Intelligent Technologies Initiative Act of 2015

Summary: Intelligent Technologies Initiative Act of 2015  This bill directs the Department of Transportation (DOT) to establish an Intelligent Technology Initiative to provide grants to up to six state and local governments to establish deployment sites for large scale installation and operation of intelligent transportation systems (ITS) to improve safety, efficiency, system performance, and return on investment. DOT shall develop criteria for selecting grant recipients, including how the deployment of technology will enable the recipient to:   reduce costs and improve return on investments;   deliver environmental benefits and reduce energy consumption by alleviating congestion and streamlining traffic flow;   measure and improve the operational performance of its transportation network;   reduce the number and severity of traffic collisions and increase driver, passenger, and pedestrian safety;  collect, disseminate, and utilize real-time traffic, transit, parking, and other transportation-related information to improve mobility, reduce congestion, and provide for more efficient and accessible transportation alternatives;   monitor transportation assets to improve infrastructure management, reduce maintenance costs, prioritize investment decisions, and ensure a state of good repair; and   deliver economic benefits by reducing delays, improving system performance, and providing for the efficient and reliable movement of goods and services.   A grant application must include:  a plan to deploy and provide for the long-term operation and maintenance of ITS to improve safety, efficiency, system performance, and return on investment; quantifiable system performance improvements; quantifiable safety, mobility, and environmental benefit projections;  a plan for partnering with the private sector, public agencies, research institutions, organizations representing transportation and technology leaders, and other transportation stakeholders; a plan to leverage and optimize existing local and regional ITS investments; and a plan to ensure interoperability of deployed technologies with other tolling, traffic management, and ITS.  Recipient may use grant funds to deploy, operate, and maintain specified ITS and ITS-enabled operational strategies. The bill requires DOT to report on the effectiveness of grant recipients in meeting their projected deployment plans.

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Intelligent Technologies Initiative 
Act of 2015''.

SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.

    In this Act, the following definitions apply:
            (1) Eligible entity.--The term ``eligible entity'' means a 
        State or local government, including a territory of the United 
        States, tribal government, transit agency, port authority, 
        metropolitan planning organization, or other political 
        subdivision of a State or local government or a multi-State or 
        multi-jurisdictional group applying through a single lead 
        applicant.
            (2) ITS.--The term ``ITS'' means intelligent transportation 
        systems.
            (3) Multi-jurisdictional group.--The term ``multi-
        jurisdictional group'' means a combination of State 
        governments, locals governments, metropolitan planning 
        agencies, transit agencies, or other political subdivisions of 
        a State that have signed a written agreement to implement the 
        Intelligent Technology Initiative across jurisdictional 
        boundaries. Each member of the group, including the lead 
        applicant, must be an eligible entity to receive a grant under 
        this Act.
            (4) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary 
        of Transportation.

SEC. 3. INTELLIGENT TECHNOLOGY INITIATIVE.

    (a) Establishment of Program.--Not later than 6 months after the 
date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall establish an 
Intelligent Technology Initiative to provide grants to eligible 
entities to establish deployment sites for large scale installation and 
operation of ITS to improve safety, efficiency, system performance, and 
return on investment. The Secretary shall develop criteria for 
selection of an eligible entity to receive a grant, including how the 
deployment of technology will enable the recipient--
            (1) to reduce costs and improve return on investments, 
        including through the enhanced utilization of existing 
        transportation capacity;
            (2) to deliver environmental benefits and reduce energy 
        consumption by alleviating congestion and streamlining traffic 
        flow;
            (3) to measure and improve the operational performance of 
        its transportation network;
            (4) to reduce the number and severity of traffic collisions 
        and increase driver, passenger, and pedestrian safety;
            (5) to collect, disseminate, and utilize real-time traffic, 
        transit, parking, and other transportation-related information 
        to improve mobility, reduce congestion, and provide for more 
        efficient and accessible transportation alternatives;
            (6) to monitor transportation assets to improve 
        infrastructure management, reduce maintenance costs, prioritize 
        investment decisions, and ensure a state of good repair; and
            (7) to deliver economic benefits by reducing delays, 
        improving system performance, and providing for the efficient 
        and reliable movement of goods and services.
    (b) Request for Applications.--Not later than 6 months after the 
date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall request applications 
in accordance with section 4 for participation in the Intelligent 
Technology Initiative.

SEC. 4. GRANT PROGRAM.

