WMATA Improvement Act of 2017

Summary: WMATA Improvement Act of 2017 This bill authorizes the Department of Transportation to provide additional grants for each of FY2018-FY2028 to the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) for financing approved capital and preventive maintenance projects. No grants may be provided until:  the WMATA Board of Directors certifies that amendments have been made to the existing collective bargaining agreement between WMATA and a collective bargaining unit allowing WMATA to implement necessary operational changes required to provide a high level of service, reliability, and safety as well as lower costs through competitive bidding for certain capital improvements; and  the WMATA Compact includes amendments requiring WMATA Board members to have a primary fiduciary obligation to WMATA, newly appointed Board members to have at least one of specified expert qualifications, and the Board to be composed of nine voting members, including the CEO of the Transit Authority and two appointed by each of the District of Columbia, Virginia, Maryland, and the Secretary of Transportation.  Congressional consent for the Compact shall be withdrawn if Compact signatories (the District of Columbia, Virginia, and Maryland) fail to enact such amendments.

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``WMATA Improvement Act of 2017''.

SEC. 2. AUTHORIZATION OF GRANTS.

    (a) In General.--Subject to the requirements of section 3, the 
Secretary of Transportation may provide grants to the Transit 
Authority, in addition to any grant amounts provided pursuant to 
section 601 of the Passenger Rail Investment and Improvement Act of 
2008 (Public Law 110-432; 126 Stat. 4968), in an amount not to exceed 
$75,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2018 through 2028 for the purpose 
of financing capital and preventive maintenance projects approved by 
the Board of Directors of the Transit Authority.
    (b) Matching Funds Required.--The Federal share of the cost of a 
project carried out using grant amounts provided under subsection (a) 
shall not exceed 50 percent of the cost of such project. The non-
Federal share of the cost of such project shall be borne equally by the 
District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Virginia, and the State of 
Maryland.
    (c) Limitations.--
            (1) Terms and conditions.--Any grant provided under this 
        section shall be subject to the requirements of subsections (b) 
        and (c) of section 601 of the Passenger Rail Investment and 
        Improvement Act of 2008 (Public Law 110-432; 126 Stat. 4968).
            (2) Collective bargaining agreement amendments.--
                    (A) In general.--No grants may be provided under 
                this section until the Board of Directors of the 
                Transit Authority, as such Board is composed pursuant 
                to the amendments under section 3, certifies that 
                amendments have been made to any existing collective 
                bargaining agreement between the Transit Authority and 
                a collective bargaining unit to allow the Transit 
                Authority to implement all necessary operational 
                changes required both to provide a high level of 
                service, reliability, and safety as well as lower costs 
                by selectively using competitive bidding for certain 
                capital improvement projects.
                    (B) Application of laws.--Any agreement described 
                under subparagraph (A) shall comply with the 
                requirements of--
                            (i) section 5333(b) of title 49, United 
                        States Code; and
                            (ii) subchapter IV of chapter 31 of title 
                        40, United States Code.
                    (C) Amended agreements.--A collective bargaining 
                agreement entered into after January 1, 2017, may be 
                considered an amended collective bargaining agreement 
                for purposes of this section.

SEC. 3. AMENDMENTS TO WMATA COMPACT.

    No grant amounts may be provided under section 2 until the 
Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority Compact includes the 
following amendments:
            (1) An amendment requiring that each member of the Board of 
        Directors of the Transit Authority have a primary fiduciary 
        obligation to the Transit Authority.
            (2)(A) An amendment requiring that beginning after the date 
        of implementation of the amended compact and thereafter, that 
        the members of the Board of Directors of the Transit Authority 
        appointed as described in paragraph (3)(A) shall have at least 
        1 expert qualification, as described in subparagraph (B).
            (B) The expert qualifications referred to in subparagraph 
        (A) are the following:
                    (i) A certified transit expert who has served in a 
                senior executive capacity, or the equivalent, of a 
                transit authority in the United States.
                    (ii) A certified management expert who is currently 
                or has previously served for five or more years and has 
                in his or her capacity managed, directly or indirectly, 
                more than 1,000 full-time employees--
                            (I) as a president, chief operating 
                        officer, chief executive officer, chairman, or 
                        managing partner or an equivalent position of a 
                        qualifying business; or
                            (II) as the president or most senior 
                        manager of a division of a qualifying business.
                    (iii) A certified financial expert who meets the 
                standards of an audit committee financial expert under 
                New York Stock Exchange rules, as in effect on the date 
                of enactment of this Act.
                    (iv) A certified safety expert who has a minimum of 
                5 years of experience as a chairman, director, senior 
                investigator or equivalent position of a transportation 
                or transit safety board in the United States.
            (C) For purposes of this paragraph, the term ``qualifying 
        business'' means a corporation, partnership, or limited 
        liability entity that is engaged primarily in operating 
        activities and not investing activities.
            (3) An amendment requiring that the Board of Directors of 
        the Transit Authority be composed of 9 voting members as 
        follows:
                    (A) Two members appointed by each of the District 
                of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Virginia, and the 
                State of Maryland.
                    (B) Two members appointed by the Secretary of 
                Transportation.
                    (C) The CEO of the Transit Authority.

SEC. 4. FAILURE TO ENACT AMENDMENTS.

    (a) Withdrawal of Consent.--Except as provided for under subsection 
(b), if the signatories of the Compact have not enacted the amendments 
described in section 3 before the date that is 18 months after the date 
of enactment of this Act, congressional consent for the Compact is 
hereby withdrawn.
    (b) Extension.--The signatories may apply to the Secretary of 
Transportation for a single 3-month extension of the deadline under 
subsection (a). Such extension shall be granted by the Secretary so 
long as the signatories have shown progress toward instituting the 
amendments.

SEC. 5. DEFINITIONS.

    In this Act:
            (1) Compact.--The term ``Compact'' means the Washington 
        Metropolitan Area Transit Authority Compact (consented to by 
        Congress under Public Law 89-774, 80 Stat. 1324) as title III 
        of the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Regulation Compact 
        (consented to by Congress under Public Law 86-794, 74 Stat. 
        1031).
            (2) Transit authority.--The term ``Transit Authority'' 
        means the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority 
        established under Article III of the Compact.