[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 3744 Introduced in House (IH)]
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117th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 3744
To amend title 49, United States Code, to establish a program to
provide grants to eligible recipients for eligible operating support
costs of public transportation and associated capital improvements, and
for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
June 8, 2021
Mr. Johnson of Georgia (for himself, Ms. Schakowsky, Mr. Garcia of
Illinois, Mr. Huffman, Ms. Pressley, Mr. Espaillat, and Mr. Carson)
introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on
Transportation and Infrastructure
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To amend title 49, United States Code, to establish a program to
provide grants to eligible recipients for eligible operating support
costs of public transportation and associated capital improvements, 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 ``Stronger Communities through Better
Transit Act''.
SEC. 2. HIGH QUALITY TRANSIT OPERATING SUPPORT PROGRAM.
(a) In General.--Chapter 53 of title 49, United States Code, is
amended by inserting after section 5307 the following:
``Sec. 5308. High quality transit operating support program
``(a) In General.--The Secretary of Transportation shall establish
a program under which the Secretary may make grants to eligible
recipients for eligible operating support costs of public
transportation and associated capital improvements.
``(b) Allocation of Funding.--The Secretary shall allocate funding
as follows:
``(1) 75 percent through the formula under section 5336.
``(2) 23.75 percent through the formula under section
5311(c)(3).
``(3) 1.25 percent to Indian Tribes through the formula
under section 5311(j).
``(c) Eligible Projects.--
``(1) In general.--Eligible recipients may use funding
provided under this section for eligible operating support
costs of public transportation and associated capital
improvements that make substantial improvements to transit
service as measured by a comparison to the number of revenue
hours of service provided by the recipient during the covered
period, including--
``(A) operating projects that decrease headways;
``(B) operating projects that expand service area,
hours, or days;
``(C) operating projects for new or increased
frequent non-fixed guideway service or frequent fixed
guideway service;
``(D) service planning, including planning to
address changing demographics, changing travel
movement, network redesign (including the
implementation of a plan that results in a net increase
in service hours across a region, subregion, or study
area), and accommodating essential service trips
(including service trips for employment, healthcare
facilities, child care, education and workforce
training, food sources, banking and other financial
institutions, and other retail shopping
establishments);
``(E) measuring access to work and essential
services, particularly for non-drivers, including data
acquisition and acquiring outside support for
conducting the analysis; and
``(F) associated capital improvements related to
projects described in subparagraphs (A) through (E).
``(2) Covered year for revenue hours.--
``(A) Covered period defined.--In this subsection,
the term `covered period' means--
``(i) for the period beginning on the date
of enactment of this section and ending on the
last day of the fiscal year 3 fiscal years
thereafter, fiscal year 2019; and
``(ii) for the period beginning on the
first day of the fourth fiscal year after the
date of enactment of this section and
continuing through the last day of the
following fiscal year, the fiscal year
preceding the fourth fiscal year.
``(B) Exception for emergency.--In any fiscal year,
the Secretary may change the comparison year under
paragraph (1) in the case of an emergency.
``(3) Prioritization.--Recipients of a grant under this
section shall balance needs to decrease headways on low-
frequency routes with needs for increased capacity on high-
frequency routes when allocating operating costs and public
transportation projects described in subparagraphs (A) through
(C) of paragraph (1).
``(4) Waiver.--The Secretary may waive the requirements of
paragraph (3) if an eligible recipient certifies that all of
the service provided by such recipient meets the baseline
frequency and access measurement for access to jobs and
essential services (as determined under subsection (k)) that is
satisfactory to the Secretary.
``(d) Limitation.--
``(1) In general.--A recipient of a grant under this
section may not use more than 10 percent of such grant for
projects described in subparagraphs (D) through (F) of
subsection (c)(1).
``(2) Increase of limitation.--The Secretary may increase
the limitation in paragraph (1) to not more than 20 percent if
a recipient can demonstrate that such an increase will result
in substantial service improvements in a given fiscal year.
``(e) Requirement.--A preponderance of a grant received by a
recipient under this section in a fiscal year shall be used for
projects that primarily serve underserved communities or areas of
persistent poverty.
``(f) Federal Share.--
``(1) In general.--The Federal share of a project or
program carried out using a grant awarded under this section
shall be not greater than 50 percent.
