I 

108TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 2704

To extend the authorization for the ferry boat discretionary program, and 

for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JULY 10, 2003

Mr. LARSEN of Washington (for himself, Mr. COBLE, Mr. DICKS, Mr. 

GEORGE MILLER of California, Mr. LANTOS, Mr. MCDERMOTT, Mr. 

MENENDEZ, Mr. ISRAEL, Ms. LOFGREN, Ms. MILLENDER-MCDONALD, 

Mr. INSLEE, Mr. MCINTYRE, Mrs. TAUSCHER, Ms. LEE, Mr. NADLER, 

and Mr. HONDA) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 

Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure 

A BILL

To extend the authorization for the ferry boat discretionary 

program, 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 ‘‘Ferry Transportation 

5 Enhancement Act of 2003’’. 
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1 SEC. 2. AUTHORIZATION OF FUNDING FOR CONSTRUCTION 

2 OF FERRY BOATS AND FERRY TERMINAL FA3 CILITIES. 

4 (a) FUNDING.—Section 1064(c) of the Intermodal 

5 Surface Transportation Efficiency Act of 1991 (23 U.S.C. 

6 129 note) is amended to read as follows: 

7 ‘‘(c) FUNDING.—

8 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—There shall be available, 

9 out of the Highway Trust Fund (other than the 

10 Mass Transit Account), to the Secretary for obliga11 tion at the discretion of the Secretary $150,000,000 

12 for each of fiscal years 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 

13 2008, and 2009. Sums made available to carry out 

14 this section shall remain available until expended. 

15 ‘‘(2) ALLOCATION OF FUNDS.—The Secretary 

16 shall give priority in the allocation of funds under 

17 this section to those ferry systems, and public enti18 ties responsible for developing facilities for ferries, 

19 that carry the greatest number of passengers and 

20 vehicles, carry the greatest number of passengers in 

21 passenger-only service, or provide critical access to 

22 areas that are not well-served by other modes of sur23 face transportation.’’. 
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1 SEC. 3. ELIGIBILITY OF FERRY MAINTENANCE FACILITIES 

2 FOR FEDERAL FUNDING. 

3 (a) MAINTENANCE FACILITIES.—Section 129(c) of 

4 title 23, United States Code, is amended—

5 (1) in the matter preceding paragraph (1) by 

6 inserting ‘‘and maintenance’’ after ‘‘terminal’’; and 

7 (2) in paragraph (3) by inserting ‘‘and mainte8 nance’’ after ‘‘terminal’’ each place it appears. 

9 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—Section 1064 of 

10 the Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act of 

11 1991 (23 U.S.C. 129 note) is amended by inserting ‘‘and 

12 maintenance’’ after ‘‘terminal’’ each place it appears. 

13 SEC. 4. ELIGIBILITY OF FERRIES FOR CLEAN FUELS PRO14 GRAM. 

15 Section 5308 of title 49, United States Code, is 

16 amended—

17 (1) in subsections (a)(3)(i), (a)(3)(iii), and (e) 

18 by inserting ‘‘or ferries’’ after ‘‘buses’’ each place it 

19 appears; 

20 (2) in subsection (d) by inserting ‘‘or ferry’’ 

21 after ‘‘bus’’ each place it appears; 

22 (3) in the heading for subsection (e)(2) by in23 serting ‘‘OR FERRIES’’ after ‘‘BUSES’’; and 

24 (4) in the heading for subsection (e)(3) by in25 serting ‘‘OR FERRY’’ after ‘‘BUS’’. 
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1 SEC. 5. FERRY JOINT PROGRAM OFFICE. 

2 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary of Transpor3 tation shall establish in the Department of Transportation 

4 a Ferry Joint Program Office (in this section, referred to 

5 as the ‘‘Office’’) to coordinate Federal programs affecting 

6 ferry boat and ferry facility construction, maintenance, 

7 and operations and to promote ferry service as a compo8 nent of the Nation’s transportation system. The Office 

9 shall coordinate ferry and ferry-related programs within 

10 the Department of Transportation (including the Federal 

11 Highway Administration, the Federal Transit Administra12 tion, the Maritime Administration, and the Bureau of 

13 Transportation Statistics) and with the Department of 

14 Homeland Security and other Federal and State agencies, 

15 as appropriate. 

