II 

114TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 2008 

To enhance transportation programs in order to achieve an interconnected 

transportation system which connects people to jobs, schools, and other 

essential services through a multimodal network, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

AUGUST 6, 2015 

Mr. MERKLEY introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred 

to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs 

A BILL 

To enhance transportation programs in order to achieve an 

interconnected transportation system which connects people to jobs, schools, and other essential services through 

a multimodal network, 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 ‘‘Transportation, Ac5 cess, and Opportunity Act of 2015’’. 

6 SEC. 2. PUBLIC INVOLVEMENT IN PLAN DEVELOPMENT. 

7 (a) SECTION 134 AMENDMENT.—Section 134(i) of 

8 title 23, United States Code, is amended— 


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1 (1) in paragraph (4), by adding at the end the 

2 following: 

3 ‘‘(D) PUBLIC INVOLVEMENT.—A metro4 politan planning organization shall offer inter5 ested parties, such as the interested parties de6 scribed in paragraph (6), a reasonable oppor7 tunity to participate in the development and 

8 consideration of scenarios.’’; and 

9 (2) in paragraph (6)— 

10 (A) in subparagraph (A), by striking 

11 ‘‘comment on the transportation plan’’ and in12 serting ‘‘provide input during the development 

13 and implementation of the transportation 

14 plan’’; and 

15 (B) in subparagraph (B)(ii), by striking 

16 ‘‘comment on the contents of the transportation 

17 plan’’ and inserting ‘‘provide input during the 

18 development and implementation of the trans19 portation plan’’. 

20 (b) SECTION 135 AMENDMENT.—Section 

21 135(f)(3)(A)(ii) of title 23, United States Code, is amend22 ed by striking ‘‘comment on the transportation plan’’ and 

23 inserting ‘‘provide input during the development and im24 plementation of the transportation plan’’. 


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1 (c) SECTION 5303 AMENDMENT.—Section 5303(i) of 

2 title 49, United States Code, is amended— 

3 (1) in paragraph (4), by adding at the end the 

4 following: 

5 ‘‘(D) PUBLIC INVOLVEMENT.—A metro6 politan planning organization shall offer inter7 ested parties, such as those described in para8 graph (6), a reasonable opportunity to partici9 pate in the development and consideration of 

10 scenarios.’’; and 

11 (2) in paragraph (6), by striking ‘‘comment on 

12 the transportation plan’’ and inserting ‘‘provide 

13 input during the development and implementation of 

14 the transportation plan’’. 

15 (d) SECTION 5304 AMENDMENT.—Section 

16 5304(f)(3)(A)(ii) of title 49, United States Code, is 

17 amended by striking ‘‘comment on the proposed plan’’ and 

18 inserting ‘‘provide input during the development and im19 plementation of the transportation plan’’. 

20 SEC. 3. CONNECTION TO OPPORTUNITIES NATIONAL GOAL 

21 AND POTENTIAL PERFORMANCE MEASURE. 

22 (a) TRANSPORTATION CONNECTIONS TO OPPORTUNI23 TIES.—Section 150(b) of title 23, United States Codes, 

24 is amended— 


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1 (1) in paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘highway in2 frastructure asset system’’ and inserting ‘‘infrastruc3 ture asset system under title 23’’; and 

4 (2) by adding at the end the following: 

5 ‘‘(8) MULTIMODAL CONNECTIVITY.—To achieve 

6 an interconnected transportation system which con7 nects people to jobs, schools, and other essential 

8 services through a multimodal network.’’. 

9 (b) ESTABLISHMENT OF PERFORMANCE MEAS10 URES.—Section 150(c) of title 23, United States Code, is 

11 amended— 

12 (1) in paragraph (1), by inserting ‘‘as listed in 

13 paragraphs (3), (4), (5), and (6)’’ before the period 

14 at the end; and 

15 (2) by adding at the end the following: 

16 ‘‘(7) TRANSPORTATION CONNECTIVITY.—The 

17 Secretary may, in accordance with the framework es18 tablished in sections 134 and 135 of this title, estab19 lish a Performance Measure to be used by metropoli20 tan planning organizations to assess the degree to 

21 which the transportation system provides multimodal 

22 connections to economic opportunities, including job 

23 concentration areas, health care services, child care 

24 services, and education and workforce training serv25 ices, particularly for disadvantaged populations.’’. 