``(2) Increased federal share for certain areas.--
Notwithstanding paragraph (1), the Federal share of a project
or program carried out in an area of persistent poverty or an
underserved community using a grant awarded under this section
shall be not greater than 80 percent.
``(3) Federal share for indian tribes.--Notwithstanding
paragraph (1), for Indian Tribes receiving funding allocated
under subsection (b)(3), the Federal share of a project or
program carried out using a grant awarded under this section
shall be 100 percent.
``(4) In kind match.--Of the non-Federal share required
under this subsection, 25 percent may be derived from amounts
(other than amounts received from the Federal Transit
Administration) expended for associated capital improvements
related to a project or program carried out using a grant
awarded under this section.
``(g) Period of Availability.--An amount apportioned under this
section may be obligated by the recipient for 2 years after the fiscal
year in which the amount is apportioned. Not later than 30 days after
the end of the 2-year period, an amount that is not obligated at the
end of that period shall be added to the amount that may be apportioned
under this section in the following fiscal year.
``(h) Conditions.--As a condition of receiving a grant under this
section, an eligible recipient shall--
``(1) in the case of a recipient in an urbanized area--
``(A) agree to report to the Federal Transit
Administration, for inclusion in the National Transit
Database--
``(i) service frequency and revenue vehicle
hours, including revenue vehicle hours and
unlinked passenger trips originating and
terminating in areas of persistent poverty and
underserved communities, together with such
other specific data as the Secretary shall find
necessary and appropriate; and
``(ii) the number of jobs and essential
services accessible by transit, and improvement
in such access, including specific reporting on
access by transit for areas of persistent
poverty and underserved communities; and
``(B) demonstrate that such recipient has surveyed,
within the past year and at least every 2 years
thereafter, current transit riders as well as non-
riding residents of areas of persistent poverty and
underserved communities regarding transit service
improvements, using means designed to maximize
participation from both riders and non-riders, and has
published the survey in an online format;
``(2) in the case of a recipient that is a federally
recognized tribe or Alaska Native village--
``(A) agree to report to the Federal Transit
Administration, for inclusion in the National Transit
Database, revenue vehicle hours and unlinked passenger
trips, together with such other specific data as the
Secretary shall find necessary and appropriate; and
``(B) demonstrate that such recipient has surveyed,
within the past year and at least every 2 years
thereafter, current transit riders as well as non-
riding residents of the tribe's or village's service
area regarding transit service improvements, using
means designed to maximize participation from both
riders and non-riders, and has published the survey in
an online format; and
``(3) in the case of a recipient that is a State or other
possession receiving assistance under section 5311--
``(A) agree to report to the Federal Transit
Administration, for inclusion in the National Transit
Database, revenue vehicle hours for each subrecipient
receiving assistance under this section, including
revenue vehicle hours and unlinked passenger trips
originating and terminating in areas of persistent
poverty and underserved communities, together with such
other specific data as the Secretary shall find
necessary and appropriate;
``(B) provide an annually updated report to the
Secretary identifying those underserved communities and
areas of persistent poverty in the non-urbanized areas
of the State or possession that do not have any
reported public transit services, or in which either
the availability or utilization of rural public transit
is in the bottom quintile as compared to all rural
public transit services in the United States, using
such measurements as shall be identified by the
Secretary, together with annually updated progress
toward achieving the State's or possession's strategy
for establishing high-quality transit service in these
unserved and underserved communities and areas of
persistent poverty; and
``(C) demonstrate that every subrecipient of the
State or posession has surveyed, within the past year
and at least every 2 years thereafter, current transit
riders as well as non-riding residents of areas of
persistent poverty and underserved communities within
the subrecipient's service area regarding transit
service improvements, using means designed to maximize
participation from both riders and non-riders, and has
published the survey in an online format.
``(i) Regulations.--Not later than 1 year after the date of
enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall issue such regulations as
are necessary to carry out the program established under subsection
(a), including defining the terms `frequent service', `preponderance of
a grant', `primarily serve', and `access to jobs and essential service'
for purposes of this Act, including by taking into account any
necessary difference in the definition of such terms required for
urbanized areas, rural areas located near urbanized areas, and remote
rural areas.
