I 

117TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 1982 

To amend title 23, United States Code, to require the Secretary of Transportation to establish a program to provide grants to carry out activities 

to benefit pollinators on roadsides and highway rights-of-way, including 

the planting and seeding of native, locally appropriate grasses and 

wildflowers, including milkweed, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MARCH 17, 2021 

Mr. PANETTA (for himself, Mr. CARBAJAL, Mr. HASTINGS, Ms. BARRAGA ́N, 

Mr. SUOZZI, and Mr. THOMPSON of California) introduced the following 

bill; which was referred to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure 

A BILL 

To amend title 23, United States Code, to require the Secretary of Transportation to establish a program to provide grants to carry out activities to benefit pollinators 

on roadsides and highway rights-of-way, including the 

planting and seeding of native, locally appropriate 

grasses and wildflowers, including milkweed, 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, 


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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Monarch and Polli3 nator Highway Act of 2021’’ or the ‘‘MPH Act of 2021’’. 

4 SEC. 2. POLLINATOR-FRIENDLY PRACTICES ON ROADSIDES 

5 AND HIGHWAY RIGHTS-OF-WAY. 

6 (a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 3 of title 23, United 

7 States Code, is amended by adding at the end the fol8 lowing: 

9 ‘‘§ 331. Pollinator-friendly practices on roadsides and 

10 highway rights-of-way 

11 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall establish a 

12 program to provide grants to eligible entities to carry out 

13 activities to benefit pollinators on roadsides and highway 

14 rights-of-way, including the planting and seeding of na15 tive, locally appropriate grasses and wildflowers, including 

16 milkweed. 

17 ‘‘(b) ELIGIBLE ENTITIES.—An entity eligible to re18 ceive a grant under this section is— 

19 ‘‘(1) a State department of transportation; 

20 ‘‘(2) an Indian tribe; or 

21 ‘‘(3) a Federal land management agency. 

22 ‘‘(c) APPLICATION.—To be eligible to receive a grant 

23 under this section, an eligible entity shall submit to the 

24 Secretary an application at such time, in such manner, 

25 and containing such information as the Secretary may reVerDate Sep 11 2014 00:25 Jun 16, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1982.IH H1982

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1 quire, including a pollinator-friendly practices plan de2 scribed in subsection (d). 

3 ‘‘(d) POLLINATOR-FRIENDLY PRACTICES PLAN.— 

4 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—An eligible entity shall in5 clude in the application under subsection (c) a plan 

6 that describes the pollinator-friendly practices that 

7 the eligible entity has implemented or plans to im8 plement, including— 

9 ‘‘(A) practices relating to mowing strate10 gies that promote early successional vegetation 

11 and limit disturbance during periods of highest 

12 use by target pollinator species on roadsides 

13 and highway rights-of-way, such as— 

14 ‘‘(i) reducing the mowing swath out15 side of the State-designated safety zone; 

16 ‘‘(ii) increasing the mowing height; 

17 ‘‘(iii) reducing the mowing frequency; 

18 ‘‘(iv) refraining from mowing monarch 

19 and other pollinator habitat during periods 

20 in which monarchs or other pollinators are 

21 present; 

22 ‘‘(v) use of a flushing bar and cutting 

23 at reduced speeds to reduce pollinator 

24 deaths due to mowing; or 


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1 ‘‘(vi) reducing raking along roadsides 

2 and highway rights-of-way; 

3 ‘‘(B) implementation of an integrated vege4 tation management plan that includes ap5 proaches such as mechanical tree and brush re6 moval, targeted and judicious use of herbicides, 

7 and mowing, to address weed issues on road8 sides and highway rights-of-way; 

9 ‘‘(C) planting or seeding of native, locally 

10 appropriate grasses and wildflowers, including 

11 milkweed, on roadsides and highway rights-of12 way to enhance pollinator habitat, including lar13 val host plants; 