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1 SEC. 4. MEASURING TRANSPORTATION CONNECTIVITY 

2 PILOT ACTIVITIES. 

3 (a) TITLE 23.—Section 134 of title 23, United States 

4 Code, as amended by this Act, is further amended by in5 serting at the end, the following: 

6 ‘‘(r) MEASURING TRANSPORTATION CONNECTIONS

7 TO OPPORTUNITY.— 

8 ‘‘(1) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this sub9 section— 

10 ‘‘(A) the term ‘covered metropolitan plan11 ning organization’ means a metropolitan plan12 ning organization selected by the Secretary 

13 under paragraph (2)(B)(i). 

14 ‘‘(B) the term ‘opportunity’ means job con15 centration areas, schools, workforce training, 

16 child care services, and health care services; 

17 ‘‘(C) the term ‘pilot location’ means a loca18 tion selected by the Secretary under paragraph 

19 (2)(B)(i); 

20 ‘‘(D) the term ‘pilot program’ means the 

21 Connection to Opportunity Pilot Program es22 tablished under paragraph (2)(A); and 

23 ‘‘(E) the term ‘transportation-disadvan24 taged’, with respect to an individual or popu25 lation, means any individual or population of in26 dividuals who— 


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1 ‘‘(i) face challenges in securing or ac2 cessing transportation due to age, dis3 ability, or income constraints, including 

4 lack of access to public transportation or a 

5 private vehicle; or 

6 ‘‘(ii) are members of a protected class 

7 listed in section 601 of the Civil Rights Act 

8 of 1964 (42 U.S.C. 2000d). 

9 ‘‘(2) CONNECTION TO OPPORTUNITY PILOT

10 PROGRAM.— 

11 ‘‘(A) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary 

12 shall establish a pilot program, to be known as 

13 the ‘Connection to Opportunity Pilot Program’, 

14 under which not more than 10 metropolitan 

15 planning organizations shall each develop and 

16 deploy not less than 1 pilot project to improve 

17 multimodal connectivity and increase connec18 tions for transportation-disadvantaged individ19 uals and neighborhoods with limited transpor20 tation options. 

21 ‘‘(B) PILOT LOCATIONS.— 

22 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary 

23 shall select not more than 10 metropolitan 

24 planning organizations, each of which is a 

25 metropolitan planning organization serving 


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1 an urbanized area with a population of 

2 more than 200,000 individuals, which shall 

3 include— 

4 ‘‘(I) metropolitan planning orga5 nizations that can demonstrate pre6 vious successful use of performance 

7 measurements and performance-based 

8 planning efforts, which the Secretary 

9 shall designate as mentor grantees; 

10 and 

11 ‘‘(II) metropolitan planning orga12 nizations that have limited or no suc13 cessful previous experience in per14 formance measurements and perform15 ance-based planning efforts, which the 

16 Secretary shall designate as novice 

17 grantees. 

18 ‘‘(ii) VARYING POPULATION SIZES.— 

19 The Secretary shall ensure that the metro20 politan planning organizations selected 

21 under clause (i) serve urbanized areas with 

22 varying population sizes. 

