I 

112TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 2019 

To prevent and remedy discrimination with respect to federally funded 

transportation projects, programs, and activities, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MAY 26, 2011 

Ms. RICHARDSON (for herself, Mr. CONYERS, Mr. NADLER, Mr. SERRANO, 

Ms. NORTON, Ms. LEE of California, Mr. FILNER, Ms. SLAUGHTER, Ms. 

VELA ́ZQUEZ, Mr. JACKSON of Illinois, Mr. CLEAVER, Mr. STARK, Mr. 

LEWIS of Georgia, Mr. GRIJALVA, Mr. DEFAZIO, Mr. CUMMINGS, Mr. 

TOWNS, Ms. CLARKE of New York, Ms. JACKSON LEE of Texas, Mr. 

JOHNSON of Georgia, Mr. SABLAN, Mrs. NAPOLITANO, Ms. CHU, Ms. 

BASS of California, Mr. CAPUANO, Ms. FUDGE, Ms. ROYBAL-ALLARD, 

Mrs. MALONEY, Mr. ELLISON, Mr. SIRES, Mr. BUTTERFIELD, Ms. 

BROWN of Florida, Mr. COHEN, Ms. SCHAKOWSKY, Mr. PAYNE, Mr. 

RANGEL, Mr. BACA, Ms. MOORE, Mr. MEEKS, and Mrs. CHRISTENSEN) 

introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on 

Transportation and Infrastructure, and in addition to the Committee on 

the Judiciary, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, 

in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 

A BILL 

To prevent and remedy discrimination with respect to federally funded transportation projects, programs, and activities, 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 ‘‘Transportation Oppor3 tunity and Accountability Act of 2011’’. 

4 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

5 Congress finds the following: 

6 (1) Public investment in the transportation sys7 tem of the United States is critical to ensuring equi8 table opportunities, mobility, and economic security 

9 and prosperity for all Americans. 

10 (2) To prevent and eliminate discrimination on 

11 the basis of race, color, or national origin related to 

12 Federal transportation funding, the Department of 

13 Transportation has issued regulations to effectuate 

14 title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (42 U.S.C. 

15 2000d et seq.), which prohibit discrimination on the 

16 basis of race, color, or national origin, including ac17 tions that have the effect of discriminating against 

18 individuals of a particular race, color, or national or19 igin. 

20 (3) Full enforcement of title VI of the Civil 

21 Rights Act of 1964 (42 U.S.C. 2000d et seq.) and 

22 related regulations is necessary to establish account23 ability for recipients of Federal funds and to ensure 

24 that Federal funds are not spent in a manner that 

25 encourages, subsidizes, or results in discrimination 


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1 on the basis of race, color, or national origin, di2 rectly or indirectly. 

3 (4) The absence of a private right of action to 

4 enforce Department of Transportation regulations 

5 that effectuate title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 

6 1964 (42 U.S.C. 2000d et seq.) would leave full vin7 dication of the right to nondiscrimination solely to 

8 the Department of Transportation, which may fail to 

9 take necessary and appropriate action because of ad10 ministrative delay, limited resources, or other rea11 sons. 

12 (5) The decision of the Supreme Court in Alex13 ander v. Sandoval, 532 U.S. 275 (2001), impairs 

14 protections against discrimination intended by Con15 gress, denying a private right of action to redress 

16 conduct prohibited by title VI of the Civil Rights Act 

17 of 1964 (42 U.S.C. 2000d et seq.) and related regu18 lations. 

19 (6) Action by Congress to confirm the existence 

20 of an effective private right of action is necessary to 

21 ensure that victims of discrimination will have a 

22 remedy if they are excluded from, denied the bene23 fits of, or subjected to discrimination by programs or 

24 activities receiving Federal financial assistance. 


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1 (7) Without effective enforcement of equal op2 portunity and nondiscrimination statutes and regula3 tions, transportation decisions and investments can 

4 directly or indirectly result in discriminatory out5 comes, including residential segregation, population 

6 displacement, exclusion from transportation decision7 making, disproportionately high rates of exposure to 

8 pollutants, and denial of equitable transportation 

9 benefits on the basis of race, color, or national ori10 gin. 