14 ‘‘(D) removing nonnative grasses from 

15 planting and seeding mixes, except for use as 

16 nurse or cover crops; 

17 ‘‘(E) obtaining expert training or assist18 ance on pollinator-friendly practices, includ19 ing— 

20 ‘‘(i) native plant identification; 

21 ‘‘(ii) establishment and management 

22 of locally appropriate native plants that 

23 benefit pollinators; 

24 ‘‘(iii) land management practices that 

25 benefit pollinators; and 


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1 ‘‘(iv) pollinator-focused integrated ve2 getation management; or 

3 ‘‘(F) any other pollinator-friendly practices 

4 the Secretary determines to be appropriate. 

5 ‘‘(2) COORDINATION.—In developing a plan 

6 under paragraph (1), an eligible entity that is a 

7 State department of transportation or a Federal 

8 land management agency shall coordinate with appli9 cable State agencies, including State agencies with 

10 jurisdiction over agriculture and fish and wildlife. 

11 ‘‘(3) CONSULTATION.—In developing a plan 

12 under paragraph (1)— 

13 ‘‘(A) an eligible entity that is a State de14 partment of transportation or a Federal land 

15 management agency shall consult with affected 

16 or interested Indian tribes; and 

17 ‘‘(B) any eligible entity may consult with 

18 nonprofit organizations, institutions of higher 

19 education, metropolitan planning organizations, 

20 and any other relevant entities. 

21 ‘‘(e) AWARD OF GRANTS.— 

22 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall provide 

23 a grant to each eligible entity that submits an appli24 cation under subsection (c), including a plan under 


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1 subsection (d), that the Secretary determines to be 

2 satisfactory. 

3 ‘‘(2) AMOUNT OF GRANTS.—The amount of a 

4 grant under this section— 

5 ‘‘(A) shall be based on the number of polli6 nator-friendly practices the eligible entity has 

7 implemented or plans to implement; and 

8 ‘‘(B) shall not exceed $150,000. 

9 ‘‘(f) USE OF FUNDS.—An eligible entity that receives 

10 a grant under this section shall use the funds for the im11 plementation, improvement, or further development of the 

12 plan under subsection (d). 

13 ‘‘(g) FEDERAL SHARE.—The Federal share of the 

14 cost of an activity carried out with a grant under this sec15 tion shall be 100 percent. 

16 ‘‘(h) BEST PRACTICES.—The Secretary shall develop 

17 and make available to eligible entities best practices for, 

18 and a priority ranking of, pollinator-friendly practices on 

19 roadsides and highway rights-of-way. 

20 ‘‘(i) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.—On request of an eli21 gible entity that receives a grant under this section, the 

22 Secretary shall provide technical assistance with the imple23 mentation, improvement, or further development of a plan 

24 under subsection (d). 


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1 ‘‘(j) ADMINISTRATIVE COSTS.—For each fiscal year, 

2 the Secretary may use not more than 2 percent of the 

3 amounts made available to carry out this section for the 

4 administrative costs of carrying out this section. 

5 ‘‘(k) REPORT.—Not later than 1 year after the date 

6 on which the first grant is provided under this section, 

7 the Secretary shall submit to the Committee on Environ8 ment and Public Works of the Senate and the Committee 

9 on Transportation and Infrastructure of the House of 

10 Representatives a report on the implementation of the pro11 gram under this section. 

12 ‘‘(l) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 

13 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—There is authorized to be 

14 appropriated to carry out this section $5,000,000 for 

15 each of fiscal years 2022 through 2028. 

16 ‘‘(2) AVAILABILITY.—Amounts made available 

17 under this section shall remain available for a period 

18 of 3 years after the last day of the fiscal year for 

19 which the funds are authorized.’’. 

20 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The analysis for chap21 ter 3 of title 23, United States Code, is amended by add22 ing at the end the following: 

‘‘331. Pollinator-friendly practices on roadsides and highway rights-of-way.’’. 

Æ 


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