II 

117TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 768 

To amend section 5303 of title 49, United States Code, to consider housing 

in metropolitan transportation planning, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MARCH 16, 2021 

Ms. CORTEZ MASTO introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 

referred to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs 

A BILL 

To amend section 5303 of title 49, United States Code, 

to consider housing in metropolitan transportation planning, and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Better Planning and 

5 Land-Use for Accessible Neighborhoods Act’’ or the ‘‘Bet6 ter PLAN Act’’. 

7 SEC. 2. METROPOLITAN TRANSPORTATION PLANNING. 

8 Section 5303 of title 49, United States Code, is 

9 amended— 


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1 (1) in subsection (a)(1), by inserting ‘‘and bet2 ter connect housing and employment’’ after ‘‘urban3 ized areas’’; 

4 (2) in subsection (g)(3)(A), by inserting ‘‘hous5 ing,’’ after ‘‘economic development,’’; 

6 (3) in subsection (h)(1)— 

7 (A) in subparagraph (E), by inserting ‘‘, 

8 housing,’’ after ‘‘growth’’; 

9 (B) in subparagraph (H), by striking 

10 ‘‘and’’ at the end; 

11 (C) in subparagraph (I), by striking the 

12 period at the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

13 (D) by adding at the end the following: 

14 ‘‘(J) enhance the integration and 

15 connectivity of the transportation system by 

16 better connecting housing to employment.’’; 

17 (4) in subsection (i)— 

18 (A) in paragraph (4)(B)— 

19 (i) by redesignating clauses (iii) 

20 through (vi) as clauses (iv) through (vii), 

21 respectively; and 

22 (ii) by inserting after clause (ii) the 

23 following: 

24 ‘‘(iii) assumed distribution of popu25 lation and housing;’’; 


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1 (B) in paragraph (5)(A), by inserting 

2 ‘‘housing,’’ after ‘‘conservation,’’; and 

3 (C) in paragraph (6)(A), by inserting ‘‘af4 fordable housing organizations,’’ after ‘‘dis5 abled,’’; and 

6 (5) in subsection (k)— 

7 (A) by redesignating paragraphs (4) and 

8 (5) as paragraphs (5) and (6), respectively; and 

9 (B) by inserting after paragraph (3) the 

10 following: 

11 ‘‘(4) HOUSING COORDINATION PROCESS.— 

12 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Within a metropolitan 

13 planning area serving a transportation manage14 ment area, the transportation planning process 

15 under this section shall address the integration 

16 of housing, transportation, and economic devel17 opment strategies through a process that pro18 vides for effective integration, based on a coop19 eratively developed and implemented strategy, 

20 of new and existing transportation facilities eli21 gible for funding under this chapter and title 

22 23. 

23 ‘‘(B) COORDINATION IN INTEGRATED

24 PLANNING PROCESS.—In carrying out the procVerDate Sep 11 2014 01:14 Apr 09, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S768.IS S768

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1 ess described in subparagraph (A), a metropoli2 tan planning organization shall— 

3 ‘‘(i) consult with— 

4 ‘‘(I) State and local entities re5 sponsible for land use, economic devel6 opment, housing, management of road 

7 networks, or public transportation; 

8 and 

9 ‘‘(II) other appropriate public or 

10 private entities; and 

11 ‘‘(ii) coordinate, to the extent prac12 ticable, with applicable State and local en13 tities to align the goals of the process with 

14 the goals of any comprehensive housing af15 fordability strategies established within the 

16 metropolitan planning area pursuant to 

17 section 105 of the Cranston-Gonzalez Na18 tional Affordable Housing Act (12 U.S.C. 

19 12705) and plans developed under section 

20 5A of the United States Housing Act of 

21 1937 (42 U.S.C. 1437c–1). 

22 ‘‘(C) SCHEDULE.—The Secretary shall es23 tablish an appropriate phase-in schedule for 

24 compliance with the requirements of this para25 graph, but no sooner than— 


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1 ‘‘(i) 1 year after the identification of 

2 a transportation management area; or 

3 ‘‘(ii) with respect to a transportation 

4 management area in existence on the day 

5 before the date of enactment of this para6 graph, 1 year after the date of enactment 

7 of this paragraph. 

8 ‘‘(D) HOUSING COORDINATION PLAN.— 

9 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—A metropolitan 

10 planning organization serving a transpor11 tation management area may develop a 

12 housing coordination plan that includes 

13 projects and strategies that will be consid14 ered in the metropolitan transportation 

15 plan of the metropolitan planning organi16 zation. 

17 ‘‘(ii) CONTENTS.—A plan described in 

18 clause (i) may— 

19 ‘‘(I) develop regional goals for 

20 the integration of housing, transpor21 tation, and economic development 

22 strategies to— 

23 ‘‘(aa) better connect housing 

24 and employment while mitigating 

25 commuting times; 


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1 ‘‘(bb) align transportation 

2 improvements with housing 

3 needs, such as housing supply 

4 shortages, and proposed housing 

5 development; 

6 ‘‘(cc) align planning for 

7 housing and transportation to ad8 dress needs in relationship to 

9 household incomes within the 

10 metropolitan planning area; 

11 ‘‘(dd) expand housing and 

12 economic development within the 

13 catchment areas of existing 

14 transportation facilities and pub15 lic transportation services when 

16 appropriate, including higher17 density development, as locally 

18 determined; 

19 ‘‘(ee) manage effects of 

20 growth of vehicle miles traveled 

21 experienced in the metropolitan 

22 planning area related to housing 

23 development and economic devel24 opment; 


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1 ‘‘(ff) increase share of 

2 households with sufficient and af3 fordable access to the transpor4 tation networks of the metropoli5 tan planning area; 

6 ‘‘(II) identify the location of ex7 isting and planned housing and em8 ployment, and transportation options 

9 that connect housing and employment; 

10 and 

11 ‘‘(III) include a comparison of 

12 transportation plans to land use man13 agement plans, including zoning 

14 plans, that may affect road use, public 

15 transportation ridership and housing 

16 development.’’. 

Æ 


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