23 ‘‘(C) PILOT PROGRAM ACTIVITIES.— 

24 ‘‘(i) TRANSPORTATION CONNECTIVITY

25 INVENTORY.—Not later than 6 months 


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1 after the date on which the Secretary se2 lects a pilot location and awards a grant 

3 under this subsection, and in consultation 

4 with appropriate States, transit agencies, 

5 and local governments, a covered metro6 politan planning organization in the pilot 

7 location shall develop from existing data an 

8 inventory of transportation assets within 

9 the urbanized area served by the covered 

10 metropolitan planning organization, which 

11 shall describe— 

12 ‘‘(I) the condition and quality of 

13 service of key highway, transit, bicy14 cle, pedestrian, and carshare facilities; 

15 ‘‘(II) the degree to which the fa16 cilities described in subclause (I) pro17 vide residents with connections to eco18 nomic opportunities, including high 

19 job concentration areas, health care 

20 services, child care services, and edu21 cation and workforce training services; 

22 ‘‘(III) the identity and location of 

23 transportation-disadvantaged popu24 lations within the urbanized area and 

25 the disparity of services and facilities 


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1 between those transportation-dis2 advantaged populations and non3 transportation-disadvantaged popu4 lations; and 

5 ‘‘(IV) local challenges to 

6 multimodal connectivity, such as— 

7 ‘‘(aa) zoning or land use 

8 issues; 

9 ‘‘(bb) availability of afford10 able housing; 

11 ‘‘(cc) availability of acces12 sible vehicles and accessible 

13 transportation facilities that meet 

14 the standards contained in sec15 tions 37.7 and 37.9, respectively, 

16 of title 49, Code of Federal Reg17 ulations (or any successor there18 to); and 

19 ‘‘(dd) barriers that obstruct 

20 access from residential areas to 

21 economic opportunities, such 

22 as— 

23 ‘‘(AA) the amount of 

24 time it takes to reach eco25 nomic opportunities; 


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1 ‘‘(BB) the average cost 

2 of commuting for transpor3 tation-disadvantaged popu4 lations compared to income 

5 levels; and 

6 ‘‘(CC) the number of 

7 people served, by income 

8 level. 

9 ‘‘(ii) PERFORMANCE INDICATORS.— 

10 Not later than 1 year after the date on 

11 which the Secretary selects a pilot location, 

12 a covered metropolitan planning organiza13 tion in the pilot location shall apply the 

14 baseline data developed in the transpor15 tation connectivity inventory under clause 

16 (i) to adopt not less than 1 provisional in17 dicator— 

18 ‘‘(I) to measure multimodal 

19 connectivity in the transportation sys20 tem to economic opportunities, includ21 ing measurements of multimodal 

22 connectivity improvements available to 

23 populations identified in clause 

24 (i)(III); and 


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1 ‘‘(II) to appropriate to local as2 sets and needs. 

3 ‘‘(iii) DATA COLLECTION AND RE4 PORTING.—A covered metropolitan plan5 ning organization in a pilot location 

6 shall— 

7 ‘‘(I) collect baseline and annual 

8 performance data on multimodal 

9 transportation connectivity to oppor10 tunity; and 

11 ‘‘(II) submit the data described 

12 in subclause (I) to the Secretary for 

13 the duration of the pilot project. 

14 ‘‘(iv) KNOWLEDGE-SHARING.—A cov15 ered metropolitan planning organization 

16 designated as a mentor grantee under sub17 paragraph (B)(i)(I) shall, to the extent 

18 feasible, engage in knowledge-sharing ac19 tivities with novice grantees designated 

20 under subparagraph (B)(i)(II), which may 

21 include peer exchanges and technical as22 sistance, as appropriate to the level of per23 formance measurement capacity of the 

24 mentor grantee. 


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1 ‘‘(v) PROJECT IMPLEMENTATION.— 

2 Notwithstanding section 120 of this title, a 

3 covered metropolitan planning organization 

4 may use funds remaining after the comple5 tion of the transportation connectivity in6 ventory under clause (i), the adoption of 

7 provisional indicators under clause (ii), and 

8 related tracking activities to implement 

9 pilot projects within the urbanized area 

10 served by the covered metropolitan plan11 ning organization that are reasonably an12 ticipated to address system gaps and im13 prove performance according to the locally 

14 adopted provisional multimodal transpor15 tation connectivity measures. 

16 ‘‘(D) TERMINATION.—The pilot program 

17 shall terminate on the date that is 3 years after 

18 the date on which the Secretary establishes the 

19 pilot program. 

