59–010 

Calendar No. 378 

114TH CONGRESS REPORT " ! SENATE 2d Session 114–217 

TRIBAL INFRASTRUCTURE AND ROADS ENHANCEMENT 

AND SAFETY ACT (TIRES ACT) 

FEBRUARY 29, 2016.—Ordered to be printed 

Mr. BARRASSO, from the Committee on Indian Affairs, 

submitted the following 

R E P O R T 

[To accompany S. 1776] 

The Committee on Indian Affairs, to which was referred the bill 

(S. 1776) to enhance tribal road safety, and for other purposes, having considered the same, reports favorably thereon with an amendment and recommends that the bill, as amended, do pass. 

PURPOSE

The purpose of S. 1776 is intended to expedite and streamline 

various safety road projects, give Indian tribes better access to 

crash data, and seek ways to improve safety on public roads 

throughout Indian Country. 

BACKGROUND

Improving safety on roads in Indian and Alaska Native communities through the TIRES Act would significantly improve the quality of life for these communities. Motor vehicle crashes are the 

leading cause of death of Indian children according to the Centers 

for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Native American infants, under the age of one, are eight times more likely to die in a 

vehicle-related crash than non-Native infants. Motor vehicle crashes 

are also the leading cause of unintentional injury for Native adults. 

From 2004–2010, the CDC reported the following five states with 

the highest motor vehicle-related death rates for Native Americans: 

• Wyoming (72 deaths per 100,000 population) 

• South Dakota (59 deaths per 100,000 population) 

• Montana and North Dakota (56 deaths per 100,000 population) 


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• Arizona (45 deaths per 100,000 population) 

The CDC estimated that the national rate was 10.7 deaths per 

100,000 population, during the same time frame. 

Between 1975 and 2002, the number of fatal motor vehicle crashes on Indian reservations and in Alaska Native villages increased 

more than 50 percent. Meanwhile, fatal motor vehicle crashes for 

the rest of the United States declined 2 percent according to the 

Department of Transportation (DOT). 

In a 2004 National Highway Traffic Safety Administration 

(NHTSA) study, it was reported that of those individuals who died 

in motor vehicle crashes on reservations, 76 percent of them were 

not wearing a seat belt. In 2011, the NHTSA reported 569 motor 

vehicle crash fatalities and 181 non-Native motor vehicle crash fatalities on reservation lands. 

In 2012, the NHTSA estimated 42 percent of motor vehicle crashes on Indian lands were alcohol related. The national average during that year was 31 percent. 

Bureau of Indian Affairs. On April 22, 2015, Director Michael 

Black of the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) testified before the 

Senate Indian Affairs Committee at an oversight hearing on seeking pathways to safer roads in Indian Country. In his testimony, 

he stated that ‘‘[a]pproximately 20,300 miles (70 percent) of the 

BIA system roads are not paved and are, thus, considered ‘inadequate’ from the perspective of the level of service index used to address roads and bridges in the BIA road system.’’ He also testified 

that ‘‘certain programs have decreased shares under MAP–21.’’ One 

of those programs losing funding was the Tribal Transportation 

Program Bridge Program as a result of its consolidation into the 

Tribal Transportation Program. 

LEGISLATIVE HISTORY

On July 15, 2015, Senator Barrasso introduced S. 1776, along 

with Senator Crapo. The bill was referred to the Senate Committee 

on Indian Affairs. The Committee did not hold a legislative hearing 

on the bill. But on April 22, 2015, the Committee held an oversight 

hearing entitled, ‘‘Tribal Transportation: Pathways to Safer Roads 

in Indian Country’’ on the issue. On July 22, 2015, the Committee 

met at a duly called business meeting to consider the bill. By voice 

vote, the Committee then ordered the bill, as amended, to be reported favorably, to the Senate. 

AMENDMENT

Only one amendment was offered to S. 1776 to be considered at 

the business meeting on July 22, 2015. Chairman Barrasso offered 

an amendment, in the nature of a substitute, which would clarify 

roads eligible for categorical exclusion and include certain roads 

serving Alaska Native villages (at the request of Senator Murkowski). The amendment was agreed to by voice vote. 

SECTION-BY-SECTION ANALYSIS OF BILL AS ORDERED REPORTED

Section 1: Short title 

The Tribal Infrastructure and Roads Enhancement and Safety 

Act or ‘‘TIRES Act.’’ 


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Section 2: Definitions 

This section defines the term Indian Reservation to mean what 

it is defined as in section 3 of the Indian Financing Act of 1974 (25 

U.S.C. 1452). 

This section defines the term Secretary to mean the Secretary of 

the Interior. 

Section 3: Application of categorical exclusions to certain tribal 

transportation facilities 

This section states that certain highway projects, including 

projects administered by the BIA, located on an Indian reservation, 

are categorically excluded from the requirements of environmental 

assessments and environmental impact statements under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). 