    (a) Grant Application.--To be considered for a grant under this 
Act, an eligible entity shall submit an application to the Secretary 
that includes the following:
            (1) Deployment plan.--A plan to deploy and provide for the 
        long-term operation and maintenance of intelligent 
        transportation systems to improve safety, efficiency, system 
        performance, and return on investment, such as--
                    (A) real-time integrated traffic, transit, and 
                multimodal transportation information;
                    (B) advanced traffic, freight, parking, and 
                incident management systems;
                    (C) collision avoidance systems;
                    (D) advanced technologies to improve transit and 
                commercial vehicle operations;
                    (E) synchronized, adaptive, and transit 
                preferential traffic signals;
                    (F) advanced infrastructure condition assessment 
                technologies; and
                    (G) other technologies to improve system 
                operations, including ITS applications necessary for 
                multimodal systems integration and for achieving 
                performance goals.
            (2) Objectives.--Quantifiable system performance 
        improvements, including reducing traffic-related crashes, 
        congestion, and costs, optimizing system efficiency, and 
        improving access to transportation services.
            (3) Results.--Quantifiable safety, mobility, and 
        environmental benefit projections including data driven 
        estimates of how the project will improve the region's 
        transportation system efficiency and reduce traffic congestion.
            (4) Partnerships.--A plan for partnering with the private 
        sector, public agencies including multimodal and multi-
        jurisdictional entities, research institutions, organizations 
        representing transportation and technology leaders, and other 
        transportation stakeholders.
            (5) Leveraging.--A plan to leverage and optimize existing 
        local and regional ITS investments.
            (6) Interoperability.--A plan to ensure interoperability of 
        deployed technologies with other tolling, traffic management, 
        and intelligent transportation systems.
    (b) Grant Selection.--
            (1) Grant awards.--Not later than 1 year after the date of 
        enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall award a grant to not 
        more than 6 eligible entities with funds available for up to 5 
        fiscal years.
            (2) Geographic diversity.--In awarding a grant under this 
        section, the Secretary shall ensure, to the extent practicable, 
        that grant recipients represent diverse geographic areas of the 
        United States, including urban, suburban, and rural areas.

SEC. 5. USES OF FUNDS.

    A grant recipient may use funds authorized in this Act to deploy, 
operate, and maintain ITS and ITS-enabled operational strategies, 
including--
            (1) advanced traveler information systems;
            (2) advanced transportation management technologies;
            (3) infrastructure maintenance, monitoring, and condition 
        assessment;
            (4) advanced public transportation systems;
            (5) transportation system performance data collection, 
        analysis, and dissemination systems;
            (6) advanced safety systems, including vehicle-to-vehicle 
        and vehicle-to-infrastructure communications and other 
        collision avoidance technologies;
            (7) integration of intelligent transportation systems with 
        the Smart Grid and other energy distribution and charging 
        systems;
            (8) electronic pricing and tolling systems; and
            (9) advanced mobility and access technologies, such as 
        dynamic ridesharing and information systems to support human 
        services for elderly and disabled Americans.

SEC. 6. REPORTS.

    (a) Report to Secretary.--Not later than 1 year after an eligible 
entity receives a grant award under this Act and each year thereafter, 
each grant recipient shall submit a report to the Secretary that 
describes--
            (1) deployment and operational cost compared to the 
        benefits and savings from the pilot program and compared to 
        other alternative approaches; and
            (2) how the project has met the original expectation as 
        projected in the deployment plan submitted with the 
        application, including--
                    (A) data on how the program has helped reduce 
                traffic crashes, congestion, costs, and other benefits 
                of the deployed systems;
                    (B) data on the effect of measuring and improving 
                transportation system performance through the 
                deployment of advanced technologies;
                    (C) the effectiveness of providing real-time 
                integrated traffic, transit, and multimodal 
                transportation information to the public to make 
                informed travel decisions; and
                    (D) lessons learned and recommendations for future 
                deployment strategies to optimize transportation 
                efficiency and multimodal system performance.
    (b) Report to Congress.--Not later than 2 years after grants have 
been allocated and each year thereafter, the Secretary shall submit a 
report to Congress that describes the effectiveness of grant recipients 
in meeting their projected deployment plan, including data on how the 
program has--
            (1) reduced traffic-related fatalities and injuries;
            (2) reduced traffic congestion and improved travel time 
        reliability;
            (3) reduced transportation-related emissions;
            (4) optimized multimodal system performance;
            (5) improved access to transportation alternatives;
            (6) provided the public with access to real-time integrated 
        traffic, transit, and multimodal transportation information to 
        make informed travel decisions;
            (7) provided cost savings to transportation agencies, 
        businesses, and the traveling public; and
            (8) provided other benefits to transportation users and the 
        general public.
    (c) Additional Grants.--If the Secretary determines from a grant 
recipient's reports that the recipient is not carrying out the 
requirements of the grant, the Secretary may cease to provide any 
additional grant funds to the recipient. The Secretary shall have the 
authority to redistribute remaining funds to select additional eligible 
entities for a program under this Act.

SEC. 7. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

    (a) Funding.--
            (1) In general.--There are authorized to be appropriated 
        out of the Highway Trust Fund to carry out this Act--
                    (A) $200,000,000 for fiscal year 2015;
                    (B) $200,000,000 for fiscal year 2016;
                    (C) $200,000,000 for fiscal year 2017;
                    (D) $200,000,000 for fiscal year 2018;
                    (E) $200,000,000 for fiscal year 2019; and
                    (F) $200,000,000 for fiscal year 2020.
            (2) Contract authority.--Funds authorized under this 
        subsection shall be available for obligation in the same manner 
        as if the funds were apportioned under chapter 1 of title 23, 
        United States Code, except that such funds shall not be 
        transferable, the obligation limitations shall not apply to 
        such funds, and shall remain available until expended.
    (b) Grant Limitation.--The Secretary may not award more than 25 
percent of the amount appropriated under this Act to a single grant 
recipient.
    (c) Expenses for Grant Recipients.--A grant recipient under this 
Act may use not more than 5 percent of the grant award each fiscal year 
to carry out planning and reporting requirements.
    (d) Expenses for Secretary.--Before awarding grant funds under this 
Act, the Secretary may set aside $3,000,000 each fiscal year for 
program reporting, evaluation, and administrative costs.