20 ‘‘(3) NATIONAL PERFORMANCE MEASURE DE21 VELOPMENT ACTIVITIES.— 

22 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary, using 

23 not more than $5,000,000 of the amount au24 thorized to be appropriated under section 7(a) 


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1 of the Transportation, Access, and Opportunity 

2 Act of 2015, shall— 

3 ‘‘(i) evaluate multimodal connectivity 

4 measures developed by covered metropoli5 tan planning organizations in pilot loca6 tions; and 

7 ‘‘(ii) consider development of a na8 tional indicator to measure the multimodal 

9 connections to opportunities provided by 

10 the transportation network. 

11 ‘‘(B) ACTIVITIES.—To carry out the re12 quirements under subparagraph (A), the Sec13 retary shall perform the following activities: 

14 ‘‘(i) NATIONAL TECHNICAL ASSIST15 ANCE AND PEER EXCHANGE FORUMS.— 

16 The Secretary shall— 

17 ‘‘(I) support the measure devel18 opment and data collection of covered 

19 metropolitan planning organizations 

20 in pilot locations through— 

21 ‘‘(aa) technical assistance 

22 and peer exchanges; and 

23 ‘‘(bb) workshops with 

24 States, transit agencies, and cov25 ered metropolitan planning orgaVerDate Sep 11 2014 05:14 Aug 13, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00013 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2008.IS S2008

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1 nizations to discuss pilot program 

2 findings; and 

3 ‘‘(II) establish an online collabo4 ration center for local jurisdictions to 

5 share ideas and challenges and docu6 ment lessons learned. 

7 ‘‘(ii) CONNECTION TO OPPORTUNITY

8 FINAL REPORT.— 

9 ‘‘(I) IN GENERAL.—Not later 

10 than 180 days after the date on which 

11 the pilot program terminates, the Sec12 retary, in consultation with the Sec13 retary of Housing and Urban Devel14 opment, the Secretary of Commerce, 

15 and the Administrator of the Environ16 mental Protection Agency, shall seek 

17 public comment on and submit to 

18 Congress a final report detailing the 

19 results of the pilot program. 

20 ‘‘(II) CONTENTS.—The final re21 port submitted under subclause (I) 

22 shall include— 

23 ‘‘(aa) recommendations on 

24 the establishment of 1 or more 


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1 national multimodal connectivity 

2 measures; 

3 ‘‘(bb) the results of the ef4 forts of covered metropolitan 

5 planning organizations to meas6 ure and improve multimodal 

7 connectivity; 

8 ‘‘(cc) the recommendations 

9 of the Secretary on the establish10 ment of 1 or more national 

11 multimodal connectivity measures 

12 and the integration of those 

13 measures into the Federal trans14 portation performance manage15 ment framework in accordance 

16 with section 150 of this title; and 

17 ‘‘(dd) an assessment of the 

18 impact of the pilot projects, in19 cluding— 

20 ‘‘(AA) social outcomes 

21 and economic impacts that 

22 may result from the pilot 

23 projects; 

24 ‘‘(BB) estimated sav25 ings to Federal, State, and 


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1 local social service subsidy 

2 programs; and 

3 ‘‘(CC) other costs 

4 avoided and new tax reve5 nues attributable to in6 creased connectivity. 

7 ‘‘(iii) POTENTIAL RULEMAKING.— 

8 After the Secretary submits the final re9 port to Congress under clause (ii), the Sec10 retary, in consultation with State Depart11 ments of Transportation, metropolitan 

12 planning organizations, and other stake13 holders, may promulgate a rulemaking that 

14 establishes performance measures and 

15 standards as described in section 150(c)(8) 

16 of this title.’’. 

