To amend title 49, United States Code, to provide the Department of Transportation a more focused research organization with an emphasis on innovative technology, and for other purposes.

Summary: Norman Y. Mineta Research and Special Programs Reorganization Act - (Sec. 2) Amends Federal transportation law to establish the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) in the Department of Transportation (DOT), headed by an Administrator with professional experience in pipeline safety, hazardous materials safety, or other transportation safety, appointed by the President, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate. Provides for a Deputy Administrator, appointed by the Secretary of Transportation, and an Assistant Administrator for Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety (who shall also be the Chief Safety Officer), appointed in the competitive service by the Secretary.

(Sec. 3) Transfers the Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS) to the Research and Innovative Technology Administration (established by this Act). Requires the BTS Director to be appointed in the competitive service by the Secretary, instead (as currently) by the President, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate.

(Sec. 4) Replaces the Research and Special Programs Administration (RSPA) with the Research and Innovative Technology Administration (RITA), which shall be headed by an Administrator appointed by the President, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate. Transfers the powers and duties of the RSPA Administrator to the RITA Administrator.

Directs the Administrator to carry out the responsibilities of the Secretary for: (1) coordination, facilitation, and review of DOT research and development programs and activities; (2) advancement of innovative technologies, including intelligent transportation systems projects and products; (3) comprehensive transportation statistics research, analysis, and reporting; (4) education and training in transportation and transportation-related fields; and (5) activities of the Volpe National Transportation Center.

Declares that nothing in this Act shall grant any authority to RITA over research and other programs, activities, standards, or regulations administered by the Secretary through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, except those provided for in highway and traffic safety programs administered under specified Federal law pertaining to highways and the National Driver Register, as in effect on the date of enactment of this Act.

Establishes in RITA an Office of Intermodalism.

Directs the Administrator of RITA to report to Congress on DOT research activities. Requires the Administrator, in developing the report, to: (1) solicit input from a wide range of stakeholders; (2) take into account how the research and development activities of other Federal, State, private sector, and not-for-profit institutions contribute to reducing traffic congestion, improving mobility, and promoting safety; and (3) address methods to avoid unnecessary duplication of efforts in achieving such purposes.

(Sec. 6) Directs the DOT Inspector General to report to the Secretary and the PHMSA Administrator a list of: (1) each statutory mandate regarding pipeline safety or hazardous materials safety that has not been implemented; and (2) each open safety recommendation made by the National Transportation Safety Board or the Inspector General regarding pipeline safety or hazardous materials safety. Directs the Secretary to report to Congress on the specific actions taken to implement such mandates.

Requires the Secretary to report annually to Congress on each open safety recommendation and the DOT response.

(Sec. 7) Directs the Secretary to provide for the orderly transfer of duties and powers under this Act by 90 days after its enactment.

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

     This Act may be cited as the ``Norman Y. Mineta Research and 
Special Programs Improvement Act''.

SEC. 2. PIPELINE AND HAZARDOUS MATERIALS SAFETY ADMINISTRATION.

    (a) In General.--Section 108 of title 49, United States Code, is 
amended to read as follows:

