the eligibility requirements of
subparagraph (A), a grantee also needs to
include in its application a certification to
maintain the same funding level as the
aggregate expenditures at or above the average
level of expenditures in the 2 fiscal years
prior to the date of enactment of this section.
If a State or local government that receives a
grant under this section reduces its combined
fiscal effort for value capture initiatives and
programs or the aggregate expenditures within
the State or local government to support value
capture, public transportation, or affordable
transit-oriented development programs for any
fiscal year that a State or local government
receives a grant authorized under this section
relative to the previous fiscal year, the
Secretary, except as provided in clause (ii),
shall reduce support for such State or local
government under this section by the same
amount as the decline in State or local effort
for such fiscal year.
``(ii) Waiver.--The Secretary may waive the
requirements of this subparagraph if--
``(I) the Secretary determines that
a waiver would be appropriate due to a
precipitous decline in the financial
resources of a State or local
government as a result of unforeseen
economic hardship or a natural disaster
that has necessitated across-the-board
reductions in State or local services,
including value capture, public
transportation, and affordable transit-
oriented development programs; or
``(II) due to the circumstances of
a State or local government requiring
reductions in specific programs, if the
State or local government presents to
the Secretary a justification and
demonstration why other programs could
not be reduced and how value capture,
public transportation, and affordable
transit-oriented development programs
in the State will not be
disproportionately harmed by such State
or local action.
``(3) Davis-bacon.--The Secretary shall ensure that
laborers and mechanics employed by contractors and
subcontractors in construction work financed by a grant made
under this section will be paid wages not less than those
prevailing on similar construction in the locality, as
determined by the Secretary of Labor under subchapter IV of
chapter 31 of title 40 (commonly known as the `Davis-Bacon
Act').
``(4) Enforcement.--The Secretary may revoke grant funds
provided under this section if a grantee fails to implement the
maintenance of effort under paragraph (2)(B) and Davis-Bacon
provisions referred to paragraph (3).
``(5) Evaluation.--Not later than 3 years after receiving a
grant under this section, the grantee shall assess the
effectiveness of the use of the funds by evaluating whether the
funds created a demonstrable increase in transit capacity and
ridership and a reduction in carbon dioxide emissions, vehicle
miles traveled, and congestion.
``(6) Technical assistance.--The Secretary, through a
competitive bid process, may enter into contracts, cooperative
agreements, and other agreements with national nonprofit
organizations and universities that have the appropriate
demonstrated capacity to provide value capture-related
technical assistance under this subsection, including guidance
on implementing foreign value capture models within the United
States.
``(7) Supplement not supplant.--Grant funds received under
this section shall be used to supplement and not supplant other
Federal, State, and local public funds expended on public value
capture and affordable transit-oriented development programs in
the State or local government.
``(8) Value capture policy requirements.--
``(A) Value capture policy.--Not later than October
1 of the fiscal year that begins 2 years after the date
of enactment of this section, the Secretary, in
collaboration with State departments of transportation,
metropolitan planning organizations, and regional
council of governments, shall establish voluntary and
consensus-based value capture standards, policies, and
best practices for State and local value capture
mechanisms that promote greater investments in public
transportation and affordable transit-oriented
development.
``(B) Report.--Not later than 15 months after the
date of enactment of this section, the Secretary shall
make available to the public a report cataloging
examples of State and local laws and policies that
provide for value capture and value sharing that
promote greater investment in public transportation and
affordable transit-oriented development.
``(C) Best practices.--Based on the report required
under subparagraph (B), the Secretary shall identify
and disseminate examples of best practices where States
and local governments have adopted value capture and
value sharing mechanisms that have successfully
provided for greater investment in public
transportation and affordable transit-oriented
development.
``(b) Definitions.--For purposes of this section--
``(1) the term `value capture' means capturing a portion of
the incremental economic value created by government
investments, activities, and policies that may generate
alternative revenue streams, assets, or other financial value
for which could assist in funding those investments and
activities;
``(2) the term `transit-oriented development' means a mix
of commercial, residential, office, and entertainment centered
around or located near a public transportation station that
promotes affordable housing and commercial space;
``(3) the term `affordable housing' means housing, the cost
of which does not exceed 30 percent of the income of a family;
and
``(4) the term `affordable commercial space' means
commercial space dedicated to either protect or promote small
and disadvantage businesses provided below market rent
value.''.
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