``(j) Prohibition on Privatization.--Any eligible project carried
out using a grant under this section shall be operated and maintained
by employees of an existing public transportation provider in the
service area.
``(k) Access Measurement.--
``(1) In general.--In carrying out the program under this
section, the Secretary shall set up a multimodal access
measurement interface that is open to any public agency through
the program under section 5505 of title 49, United States Code,
to aid transit agencies in determining and reporting on access
to jobs and essential services.
``(2) Interim data.--Until the access measurement interface
under paragraph (1) is established, an eligible recipient may
use other data sources to determine and report on access to
jobs and essential services.
``(l) GAO Report.--Not later than 4 years after the date of
enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General of the United States
shall submit to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure of
the House of Representatives and the Committee on Banking, Housing, and
Urban Affairs of the Senate a report that reviews the outcomes of the
program established under subsection (a), including new service
produced and improvements in access to work and essential services,
particularly for areas of persistent poverty and underserved
communities.
``(m) Prevailing Wage.--The Secretary shall ensure that any labor
associated with eligible operating costs or a public transportation
project carried out using a grant made under this section will be paid
wages not less than those prevailing on similar projects in the
locality, as determined by the Secretary of Labor under subchapter IV
of chapter 31 of title 40. The Secretary shall make a grant under this
section only after being assured that required labor standards will be
maintained.
``(n) Maintenance of Effort.--
``(1) In general.--Not later than 30 days after the
beginning of each fiscal year, recipients of funds under this
section shall certify to the Secretary that such recipients
will, with funding pledged by all sources, maintain effort with
regard to transit service. As part of this certification, the
transit agency shall submit to the Secretary a statement
identifying the amount of funds from all sources (other than
funds provided under this section and related non-Federal
match) expended on transit operations during the prior fiscal
year, and the amount expected to be expended on transit
operations from all sources during the current fiscal year.
``(2) Failure to maintain effort.--If a recipient of funds
under this section is unable to maintain the level of effort
certified pursuant to paragraph (1) for any fiscal year, the
amount such recipient would have received under this section in
the following fiscal year shall be reduced by one-third.
``(o) Rule of Construction.--Nothing in this section shall be
construed to prevent an eligible recipient from increasing service
through the use of any other Federal or non-Federal funds.
``(p) Authorization of Appropriations.--There is authorized to be
appropriated to carry out this section $20,000,000,000 for each of
fiscal years 2023 through 2026.
``(q) Definitions.--In this section:
``(1) Areas of persistent poverty.--The term `area of
persistent poverty' means--
``(A) a county that has consistently had greater
than or equal to 20 percent of the population of such
county living in poverty during the most recent 30-year
period for which data is available, as measured by the
1990 and 2000 decennial censuses; or
``(B) a census tract with a poverty rate of at
least 20 percent as measured by the 2014 through 2018
5-year data series available from the American
Community Survey of the Bureau of the Census.
``(2) Associated capital improvements.--The term
`associated capital improvements' means capital projects
described in subparagraphs (B) through (G) of section
5302(a)(1) of title 49, United States Code.
``(3) Eligible recipient.--The term `eligible recipient'
means a recipient or subrecipient of funds under section 5307
or 5311 of title 49, United States Code.
``(4) Underserved community.--The term `underserved
community' means--
``(A) a census tract or block numbering area in
which the median income does not exceed 80 percent of
the area median income;
``(B) families with income not greater than 100
percent of the area median income that reside in
minority census tracts;
``(C) families with income not greater than 100
percent of the area median income that reside in areas
affected by disasters, as determined by the
Administrator of the Federal Transit Administration;
``(D) a census tract that has a minority population
of at least 30 percent or a median income of less than
100 percent of the area median income;
``(E) a community that has low access to jobs and
essential services, as determined by the Secretary; or
``(F) a census block or group of geographically
contiguous census blocks in which the population of any
racial or ethnic minority individuals, individually or
in combination, comprises 30 percent or more of the
population of persons in the census block or group of
geographically contiguous census blocks.''.
(b) Clerical Amendment.--The analysis for chapter 53 of title 49,
United States Code, is amended by inserting after the item relating to
section 5307 the following:
``5308. High quality transit operating support program.''.
(c) Sense of Congress.--It is the sense of Congress that capital
funding for transit should be increased.
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