``Sec. 108. Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration

    ``(a) In General.--The Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety 
Administration shall be an administration in the Department of 
Transportation.
    ``(b) Safety as Highest Priority.--In carrying out its duties, the 
Administration shall consider the assignment and maintenance of safety 
as the highest priority, recognizing the clear intent, encouragement, 
and dedication of Congress to the furtherance of the highest degree of 
safety in pipeline transportation and hazardous materials 
transportation.
    ``(c) Administrator.--The head of the Administration shall be the 
Administrator who shall be appointed by the President, by and with the 
advice and consent of the Senate, and shall be an individual with 
professional experience in pipeline safety, hazardous materials safety, 
or other transportation safety. The Administrator shall report directly 
to the Secretary of Transportation.
    ``(d) Deputy Administrator.--The Administration shall have a Deputy 
Administrator who shall be appointed by the Secretary. The Deputy 
Administrator shall carry out duties and powers prescribed by the 
Administrator.
    ``(e) Chief Safety Officer.--The Administration shall have an 
Assistant Administrator for Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety 
appointed in the competitive service by the Secretary. The Assistant 
Administrator shall be the Chief Safety Officer of the Administration. 
The Assistant Administrator shall carry out the duties and powers 
prescribed by the Administrator.
    ``(f) Duties and Powers of the Administrator.--The Administrator 
shall carry out--
        ``(1) duties and powers related to pipeline and hazardous 
    materials transportation and safety vested in the Secretary by 
    chapters 51, 57, 61, 601, and 603; and
        ``(2) other duties and powers prescribed by the Secretary.
    ``(g) Limitation.--A duty or power specified in subsection (f)(1) 
may be transferred to another part of the Department of Transportation 
or another government entity only if specifically provided by law.''.
    (b) Transfer of Duties and Powers of Research and Special Programs 
Administration.--The authority of the Research and Special Programs 
Administration exercised under chapters 51, 57, 61, 601, and 603 of 
title 49, United States Code, is transferred to the Administrator of 
the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration.
    (c) Conforming Amendments.--
        (1) Chapter analysis.--The analysis for chapter 1 of title 49, 
    United States Code, is amended by striking the item relating to 
    section 108 and inserting the following:
``108. Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration.''.
        (2) DOT inspectors.--Section 5118(b)(3)(A) of title 49, United 
    States Code, is amended by striking ``Research and Special Programs 
    Administration'' and inserting ``Pipeline and Hazardous Materials 
    Safety Administration''.
        (3) NTSB safety recommendations.--Section 19(a) of the Pipeline 
    Safety Improvement Act of 2002 (49 U.S.C 1135 note; 116 Stat. 3009) 
    is amended by striking ``Research and Special Program 
    Administration'' and inserting ``Pipeline and Hazardous Materials 
    Safety Administration''.
        (4) National maritime enhancements institutes.--Section 8(f)(2) 
    of Public Law 101-115 (46 U.S.C. App. 1121-2(f)(2)) is amended by 
    striking ``Research and Special Programs Administration'' and 
    inserting ``Research and Innovative Technology Administration''.
        (5) Oil pollution research and development program.--Section 
    7001 of the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 (33 U.S.C. 2761) is amended--
            (A) in subsection (a)(3) by striking ``Research and Special 
        Projects Administration'' and inserting ``Pipeline and 
        Hazardous Materials Safety Administration''; and
            (B) in subsection (c)(11) by striking ``Research and 
        Special Programs Administration'' and inserting ``Pipeline and 
        Hazardous Materials Safety Administration''.
        (6) Penalties.--Section 844(g)(2)(B) of title 18, United State 
    Code, is amended by striking ``Research and Special Projects 
    Administration'' and inserting ``Pipeline and Hazardous Materials 
    Safety Administration''.
    (d) Executive Schedule Pay Rate.--Section 5314 of title 5, United 
States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following:
        ``Administrator, Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety 
    Administration.''.

SEC. 3. BUREAU OF TRANSPORTATION STATISTICS.

    (a) Establishment.--Section 111(a) of title 49, United States Code, 
is amended by striking ``in the Department of Transportation'' and 
inserting ``in the Research and Innovative Technology Administration''.
    (b) Appointment of Director.--Section 111(b) of title 49, United 
States Code, is amended--
        (1) by striking paragraph (1) and inserting the following:
        ``(1) Appointment.--The Bureau shall be headed by a Director 
    who shall be appointed in the competitive service by the 
    Secretary.''; and
        (2) by striking paragraphs (3) and (4).
    (c) Executive Schedule Pay Rate.--Section 5316 of title 5, United 
States Code, is amended by striking the undesignated paragraph relating 
to the Director, Bureau of Transportation Statistics.

SEC. 4. RESEARCH AND INNOVATIVE TECHNOLOGY ADMINISTRATION.