11 (8) Without effective oversight and monitoring 

12 of equal opportunity and nondiscrimination statutes 

13 and regulations, transportation decisions and invest14 ments can directly or indirectly result in the under15 employment of racial and ethnic minority workers 

16 and the underrepresentation of disadvantaged busi17 ness enterprises in Federal contracting. 

18 (9) The likelihood of owning an automobile var19 ies by race, color, and national origin, with 24 per20 cent of African-American households, 17 percent of 

21 Latino households, and 13 percent of Asian-Amer22 ican households not owning an automobile as com23 pared to 7 percent of Caucasian households. 


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1 (10) Reliance on public transportation varies by 

2 race, color, and national origin, as nearly 60 percent 

3 of all transit riders are people of color. 

4 (11) Public transportation investment decisions 

5 are significantly related to access to job opportuni6 ties for communities reliant on mass transit. 

7 (12) African-Americans, Latinos, and Asian8 Americans are more likely to rely on mass transit to 

9 get to work and school than Caucasians and, in 

10 urban areas, people of color comprise 62 percent of 

11 all bus riders, 35 percent of all subway riders, and 

12 29 percent of all commuter rail riders. 

13 (13) Exposure to pollutants associated with 

14 highway, freight facility, and other transportation 

15 investments varies by race, color, and national ori16 gin, with African-Americans and Latinos dispropor17 tionately exposed to harmful air pollutants associ18 ated with highways and freeways. 

19 (14) Only 6 percent of the roughly 8,000,000 

20 people employed in the construction industry are Af21 rican-American, which results in African-American 

22 workers being less likely to be hired on transpor23 tation projects. 

24 (15) Racial and ethnic minorities are underrep25 resented in transportation decisionmaking bodies, as 


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1 88 percent of the voting members of the 50 largest 

2 metropolitan planning organizations in the United 

3 States are Caucasian, 7 percent are African-Amer4 ican, 3 percent are Latino, and one percent are 

5 Asian or Pacific Islander, and minorities are under6 represented in State departments of transportation 

7 in almost all workforce categories, including the offi8 cials and administrators who lead those organiza9 tions and make hiring decisions. 

10 SEC. 3. ENFORCEMENT RELATING TO TITLE VI OF THE 

11 CIVIL RIGHTS ACT OF 1964. 

12 (a) ADMINISTRATIVE ENFORCEMENT.— 

13 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Transpor14 tation shall enhance monitoring, enforcement, and 

15 technical assistance activities carried out by the De16 partment of Transportation to ensure the compli17 ance of recipients of Federal financial assistance 

18 with title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (42 

19 U.S.C. 2000d et seq.). 

20 (2) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 

21 There is authorized to be appropriated to carry out 

22 this subsection $3,000,000 for each of fiscal years 

23 2012 through 2016. 

24 (b) PRIVATE RIGHT OF ACTION.— 


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1 (1) PURPOSE.—It is the purpose of this sub2 section to clarify that there is a private right of ac3 tion to enforce the regulations of the Department of 

4 Transportation issued to effectuate title VI of the 

5 Civil Rights Act of 1964 (42 U.S.C. 2000d et seq.). 

6 (2) IN GENERAL.—Any person aggrieved by the 

7 failure of a recipient of Federal financial assistance 

8 to comply with any regulation, or part thereof, that 

9 prohibits discrimination and was issued by the Sec10 retary of Transportation to effectuate title VI of the 

11 Civil Rights Act of 1964 (42 U.S.C. 2000d et seq.) 

12 may bring a civil action in any Federal or State 

13 court of competent jurisdiction. 

14 (3) RECOVERY WITH RESPECT TO INTENTIONAL

15 DISCRIMINATION.—In an action brought by an ag16 grieved person pursuant to paragraph (2) based on 

17 evidence of intentional discrimination, the aggrieved 

18 person may recover equitable and legal relief, rea19 sonable attorney’s fees (including expert fees), and 

20 costs. 

21 (4) RECOVERY WITH RESPECT TO DISCRIMINA22 TION BASED ON DISPARATE IMPACT.—In an action 

23 brought by an aggrieved person pursuant to para24 graph (2) based on evidence of disparate impact, the 

25 aggrieved person may recover equitable relief, reaVerDate Mar 15 2010 03:53 Jun 02, 2011 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2019.IH H2019

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1 sonable attorney’s fees (including expert fees), and 

2 costs. 

