II 

112TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 1992 

To provide flexibility of certain transit functions to local entities. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

DECEMBER 14, 2011 

Mr. BROWN of Ohio (for himself, Mr. WYDEN, and Mrs. SHAHEEN) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs 

A BILL 

To provide flexibility of certain transit functions to local 

entities. 

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 ‘‘Local Flexibility for 

5 Transit Assistance Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress finds the following: 

8 (1) While transit ridership has increased in the 

9 face of falling disposable income, transit agencies 

10 are being forced to implement some of the deepest 


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1 service cuts, sharpest fare increases and layoffs as a 

2 result of declining revenues and increasing fuel 

3 prices. 

4 (2) According to the American Public Trans5 portation Association, over the past 2 years, 84 per6 cent of transit systems have raised fares, cut service, 

7 or are considering either of these measures in the 

8 near future. 

9 (3) Additionally, over the same period of time, 

10 transit systems across the country have seen a 56- 

11 percent reduction in rush hour service, a 62-percent 

12 reduction in off-peak service, and a 40-percent re13 duction in geographic coverage leaving thousands of 

14 transit drivers without a job. 

15 (4) These cuts have left thousands of transit 

16 dependent Americans without a way to get to work. 

17 (5) It is the policy of the Government to signifi18 cantly increase the number of individuals who have 

19 access to viable public transportation systems and 

20 services in order to maximize Americans’ ability to 

21 access jobs and economic opportunity. 

22 (6) It is the policy of the Government that the 

23 ability of all citizens to move quickly and at a rea24 sonable cost shall be increased, especially in light of 

25 the growth in highway traffic congestion and the reVerDate Mar 15 2010 20:25 Dec 22, 2011 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1992.IS S1992

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1 sulting cost to our Nation’s productivity and eco2 nomic strength. 

3 SEC. 3. URBANIZED AREA FORMULA GRANTS. 

4 Section 5307(b)(1) of title 49, United States Code, 

5 is amended— 

6 (1) by redesignating subparagraphs (E) and 

7 (F) as subparagraphs (G) and (H), respectively; and 

8 (2) by inserting after subparagraph (D)— 

9 ‘‘(E) operating costs of equipment and fa10 cilities for use in public transportation in an ur11 banized area with a population of more than 

12 200,000 for a designated recipient, direct re13 cipient, or subrecipient under section 5311, pro14 viding public transportation in the area and op15 erating less than 100 buses in fixed-route serv16 ice in such area during peak service hours.’’. 

17 SEC. 4. TARGETED AND TEMPORARY FLEXIBILITY FOR DES18 IGNATED RECIPIENTS IN CRISIS. 

19 Chapter 53 of title 49, United States Code, is amend20 ed by adding at the end the following: 

21 ‘‘SEC. 5341. TARGETED AND TEMPORARY FLEXIBILITY FOR 

22 DESIGNATED RECIPIENTS OR DIRECT RE23 CIPIENTS IN CRISIS. 

24 ‘‘(a) DEFINITION.—For purposes of this section the 

25 term ‘crisis period’ means that the unemployment rate, as 


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1 defined by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, of any metro2 politan statistical area located within a designated recipi3 ent’s or direct recipient’s service area is at or higher than 

4 7 percent for the preceding month or the national average 

5 retail price of regular grade gasoline during a quarter, as 

6 reported by the United States Energy Information Admin7 istration, has increased by more than 10 percent compared 

8 to the same quarter during the previous year. 

9 ‘‘(b) CONDITIONS FOR FLEXIBILITY.— 

10 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—If a designated recipient or 

11 direct recipient operates at least 100 buses in fixed12 route service during peak service hours, in an urban13 ized area with a population of more than 200,000, 

14 and is certified under paragraph (3) as being in a 

15 crisis period, the agency may use funds provided 

16 under section 5307 for operating costs of equipment 

17 and facilities, subject to the conditions set forth in 

18 paragraphs (2) and (3). 

19 ‘‘(2) LIMITATION ON USE OF FUNDS.—A des20 ignated recipient or direct recipient that meets the 

21 criteria set forth in paragraph (1) may use— 

22 ‘‘(A) 50 percent of funds provided under 

23 section 5307 if it operates in an urbanized area 

24 with a population of more than 200,000 but 

25 less than 500,000; 


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1 ‘‘(B) 45 percent of funds provided under 

2 section 5307 if it operates in an urbanized area 

3 with a population of more than 500,000 but 

4 less than 1,000,000; or 

5 ‘‘(C) 40 percent of funds provided under 

6 section 5307 if it operates in an urbanized area 

7 with a population of more than 1,000,000. 

8 ‘‘(3) CERTIFICATION BY SECRETARY.—To be el9 igible to use funds for operating costs of equipment 

10 and facilities under this section, a designated recipi11 ent or direct recipient shall request that the Sec12 retary certify, not later than 30 days after such re13 quest is made, that the agency is in a crisis period. 

14 After each quarter, the Secretary shall monitor each 

15 designated recipient or direct recipient in a crisis pe16 riod to determine if the agency no longer qualifies 

17 as being in a crisis period. When the Secretary de18 termines that an agency is no longer in a crisis pe19 riod, the agency has 3 additional consecutive quar20 ters to use the funds for operating costs of equip21 ment and facilities. 

22 ‘‘SEC. 5342. LOCAL CONTROL OF TRANSIT OPERATING 

23 FLEXIBILITY. 

24 ‘‘(a) GENERAL ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS.—If a 

25 designated recipient or direct recipient operates at least 


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1 100 buses in fixed-route service during peak service hours 

2 and is in an urbanized area with a population of more 

3 than 200,000 and— 

4 ‘‘(1) such recipient’s percentage of revenue for 

5 the operating cost of equipment and facilities for use 

6 in public transportation from non-Federal sources, 

7 excluding system-generated revenue, is at least equal 

8 to such revenue from the previous fiscal year; or 

9 ‘‘(2) the recipient receives revenue for the oper10 ating cost of equipment and facilities for use in pub11 lic transportation derived in whole or in part from 

12 dedicated sources of revenue; 

13 the designated recipient or direct recipient may use funds 

14 provided under section 5307 for operating costs of equip15 ment and facilities, subject to the percentage limitations 

16 in subsection (b). 

17 ‘‘(b) LIMITATIONS ON USE OF FUNDS.—A des18 ignated recipient or direct recipient that meets the criteria 

19 set forth in subsection (a) may use— 

20 ‘‘(1) 30 percent of such funds if the area served 

21 has a population of more than 200,000 but not more 

22 than 500,000; 

23 ‘‘(2) 25 percent of such funds if the area served 

24 has a population of more than 500,000 but not more 

25 than 1,000,000; or 


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1 ‘‘(3) 20 percent of such funds if the area served 

2 has a population of more than 1,000,000. 

3 ‘‘(c) CONDITIONAL INCREASE IN PERCENTAGE LIM4 ITS.—If the designated recipient’s or direct recipient’s 

5 percentage of revenue for the operating cost of equipment 

6 and facilities for use in public transportation from non7 Federal sources, excluding system-generated revenue, is 

8 greater than such revenue from the previous fiscal year, 

9 the designated recipient or direct recipient may increase 

10 the applicable percentage specified in subsection (b) by a 

11 percentage that is not greater than the year-over-year in12 crease in such amount.’’. 

Æ 


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