    (a) In General.--Section 112 of title 49, United States Code, is 
amended--
        (1) by striking the section heading and inserting the 
    following:

``Sec. 112. Research and Innovative Technology Administration'';

        (2) by striking subsection (a) and inserting the following:
    ``(a) Establishment.--The Research and Innovative Technology 
Administration shall be an administration in the Department of 
Transportation.'';
        (3) by striking subsection (d) and inserting the following:
    ``(d) Powers and Duties of the Administrator.--The Administrator 
shall carry out--
        ``(1) powers and duties prescribed by the Secretary for--
            ``(A) coordination, facilitation, and review of the 
        Department's research and development programs and activities;
            ``(B) advancement, and research and development, of 
        innovative technologies, including intelligent transportation 
        systems;
            ``(C) comprehensive transportation statistics research, 
        analysis, and reporting;
            ``(D) education and training in transportation and 
        transportation-related fields; and
            ``(E) activities of the Volpe National Transportation 
        Center; and
        ``(2) other powers and duties prescribed by the Secretary.''; 
    and
        (4) by striking subsection (e).
    (b) Clarification.--
        (1) In general.--Nothing in this Act shall grant any authority 
    to the Research and Innovative Technology Administration over 
    research and other programs, activities, standards, or regulations 
    administered by the Secretary of Transportation through the 
    National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
        (2) Applicability.--Paragraph (1) shall not apply to the 
    research and other programs, activities, standards, or regulations 
    provided for in highway and traffic safety programs, administered 
    by the Secretary through the National Highway Traffic Safety 
    Administration, in title 23, United States Code, and chapter 303 of 
    title 49, United States Code, as in effect on the date of enactment 
    of this Act.
    (c) Office of Intermodalism.--Section 5503(a) of title 49, United 
States Code, is amended to read as follows:
    ``(a) Establishment.--There is established in the Research and 
Innovative Technology Administration an Office of Intermodalism.''.
    (d) Transfer of Powers and Duties of Research and Special Programs 
Administration.--The authority of the Research and Special Programs 
Administration, other than authority exercised under chapters 51, 57, 
61, 601, and 603 of title 49, United States Code, is transferred to the 
Administrator of the Research and Innovative Technology Administration.
    (e) Conforming Amendment.--The analysis for chapter 1 of title 49, 
United States Code, is amended by striking the item relating to section 
112 and inserting the following:
``112. Research and Innovative Technology Administration.''.
    (f) Executive Schedule Pay Rate.--Section 5314 of title 5, United 
States Code, is amended by striking the undesignated paragraph relating 
to the Administrator, Research and Special Programs Administration and 
inserting the following:
        ``Administrator, Research and Innovative Technology 
    Administration.''.
    (g) Report.--
        (1) In general.--Not later than 120 days after the date of 
    enactment of this Act, the Administrator of the Research and 
    Innovative Technology Administration shall submit to the Committee 
    on Transportation and Infrastructure and the Committee on Science 
    of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Commerce, 
    Science, and Transportation of the Senate a report on the research 
    activities of the Department of Transportation.
        (2) Contents.--The report shall include--
            (A) a summary of the mission and strategic goals of the 
        Administration;
            (B) a prioritized list of the research and development 
        activities that the Department intends to pursue over the next 
        5 years;
            (C) a description of the primary purposes for conducting 
        such research and development activities, such as reducing 
        traffic congestion, improving mobility, and promoting safety;
            (D) an estimate of the funding levels needed to implement 
        such research and development activities for the current fiscal 
        year; and
            (E) any additional information the Administrator considers 
        appropriate.
        (3) Development.--In developing the report, the Administrator 
    shall--
            (A) solicit input from a wide range of stakeholders;
            (B) take into account how the research and development 
        activities of other Federal, State, private sector, and not-
        for-profit institutions contribute to the achievement of the 
        purposes identified under paragraph (2)(C); and
            (C) address methods to avoid unnecessary duplication of 
        efforts in achieving such purposes.

SEC. 5. SAVINGS PROVISIONS.