17 (b) CHAPTER 53.—Section 5303 of title 49, United 

18 States Code, is amended by adding at the end the fol19 lowing: 

20 ‘‘(r) MEASURING TRANSPORTATION CONNECTIONS

21 TO OPPORTUNITY.— 

22 ‘‘(1) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this sub23 section— 

24 ‘‘(A) the term ‘covered metropolitan plan25 ning organization’ means a metropolitan planVerDate Sep 11 2014 05:14 Aug 13, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00016 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2008.IS S2008

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1 ning organization selected by the Secretary 

2 under paragraph (2)(B)(i); 

3 ‘‘(B) the term ‘opportunity’ means job con4 centration areas, schools, workforce training, 

5 child care services, and health care services; 

6 ‘‘(C) the term ‘pilot location’ means a loca7 tion selected by the Secretary under paragraph 

8 (2)(B)(i); 

9 ‘‘(D) the term ‘pilot program’ means the 

10 Connection to Opportunity Pilot Program es11 tablished under paragraph (2)(A); and 

12 ‘‘(E) the term ‘transportation-disadvan13 taged’, with respect to an individual or popu14 lation, means any individual or population of in15 dividuals who— 

16 ‘‘(i) face challenges in securing or ac17 cessing transportation due to age, dis18 ability, or income constraints, including 

19 lack of access to public transportation or a 

20 private vehicle; or 

21 ‘‘(ii) are members of a protected class 

22 listed in section 601 of the Civil Rights Act 

23 of 1964 (42 U.S.C. 2000d). 

24 ‘‘(2) CONNECTION TO OPPORTUNITY PILOT

25 PROGRAM.— 


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1 ‘‘(A) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary 

2 shall establish a pilot program, to be known as 

3 the ‘Connection to Opportunity Pilot Program’, 

4 under which not more than 10 metropolitan 

5 planning organizations shall each develop and 

6 deploy not less than 1 pilot project to improve 

7 multimodal connectivity and increase connec8 tions for transportation-disadvantaged individ9 uals and neighborhoods with limited transpor10 tation options. 

11 ‘‘(B) PILOT LOCATIONS.— 

12 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary 

13 shall select not more than 10 metropolitan 

14 planning organizations, each of which is a 

15 metropolitan planning organization serving 

16 an urbanized area with a population of 

17 more than 200,000 individuals, which shall 

18 include— 

19 ‘‘(I) metropolitan planning orga20 nizations that can demonstrate pre21 vious successful use of performance 

22 measurements and performance-based 

23 planning efforts, which the Secretary 

24 shall designate as mentor grantees; 

25 and 


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1 ‘‘(II) metropolitan planning orga2 nizations that have limited or no suc3 cessful previous experience in per4 formance measurements and perform5 ance-based planning efforts, which the 

6 Secretary shall designate as novice 

7 grantees. 

8 ‘‘(ii) VARYING POPULATION SIZES.— 

9 The Secretary shall ensure that the metro10 politan planning organizations selected 

11 under clause (i) serve urbanized areas with 

12 varying population sizes. 

13 ‘‘(C) PILOT PROGRAM ACTIVITIES.— 

14 ‘‘(i) TRANSPORTATION CONNECTIVITY

15 INVENTORY.—Not later than 6 months 

16 after the date on which the Secretary se17 lects a pilot location and awards a grant 

18 under this subsection, and in consultation 

19 with appropriate States, transit agencies, 

20 and local governments, a covered metro21 politan planning organization in the pilot 

22 location shall develop from existing data an 

23 inventory of transportation assets within 

24 the urbanized area served by the covered 


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1 metropolitan planning organization, which 

2 shall describe— 

3 ‘‘(I) the condition and quality of 

4 service of key highway, transit, bicy5 cle, pedestrian, and carshare facilities; 

6 ‘‘(II) the degree to which the fa7 cilities described in subclause (I) pro8 vide residents with connections to eco9 nomic opportunities, including high 

10 job concentration areas, health care 

11 services, childcare services, and edu12 cation and workforce training services; 

13 ‘‘(III) the identity and location of 

14 transportation-disadvantaged popu15 lations within the urbanized area and 

16 the disparity of services and facilities 

17 between those transportation-dis18 advantaged populations and non19 transportation-disadvantaged popu20 lations; and 

21 ‘‘(IV) local challenges to 

22 multimodal connectivity, such as— 

23 ‘‘(aa) zoning or land use 

24 issues; 