Section 4: Streamlining for tribal public safety projects within existing operational rights-of-way 

This section allows for expedited treatment for permits and approvals that might be required by agencies such as the U.S. Army 

Corps of Engineers, Fish and Wildlife, etc., if a tribal public safety 

project, as defined by this Act, is in the operational right of way 

and is a categorical exclusion project. Such treatment is only granted if a tribal department of transportation (or an official representing the Indian tribe), the State, or Bureau of Indian Affairs, 

certifies to the Secretary of Transportation that there is a safety 

benefit to the public. 

A federal agency (Corps of Engineers, Fish and Wildlife, etc.) 

would have to make a determination no later than 45 days from 

the date of receipt, with a potential extension of 30 days, on an application by an Indian tribe for a permit, approval, or jurisdictional 

determination. If no decision is made by the Secretary in that time, 

the permit or approval is granted. An agency has the ability to 

deny any such permit within the 75 day period. 

Section 5: Bureau of Indian Affairs reduction in administrative fee 

This section reduces the administrative fee charged by the BIA 

from 6 percent to 5 percent. 

Section 6: Option of assuming NEPA approval authority 

This section allows for an Indian tribe to assume authority over 

and responsibility for NEPA for projects on reservations. Eligible 

Indian tribes are defined by this section. Such Indian tribes would 

be required to designate an official to represent the Indian tribe 

and assume the status of a responsible Federal official. Indian 

tribes that apply for this authority would have to accept the jurisdiction of the Federal court. 

Section 7: Tribal Government transportation safety data report 

This section requires a report to Congress, no later than one year 

after the date of enactment, by the Secretary of the Interior, in consultation with the Secretary of Transportation, the Attorney General, and the Secretary of Health and Human Services on improving the collection and sharing of motor vehicle crash data on Indian 

reservations and seeking data an Indian tribe can use to recover 

damages to tribal property caused by motorists. 


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This section requires that the Secretary provide Indian tribes 

with options and best practices for the transition to paperless 

transportation safety data reporting systems that improve the collection of crash reports, archive and share crash records, and use 

data exclusively to address traffic safety issues on Indian reservations. 

Section 8: Bureau of Indian Affairs road safety study 

This section requires a road safety study to be conducted by the 

Secretary of the Interior, acting through the Assistant Secretary for 

Indian Affairs, in consultation with the Secretary of Transportation, the Attorney General, and the States. The study would 

identify and evaluate options for improving safety on public roads 

on Indian reservations. The study would be submitted to the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs and the House Natural Resources 

Committee. 

Section 9: Tribal transportation funding 

This section restores the Transportation Facility Bridge Program 

as a separate program from the Tribal Transportation Program, as 

it had been in previous federal law. Under this section, the Tribal 

Transportation Program is adjusted for inflation through FY 2021. 

The Tribal Transportation Facility Bridge Program would also receive modest increases in funding through FY 2021. 

COST AND BUDGETARY CONSIDERATIONS

The following cost estimate, as provided by the Congressional 

Budget Office, February 16, 2016, was prepared for S. 1776: 

FEBRUARY 16, 2016. 

Hon. JOHN BARRASSO, Chairman, Committee on Indian Affairs 

U.S. Senate, Washington, DC. 

DEAR MR. CHAIRMAN: If you wish further details on this estimate, we will be pleased to provide them. The CBO staff contact 

is Sarah Puro. 

Sincerely, 

KEITH HALL. 

Enclosure. 

Summary: Based on information presented to CBO, CBO assumes that most spending for tribal highways programs funded 

from the Highway Trust Fund will continue to be controlled by obligation limitations set in appropriations acts. CBO estimates that 

the bill would authorize in increase in obligation limitations equal 

to the increase in budget authority over the 2016–2021 period. 

Under that assumption CBO estimates that implementing the bill 

would cost $150 million over the 2016–2026 period. 

CBO estimates that enacting the legislation would not increase 

net direct spending or on budget deficits in any of the four consecutive 10-year periods beginning in 2027. 

S. 1776, contains no intergovernmental or private-sector mandates as defined in Unfunded Mandates Reform Act (UMRA). 


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EXECUTIVE COMMUNICATIONS

The Committee has received no communications from the Executive Branch regarding S. 1776. 

REGULATORY AND PAPERWORK IMPACT STATEMENT

Paragraph 11(b) of rule XXVI of the Standing Rules of the Senate requires each report accompanying a bill to evaluate the regulatory and paperwork impact that would be incurred in carrying 

out the bill. The Committee believes that S. 1776 will have a minimal impact on regulatory or paperwork requirements. 

CHANGES IN EXISTING LAW (CORDON RULE)

In compliance with subsection 12 of rule XXVI of the Standing 

Rules of the Senate, the Committee finds that the enactment of S. 

1776 will not make any changes in existing law. 

Æ 


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