[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2308 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
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117th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 2308
To amend title 49, United States Code, to modify the threshold for
small start projects under the fixed guideway capital investment grant
program, to allow certain environmental review expenditures to count
for purposes of non-Federal matches, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
July 12, 2021
Mr. Warnock (for himself and Mr. Bennet) introduced the following bill;
which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Banking, Housing,
and Urban Affairs
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To amend title 49, United States Code, to modify the threshold for
small start projects under the fixed guideway capital investment grant
program, to allow certain environmental review expenditures to count
for purposes of non-Federal matches, 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. FIXED GUIDEWAY CAPITAL INVESTMENT GRANTS.
Section 5309 of title 49, United States Code, is amended--
(1) in subsection (a)--
(A) by redesignating paragraphs (2) through (7) as
paragraphs (3) through (8), respectively;
(B) by inserting after paragraph (1) the following:
``(2) Commuter or destination-based bus rapid transit
project.--The term `commuter or destination-based bus rapid
transit project' means a small start project utilizing buses--
``(A) in which the project represents a substantial
investment in a defined corridor, as demonstrated by
features that emulate the services provided by commuter
rail or other rail fixed guideway public transportation
systems, including--
``(i) defined stations;
``(ii) traffic signal or access to managed
lanes for public transportation vehicles;
``(iii) short headway services for a
substantial part of weekdays; and
``(iv) any other features the Secretary may
determine support a long-term corridor
investment; and
``(B) in which--
``(i) the majority of the project does not
operate in a separated right-of-way dedicated
for public transportation use during peak
periods; and
``(ii) a substantial portion of the project
operates in a highway right-of-way.''; and
(C) in paragraph (8) (as so redesignated)--
(i) in subparagraph (A), by striking
``$100,000,000'' and inserting
``$320,000,000''; and
(ii) in subparagraph (B), by striking
``$300,000,000'' and inserting
``$400,000,000'';
(2) in subsection (h), by adding at the end the following:
``(8) Commuter or destination-based bus rapid transit
project ratings.--In issuing policy guidance under subsection
(g)(5), the Secretary may establish alternative evaluation
criteria for commuter or destination-based bus rapid transit
projects for--
``(A) economic development effects associated with
those projects; or
``(B) policies and land use patterns that support
public transportation.'';
(3) in subsection (k)(2), by striking subparagraphs (E) and
(F);
(4) in subsection (l), by adding at the end the following:
``(9) Environmental review expenditures.--Notwithstanding
any other provision of law, with respect to a project that
receives a grant under this section, an expenditure made to
comply with the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42
U.S.C. 4321 et seq.) before the project enters project
development may be considered as an expenditure that helps meet
the non-Federal financial commitment required for that project
under this section.''; and
(5) in subsection (o)--
(A) by striking paragraph (2);
(B) by redesignating paragraph (3) as paragraph
(2); and
(C) by adding at the end the following:
``(3) Program dashboard.--
``(A) Establishment.--The Secretary shall establish
and maintain on a publicly available website a fixed
guideway capital investment grant program dashboard.
``(B) Requirements.--The dashboard established
under subparagraph (A) shall contain--
``(i) the amount of funding appropriated to
the program under this section for each fiscal
year for each program component, including
funding for core capacity improvement projects,
small start projects, and new fixed guideway
capital projects, if specific amounts are
appropriated for each program component;
``(ii) the amount of funding allocated from
the program under this section for each fiscal
year to each program component, including core
capacity improvement projects, small start
projects, and new fixed guideway capital
projects; and
``(iii) the amount of funding obligated
from the program under this section to each
program component, including core capacity
improvement projects, small start projects, and
new fixed guideway capital projects.
``(C) Project tracker.--The dashboard established
under subparagraph (A) shall, to the extent
practicable, include a comprehensive tracker of the
status of each project for which funding under this
section is sought for the duration during which the
project participates in the program under this section,
which shall include--
``(i) the status of the project in the
approval process, including--
``(I) the date on which the project
entered into each phase of the approval
process, including, as applicable, the
date on which project development,
engineering, and construction begins
and the date on which a grant agreement
is executed; and
``(II) the status of a request for
approval of entry into each phase of
the approval process, including--
``(aa) whether the Federal
Transit Administration, the
Office of the Secretary, the
Office of Management and
Budget, or another Federal
agency is reviewing the request
for approval;
``(bb) the date on which
the project sponsor requested
approval for entry into a new
phase; and
``(cc) whether the Federal
Transit Administration, the
Office of the Secretary, the
Office of Management and
Budget, or any other Federal
agency, as applicable, has
completed the review of the
request for approval;
``(ii) the status of the environmental
review process for the project through a link
to the relevant information with respect to the
project on the Permitting Dashboard required
under section 41003(b) of the FAST Act (42
U.S.C. 4370m-2(b));
``(iii) the status of each project for
which an early systems work agreement is
requested, including--
``(I) whether the Federal Transit
Administration, the Office of the
Secretary, or the Office of Management
and Budget is reviewing the request for
the early systems work agreement;
``(II) the status of the review
under that office; and
``(III) the date on which--
``(aa) the request was
received;
``(bb) the request was
approved or denied; and
``(cc) if the request was
approved, the early systems
work agreement was issued;
``(iv) based on information from the
project sponsor, the locally proposed financial
plan for the project, which shall include the
estimated breakdown of--
``(I) Federal funds anticipated
from sources other than the funding
provided under this section; and
``(II) State and local funds; and
``(v) based on information provided by the
project sponsor, the status of the project
sponsor in securing the required non-Federal
cost share.''.
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