    (a) Transfer of Assets and Personnel.--Personnel, property, and 
records employed, used, held, available, or to be made available in 
connection with functions transferred within the Department of 
Transportation by this Act shall be transferred for use in connection 
with the functions transferred, and unexpended balances of 
appropriations, allocations, and other funds (including funds of any 
predecessor entity) shall also be transferred accordingly.
    (b) Legal Documents.--All orders, determinations, rules, 
regulations, permits, grants, loans, contracts, settlements, 
agreements, certificates, licenses, and privileges--
        (1) that have been issued, made, granted, or allowed to become 
    effective by any officer or employee, or any other Government 
    official, or by a court of competent jurisdiction, in the 
    performance of any function that is transferred by this Act; and
        (2) that are in effect on the effective date of such transfer 
    (or become effective after such date pursuant to their terms as in 
    effect on such effective date),
shall continue in effect according to their terms until modified, 
terminated, superseded, set aside, or revoked in accordance with law by 
the Department, any other authorized official, a court of competent 
jurisdiction, or operation of law.
    (c) Proceedings.--The provisions of this Act shall not affect any 
proceedings, including administrative enforcement actions, pending 
before this Act takes effect, insofar as those functions are 
transferred by this Act; but such proceedings, to the extent that they 
relate to functions so transferred, shall proceed in accordance with 
applicable law and regulations. Nothing in this subsection shall be 
deemed to prohibit the conclusion or modification of any proceeding 
described in this subsection under the same terms and conditions and to 
the same extent that such proceeding could have been concluded or 
modified if this Act had not been enacted. The Secretary of 
Transportation is authorized to provide for the orderly transfer of 
pending proceedings.
    (d) Suits.--
        (1) In general.--This Act shall not affect suits commenced 
    before the date of enactment of this Act, except as provided in 
    paragraphs (2) and (3). In all such suits, proceedings shall be 
    had, appeals taken, and judgments rendered in the same manner and 
    with the same effect as if this Act had not been enacted.
        (2) Suits by or against department.--Any suit by or against the 
    Department begun before the date of enactment of this Act, shall 
    proceed in accordance with applicable law and regulations, insofar 
    as it involves a function retained and transferred under this Act.
        (3) Procedures for remanded cases.--If the court in a suit 
    described in paragraph (1) remands a case, subsequent proceedings 
    related to such case shall proceed under procedures that are in 
    accordance with applicable law and regulations as in effect at the 
    time of such subsequent proceedings.
    (e) Continuance of Actions Against Officers.--No suit, action, or 
other proceeding commenced by or against any officer in his or her 
official capacity shall abate by reason of the enactment of this Act.
    (f) Exercise of Authorities.--An officer or employee of the 
Department, for purposes of performing a function transferred by this 
Act, may exercise all authorities under any other provision of law that 
were available with respect to the performance of that function to the 
official responsible for the performance of the function immediately 
before the effective date of the transfer of the function by this Act.
    (g) References.--A reference relating to an agency, officer, or 
employee affected by this Act in any Federal law, Executive order, 
rule, regulation, or delegation of authority, or in any document 
pertaining to an officer or employee, is deemed to refer, as 
appropriate, to the agency, officer, or employee who succeeds to the 
functions transferred by this Act.
    (h) Definition.--In this section, the term ``this Act'' includes 
the amendments made by this Act.

SEC. 6. REPORTS.

    (a) Reports by the Inspector General.--Not later than 30 days after 
the date of enactment of this Act, the Inspector General of the 
Department of Transportation shall submit to the Secretary of 
Transportation and the Administrator of the Pipeline and Hazardous 
Materials Safety Administration a report containing the following:
        (1) A list of each statutory mandate regarding pipeline safety 
    or hazardous materials safety that has not been implemented.
        (2) A list of each open safety recommendation made by the 
    National Transportation Safety Board or the Inspector General 
    regarding pipeline safety or hazardous materials safety.
    (b) Reports by the Secretary.--
        (1) Statutory mandates.--Not later than 90 days after the date 
    of enactment of this Act, and every 180 days thereafter until each 
    of the mandates referred to in subsection (a)(1) has been 
    implemented, the Secretary shall transmit to the Committee on 
    Transportation and Infrastructure and the Committee on Energy and 
    Commerce of the House of Representatives and the Committee on 
    Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate a report on the 
    specific actions taken to implement such mandates.
        (2) NTSB and inspector general recommendations.--Not later than 
    January 1st of each year, the Secretary shall transmit to the 
    Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure and the Committee on 
    Energy and Commerce of the House of Representatives and the 
    Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate a 
    report containing each recommendation referred to in subsection 
    (a)(2) and a copy of the Department of Transportation response to 
    each such recommendation.

SEC. 7. DEADLINE FOR TRANSFERS.

    The Secretary shall provide for the orderly transfer of duties and 
powers under this Act, including the amendments made by this Act, as 
soon as practicable but not later than 90 days after the date of 
enactment of this Act.

                               Speaker of the House of Representatives.

                            Vice President of the United States and    
                                               President of the Senate.