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1 ‘‘(bb) availability of afford2 able housing; 

3 ‘‘(cc) availability of acces4 sible vehicles and accessible 

5 transportation facilities that meet 

6 the standards contained in sec7 tions 37.7 and 37.9, respectively, 

8 of title 49, Code of Federal Reg9 ulations (or any successor there10 to); and 

11 ‘‘(dd) barriers that obstruct 

12 access from residential areas to 

13 economic opportunities, such 

14 as— 

15 ‘‘(AA) the amount of 

16 time it takes to reach eco17 nomic opportunities; 

18 ‘‘(BB) the average cost 

19 of commuting for transpor20 tation-disadvantaged popu21 lations compared to income 

22 levels; and 

23 ‘‘(CC) the number of 

24 people not adequately 

25 served, by income level. 


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1 ‘‘(ii) PERFORMANCE INDICATORS.— 

2 Not later than 1 year after the date on 

3 which the Secretary selects a pilot location, 

4 a covered metropolitan planning organiza5 tion in the pilot location shall apply the 

6 baseline data developed in the transpor7 tation connectivity inventory under clause 

8 (i) to adopt not less than 1 provisional in9 dicator— 

10 ‘‘(I) to measure multimodal 

11 connectivity in the transportation sys12 tem to economic opportunities, includ13 ing measurements of multimodal 

14 connectivity improvements available to 

15 populations identified in clause 

16 (i)(III); and 

17 ‘‘(II) appropriate to local assets 

18 and needs. 

19 ‘‘(iii) DATA COLLECTION AND RE20 PORTING.—A covered metropolitan plan21 ning organization in a pilot location 

22 shall— 

23 ‘‘(I) collect baseline and annual 

24 performance data on multimodal 


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1 transportation connectivity to oppor2 tunity; and 

3 ‘‘(II) submit the data described 

4 in subclause (I) to the Secretary for 

5 the duration of the pilot project. 

6 ‘‘(iv) KNOWLEDGE-SHARING.—A cov7 ered metropolitan planning organization 

8 designated as a mentor grantee under sub9 paragraph (B)(i)(I) shall, to the extent 

10 feasible, engage in knowledge-sharing ac11 tivities with novice grantees designated 

12 under subparagraph (B)(i)(II), which may 

13 include peer exchanges and technical as14 sistance, as appropriate to the level of per15 formance measurement capacity of the 

16 mentor grantee. 

17 ‘‘(v) PROJECT IMPLEMENTATION.— 

18 Notwithstanding section 120 of title 23, a 

19 covered metropolitan planning organization 

20 may use funds remaining after the comple21 tion of the transportation connectivity in22 ventory under clause (i), the adoption of 

23 provisional indicators under clause (ii), and 

24 related tracking activities to implement 

25 pilot projects within the urbanized area 


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1 served by the covered metropolitan plan2 ning organization that are reasonably an3 ticipated to address system gaps and im4 prove performance according to the locally 

5 adopted provisional multimodal transpor6 tation connectivity measures. 

7 ‘‘(D) TERMINATION.—The pilot program 

8 shall terminate on the date that is 3 years after 

9 the date on which the Secretary establishes the 

10 pilot program. 

11 ‘‘(3) NATIONAL PERFORMANCE MEASURE DE12 VELOPMENT ACTIVITIES.— 

13 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary, using 

14 not more than $5,000,000 of the amount au15 thorized to be appropriated under section 7(a) 

16 of the Transportation, Access, and Opportunity 

17 Act of 2015, shall— 

18 ‘‘(i) evaluate multimodal connectivity 

19 measures developed by covered metropoli20 tan planning organizations in pilot loca21 tions; and 

22 ‘‘(ii) consider development of a na23 tional indicator to measure the multimodal 

24 connections to opportunities provided by 

25 the transportation network. 