3 (5) WAIVER OF STATE IMMUNITY.—As a condi4 tion of receiving Federal financial assistance from 

5 the Department of Transportation, a State waives 

6 immunity under the 11th Amendment of the Con7 stitution of the United States with respect to a civil 

8 action brought in Federal court under paragraph 

9 (2). 

10 (6) RELATIONSHIP TO OTHER LAW.—Nothing 

11 in this subsection may be interpreted to restrict or 

12 deny any other right, private right of action, privi13 lege, remedy, or protection expressly or implicitly 

14 conferred by any other provision of law, including 

15 any regulation. 

16 SEC. 4. TRANSPORTATION EQUITY RESEARCH PROGRAM. 

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

18 shall carry out research and demonstration activities relat19 ing to the impact of transportation planning, investment, 

20 and operations on low-income and minority populations, 

21 including populations that are transit dependent. 

22 (b) REQUIRED ACTIVITIES.—Research and dem23 onstration activities carried out under subsection (a) shall 

24 include activities to assist the development of— 


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1 (1) strategies to advance equitable economic 

2 and community development in low-income and mi3 nority communities; 

4 (2) strategies to increase the participation of 

5 low-income and minority communities in transpor6 tation planning and decisionmaking; 

7 (3) training programs that promote equitable 

8 employment opportunities for low-income and minor9 ity individuals with respect to federally funded trans10 portation projects; and 

11 (4) research techniques for and data on the im12 pact of transportation policy on individuals without 

13 an automobile and other vulnerable populations, in14 cluding with respect to disaster preparedness and re15 sponse, public health, and land use. 

16 (c) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 

17 authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section 

18 $1,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2012 through 2016. 

19 SEC. 5. EQUAL OPPORTUNITY ASSESSMENT. 

20 (a) IN GENERAL.—In accordance with this section, 

21 the Secretary of Transportation shall assess, throughout 

22 the United States, the extent to which nondiscrimination 

23 and equal opportunity exist in the construction and oper24 ation of federally funded transportation projects, pro25 grams, and activities. 


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1 (b) SUPPORTING INFORMATION.—In conducting the 

2 assessment under subsection (a), the Secretary shall— 

3 (1) review all demographic data, discrimination 

4 complaints, reports, and other relevant information 

5 collected or prepared by a recipient of Federal finan6 cial assistance or the Department of Transportation 

7 pursuant to an applicable civil rights statute, regula8 tion, or other obligation; and 

9 (2) coordinate with the Secretary of Labor, as 

10 necessary, to obtain information regarding equitable 

11 employment and contracting opportunities. 

12 (c) REPORT.—Not later than 4 years after the date 

13 of enactment of this Act, and every 4 years thereafter, 

14 the Secretary shall submit to Congress and publish on the 

15 Web site of the Department of Transportation a report 

16 on the results of the assessment under subsection (a), 

17 which shall include the following: 

18 (1) A specification of the impediments to non19 discrimination and equal opportunity in federally 

20 funded transportation projects, programs, and activi21 ties. 

22 (2) Recommendations for overcoming the im23 pediments specified under paragraph (1). 

24 (3) Information upon which the assessment is 

25 based. 


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1 (d) COLLECTION AND REPORTING PROCEDURES.— 

2 (1) PUBLIC AVAILABILITY.—The Secretary 

3 shall ensure, to the extent appropriate, that all in4 formation reviewed or collected for the assessment 

5 under subsection (a) is made available to the public 

6 through the prompt and ongoing publication of the 

7 information, including a summary of the informa8 tion, on the Web site of the Department of Trans9 portation. 

10 (2) REGULATIONS.—The Secretary shall issue 

11 regulations for the collection and reporting of infor12 mation necessary to carry out this section. 

13 (e) COORDINATION.—In carrying out this section, the 

14 Secretary shall coordinate with the Director of the Bureau 

15 of Transportation Statistics, the Director of the Depart16 mental Office of Civil Rights, the Secretary of Labor, and 

17 the heads of such other agencies as may contribute to the 

18 assessment under subsection (a). 

19 (f) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 

20 authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section 

21 $500,000 for each of fiscal years 2012 through 2016. 

Æ 


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