I 

108TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 2927

To amend title 23, United States Code, to provide grants and technical 

assistance to restore orphan highways. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JULY 25, 2003

Mr. BLUMENAUER introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 

Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure 

A BILL

To amend title 23, United States Code, to provide grants 

and technical assistance to restore orphan highways.

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 ‘‘Orphan Highway Res5 toration Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. NATIONAL ORPHAN HIGHWAYS PROGRAM. 

7 (a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 1 of title 23, United 

8 States Code, is amended by adding at the end the fol9 lowing: 
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1 ‘‘§ 165. National orphan highways program 

2 ‘‘(a) GRANTS AND TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.—

3 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall make 

4 grants and provide technical assistance to States, 

5 and units of local government to—

6 ‘‘(A) perform preventive maintenance on or 

7 carry out projects for resurfacing, restoration, 

8 reconstruction, and rehabilitation of an orphan 

9 highway, as defined in subsection (e); and 

10 ‘‘(B) rehabilitate, repair, or construct side11 walks, medians, bike lanes, traffic-calming de12 vices, signaling, or signage to enhance commu13 nity livability on or adjacent to an orphan high14 way. 

15 ‘‘(2) PRIORITY.—In making grants, the Sec16 retary shall give priority to projects that—

17 ‘‘(A) include rehabilitation measures that 

18 focus on pedestrian safety; 

19 ‘‘(B) are coordinated with State and local 

20 adopted preservation or development plans; 

21 ‘‘(C) promote cost-effective and strategic 

22 investments in transportation infrastructure 

23 that minimize adverse impacts on the environ24 ment; 

25 ‘‘(D) promote innovative private sector 

26 strategies; 
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1 ‘‘(E) foster public-private partnerships; 

2 ‘‘(F) include a higher percentage of State 

3 or locally matched funds; 

4 ‘‘(G) have zoning designations that support 

5 more intensive, mixed-use development along 

6 part or all of the route; or 

7 ‘‘(H) upon completion, will result in the 

8 transfer of ongoing management and adminis9 trative responsibilities from the State to the 

10 local jurisdiction. 

11 ‘‘(3) DISTRIBUTION OF FUNDS.—The Secretary 

12 shall allocate funds made available for this section 

13 for fiscal years 2004 through 2009 among the grant 

14 recipients, using 2000 census data as follows: 

15 ‘‘(A) not less than 20 percent to units of 

16 local government with a population between 

17 50,000 and 250,000 residents; and 

18 ‘‘(B) not less than 50 percent to units of 

19 local government with a population of less than 

20 50,000. 

21 ‘‘(b) SAVINGS CLAUSE.—The Secretary shall not 

22 withhold any grant or impose any requirement on a grant 

23 recipient as a condition of providing a grant or technical 

24 assistance for any orphan highway unless the requirement 

25 is consistent with the authority provided in this chapter. 
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1 ‘‘(c) FEDERAL SHARE.—The Federal share of the 

2 cost of carrying out a project under this section shall be 

3 80 percent, except that, in the case of an orphan highway 

4 that provides access to or within Federal or Indian land, 

5 the head of a Federal land management agency may use 

6 funds authorized for such agency for the non-Federal 

7 share. 

8 ‘‘(d) ADMINISTRATIVE OVERSIGHT.—A grant recipi9 ent may use not more than 2 percent of funds received 

10 under this section for administrative costs. 

11 ‘‘(e) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this Act the fol12 lowing definitions apply: 

13 ‘‘(1) ORPHAN HIGHWAY.—

14 ‘‘(A) is or was formerly a United States 

15 numbered highway; 

16 ‘‘(B) is located within the boundaries of a 

17 unit of local government as defined under para18 graph (2); 

19 ‘‘(C) is no longer a principal route for traf20 fic passing through the State after construction 

21 of a bypass or Interstate; 

22 ‘‘(D) currently functions as a county, par23 ish, or city arterial or collector route, or pro24 vides access to or within Federal or tribal lands; 

25 and 
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1 ‘‘(E) because of decreased importance to 

2 statewide transportation, has received only rou3 tine maintenance but needs significant resur4 facing, restoration, reconstruction, or rehabilita5 tion. 

6 ‘‘(2) UNIT OF LOCAL GOVERNMENT.—The term 

7 ‘unit of local government’ means—

8 ‘‘(A) any city, county, township, town, bor9 ough, parish, village, or other general purpose 

10 political subdivision of a State; 

11 ‘‘(B) any law enforcement district or judi12 cial enforcement district that—

13 ‘‘(i) is established under applicable 

14 State law; and 

15 ‘‘(ii) has the authority to, in a manner 

16 independent of other State entities, estab17 lish a budget and impose taxes; 

18 ‘‘(C) an Indian Tribe (as that term is de19 fined in section 4 of the Indian Self-Determina20 tion and Education Assistance Act (25 U.S.C. 

21 450b); or 

22 ‘‘(D) for the purposes of assistance eligi23 bility, any agency of the government of the Dis24 trict of Columbia or the Federal Government 
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1 that performs law enforcement functions in and 

2 for—

3 ‘‘(i) the District of Columbia; or 

4 ‘‘(ii) any Trust Territory of the 

5 United States.’’. 

6 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The analysis for 

7 such chapter is amended by inserting after the item relat8 ing to section 164 the following:

‘‘165. National orphan highways program.’’.

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