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1 ‘‘(B) ACTIVITIES.—To carry out the re2 quirements under subparagraph (A), the Sec3 retary shall perform the following activities: 

4 ‘‘(i) NATIONAL TECHNICAL ASSIST5 ANCE AND PEER EXCHANGE FORUMS.— 

6 The Secretary shall— 

7 ‘‘(I) support the measure devel8 opment and data collection of covered 

9 metropolitan planning organizations 

10 in pilot locations through— 

11 ‘‘(aa) technical assistance 

12 and peer exchanges; and 

13 ‘‘(bb) workshops with 

14 States, transit agencies, and cov15 ered metropolitan planning orga16 nizations to discuss pilot program 

17 findings; and 

18 ‘‘(II) establish an online collabo19 ration center for local jurisdictions to 

20 share ideas and challenges and docu21 ment lessons learned. 

22 ‘‘(ii) CONNECTION TO OPPORTUNITY

23 FINAL REPORT.— 

24 ‘‘(I) IN GENERAL.—Not later 

25 than 180 days after the date on which 


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1 the pilot program terminates, the Sec2 retary, in consultation with the Sec3 retary of Housing and Urban Devel4 opment, the Secretary of Commerce, 

5 and the Administrator of the Environ6 mental Protection Agency, shall seek 

7 public comment on and submit to 

8 Congress a final report detailing the 

9 results of the pilot program. 

10 ‘‘(II) CONTENTS.—The final re11 port submitted under subclause (I) 

12 shall include— 

13 ‘‘(aa) recommendations on 

14 the establishment of 1 or more 

15 national multimodal connectivity 

16 measures; 

17 ‘‘(bb) the results of the ef18 forts of covered metropolitan 

19 planning organizations to meas20 ure and improve multimodal 

21 connectivity; 

22 ‘‘(cc) the recommendations 

23 of the Secretary on the establish24 ment of 1 or more national 

25 multimodal connectivity measures 


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1 and the integration of those 

2 measures into the Federal trans3 portation performance manage4 ment framework in accordance 

5 with section 150 of title 23; and 

6 ‘‘(dd) an assessment of the 

7 impact of the pilot projects, in8 cluding— 

9 ‘‘(AA) social outcomes 

10 and economic impacts that 

11 may result from the pilot 

12 projects; 

13 ‘‘(BB) estimated sav14 ings to Federal, State, and 

15 local social service subsidy 

16 programs; and 

17 ‘‘(CC) other costs 

18 avoided and new tax reve19 nues attributable to in20 creased connectivity. 

21 ‘‘(iii) POTENTIAL RULEMAKING.— 

22 After the Secretary submits the final re23 port to Congress under clause (ii), the Sec24 retary, in consultation with State Depart25 ments of Transportation, metropolitan 


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1 planning organizations, and other stake2 holders, may promulgate a rulemaking that 

3 establishes performance measures and 

4 standards as described in section 150(c)(8) 

5 of title 23.’’. 

6 SEC. 5. PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT DATA SUPPORT PRO7 GRAM. 

8 (a) PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT DATA SUPPORT

9 PROGRAM.—Section 150 of title 23, United States Code, 

10 is amended by adding at the end the following: 

11 ‘‘(f) PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT DATA SUP12 PORT.—To assist metropolitan planning organizations, 

13 States, and the Department in carrying out performance 

14 management analyses, including the performance manage15 ment requirements of this chapter, the Secretary shall cre16 ate and maintain data sets and data analysis tools.’’. 

17 (b) FEDERAL SHARE.—Section 120 of such title is 

18 amended by adding at the end the following: 

19 ‘‘(l) PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT DATA SUP20 PORT PROGRAM.—The Federal share payable on ac21 count of an activity under the performance manage22 ment data support program under section 150(f) 

23 shall be 100 percent of the cost of the activity.’’. 


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1 SEC. 6. MULTIMODAL ACCOMMODATIONS. 