16 (b) FUNCTIONS.—The functions of the Office shall 

17 include—

18 (1) ensuring resource accountability; 

19 (2) coordinating policy relating to ferry trans20 portation among the various agencies of the Depart21 ment of Transportation and other departments of 

22 the United States Government; 

23 (3) providing strategic leadership for ferry re24 search, development, testing, and deployment; and 
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1 (4) promoting ferry transportation as a means 

2 to reduce social, economic, and environmental costs 

3 associated with traffic congestion. 

4 SEC. 6. NATIONAL FERRY DATA BASE. 

5 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Transportation 

6 shall maintain a national ferry database, which shall con7 tain current information regarding ferry systems, routes, 

8 vessels, passengers and vehicles carried, funding sources, 

9 and such other information as the Secretary deems useful. 

10 The Secretary shall utilize the study generated as a result 

11 of section 1207(c) of the Transportation Equity Act for 

12 the 21st Century (23 U.S.C. 129 note; 112 Stat. 185–

13 186), and make modifications to that study, as appro14 priate. 

15 (b) UPDATED DATABASE.—The Secretary shall 

16 produce the first updated version of the national ferry 

17 database within 1 year after the date of enactment of this 

18 Act and every 2 years thereafter. 

19 (c) PUBLIC ACCESSIBILITY.—The Secretary shall en20 sure that the national ferry database is easily accessible 

21 to the public. 

22 SEC. 7. NATIONAL FERRY TRANSPORTATION INSTITUTE. 

23 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary of Transpor24 tation shall make grants to an institution of higher edu25 cation, within 1 year after the date of enactment of this 
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1 Act, to establish a National Ferry Transportation Insti2 tute (in this section, referred to as the ‘‘Institute’’). 

3 (b) ADMINISTRATION.—The Secretary shall develop 

4 and administer the Institute in cooperation with the De5 partment of Transportation, State transportation depart6 ments, public ferry transportation authorities, private 

7 ferry operators, ferry boat builders, ferry employees, and 

8 other institutions of higher education and research insti9 tutes. 

10 (c) FUNCTIONS.—The Institute shall—

11 (1) conduct research and recommend develop12 ment activities on methods of improving ferry trans13 portation programs in the United States, including 

14 methods of reducing wake and providing alternative 

15 propulsion; 

16 (2) develop and conduct training programs for 

17 ferry system employees, United States Government 

18 employees, and other individuals, as appropriate, on 

19 recent developments, techniques, and procedures 

20 pertaining to the construction and operation of fer21 ries; 

22 (3) encourage and assist collaborative efforts by 

23 public and private entities to preserve, improve, and 

24 expand the use of ferries as a mode of transpor25 tation; and 
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1 (4) preserve, utilize, and display historical in2 formation about the use of ferries in the United 

3 States and in foreign countries. 

4 (c) LOCATION.—In selecting the location for the In5 stitute, the Secretary shall consider—

6 (1) the importance of public and private ferries 

7 to the region’s transportation system, including both 

8 regional travel and long-range travel and service to 

9 isolated communities; 

10 (2) the historical importance of ferry transpor11 tation to the region; 

12 (3) the history and diversity of the region’s 

13 maritime community, including ferry construction 

14 and repair and other shipbuilding activities; 

15 (4) the anticipated growth of ferry service and 

16 ferry boat building in the region; 

17 (5) the availability of public-private collabora18 tion in the region; and 

19 (6) the presence of nationally recognized re20 search universities in the region. 

21 (d) FUNDING.—There are authorized to be appro22 priated to the Secretary of Transportation $2,000,000 for 

23 each of fiscal years 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, and 

24 2009, to carry out activities under this section by the In25 stitute. The Secretary may authorize the acceptance and 
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1 expenditure of funding provided to the Institute by public 

2 and private entities. 

3 (e) REPORT.—The Secretary shall report to Congress 

4 not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this 

5 Act, and annually thereafter, on the activities of the Insti6 tute and the progress in carrying out this section.

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