2 (a) DESIGN STANDARDS.—Section 109 of title 23, 

3 United States Code, is amended— 

4 (1) in subsection (c)— 

5 (A) in paragraph (1)— 

6 (i) by striking ‘‘may take into ac7 count’’ and inserting ‘‘shall take into ac8 count’’; and 

9 (ii) by striking subparagraph (C) and 

10 inserting the following: 

11 ‘‘(C) access and safety for users of all fore12 seeable modes of transportation.’’; and 

13 (B) in paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘may de14 velop’’ and inserting ‘‘shall develop’’; and 

15 (2) in subsection (m), by striking ‘‘and light 

16 motorcycles’’ and inserting ‘‘, safe, convenient, and 

17 continuous’’ before ‘‘alternate route’’. 

18 (b) TRANSPORTATION ALTERNATIVES.— 

19 (1) FEDERAL SHARE.—Section 120 of title 23, 

20 United States Code, as amended by this Act, is fur21 ther amended by adding at the end the following: 

22 ‘‘(m) TRANSPORTATION ALTERNATIVES PROGRAM.— 

23 The Federal share requirements under this section appli24 cable to the Transportation Alternatives Program under 

25 section 213 of this title may be met based on— 


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1 ‘‘(1) an individual project or activity under that 

2 section; or 

3 ‘‘(2) a program of projects or activities ap4 proved under subsection (c)(6)(B) of that section.’’. 

5 (2) RESERVATION OF FUNDS.—Section 

6 213(a)(1) of title 23, United States Code, is amend7 ed by striking ‘‘of fiscal years 2013 and 2014’’ and 

8 inserting ‘‘fiscal year’’. 

9 (3) ELIGIBLE ENTITIES.—Section 213(c)(4)(B) 

10 title 23, United States Code, is amended— 

11 (A) by redesignating clauses (vi) and (vii) 

12 as clauses (viii) and (ix); and 

13 (B) inserting after clause (v) the following: 

14 ‘‘(vi) a nonprofit organization; 

15 ‘‘(vii) a metropolitan planning organi16 zation that is not developing the competi17 tive process for funding;’’. 

18 (4) PROGRAM OF PROJECTS.—Section 213(c) of 

19 title 23, United States Code, is amended by adding 

20 at the end the following: 

21 ‘‘(6) PROGRAM OF PROJECTS.—Funds may be 

22 obligated under this section for— 

23 ‘‘(A) a project or activity eligible under 

24 subsection (b); or 


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1 ‘‘(B) a program of projects or activities eli2 gible under that subsection. 

3 ‘‘(7) ADMINISTRATION.— 

4 ‘‘(A) SUBMISSION OF PROJECT AGREE5 MENT.—For each fiscal year, each State shall 

6 submit a project agreement that— 

7 ‘‘(i) certifies that the State will meet 

8 all the requirements of this section; and 

9 ‘‘(ii) notifies the Secretary of the 

10 amount of obligations needed to carry out 

11 the program under this section. 

12 ‘‘(B) REQUEST FOR ADJUSTMENTS OF

13 AMOUNTS.—Each State shall request from the 

14 Secretary such adjustments to the amount of 

15 obligations referred to in subparagraph (A)(ii) 

16 as the State determines to be necessary. 

17 ‘‘(C) EFFECT OF APPROVAL BY THE SEC18 RETARY.—Approval by the Secretary of a 

19 project agreement under subparagraph (A) 

20 shall be deemed a contractual obligation of the 

21 United States to pay funds made available 

22 under this title.’’. 

23 SEC. 7. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

24 (a) CONNECTION TO OPPORTUNITY PILOT PRO25 GRAMS.—There is authorized to be appropriated 


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1 $70,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2016 through 2019 

2 to carry out the Connection to Opportunity Pilot Pro3 grams established under— 

4 (1) section 134(r) of title 23, United States 

5 Code (as added by section 4 of this Act); and 

6 (2) section 5303(r) of title 49, United States 

7 Code (as added by section 4 of this Act). 

8 (b) PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT DATA SUPPORT

9 PROGRAMS.—There is authorized to be appropriated 

10 $10,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2016 through 2019 

11 to carry out the Performance Management Data Support 

12 Program under section 150(f) of title 23, United States 

13 Code, as added by section 5 of this Act. 

Æ 


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