I 

116TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 8859 

To establish an innovative mobility and technology deployment grants 

program, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

DECEMBER 3, 2020 

Mrs. MILLER (for herself, Mr. CRAWFORD, Mr. WEBER of Texas, Mr. GRAVES

of Louisiana, and Mr. PENCE) introduced the following bill; which was 

referred to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure 

A BILL 

To establish an innovative mobility and technology 

deployment grants program, 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 ‘‘Reinvesting in Essen5 tial Partnerships And Infrastructure for Rural America 

6 Act’’ or the ‘‘REPAIR Act’’. 

7 SEC. 2. FIXED GUIDEWAY CAPITAL INVESTMENT GRANTS. 

8 Section 5309 of title 49, United States Code, is 

9 amended— 

10 (1) in subsection (a)— 


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1 (A) in paragraph (7)— 

2 (i) in subparagraph (A) by striking 

3 ‘‘$100,000,000’’ and inserting 

4 ‘‘$200,000,000’’; and 

5 (ii) in subparagraph (B) by striking 

6 ‘‘$300,000,000’’ and inserting 

7 ‘‘$400,000,000’’; and 

8 (B) by adding at the end the following: 

9 ‘‘(8) RURAL START PROJECT.—The term ‘rural 

10 start project’ means a new transit capital project 

11 that is not in an urbanized area for which— 

12 ‘‘(A) the Federal assistance provided or to 

13 be provided under this section is less than 

14 $80,000,000; and 

15 ‘‘(B) the total estimated net capital cost is 

16 less than $150,000,000.’’; 

17 (2) in subsection (b)(1) by striking ‘‘or small 

18 start projects’’ and inserting ‘‘, small start projects, 

19 or rural start projects’’; 

20 (3) in subsection (c)(1) by striking ‘‘small start 

21 projects’’ and inserting ‘‘, small start projects, rural 

22 start projects’’; and 

23 (4) in subsection (h)— 

24 (A) in the heading by striking ‘‘SMALL

25 START PROJECTS’’ and inserting ‘‘SMALL


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1 START PROJECTS AND RURAL START

2 PROJECTS’’; 

3 (B) in paragraph (1) by striking ‘‘small 

4 start project’’ and inserting ‘‘small start project 

5 or rural start project’’; 

6 (C) in paragraph (2)(A) by striking ‘‘small 

7 starts project’’ and inserting ‘‘small start 

8 project or rural start project’’; 

9 (D) in paragraph (3) by striking ‘‘small 

10 start project’’ and inserting ‘‘small start project 

11 or rural start project’’; and 

12 (E) in paragraph (6)(A) by striking ‘‘small 

13 start project’’ and inserting ‘‘small start project 

14 or rural start project’’. 

15 SEC. 3. ENHANCED MOBILITY OF SENIORS AND INDIVID16 UALS WITH DISABILITIES. 

17 Section 5310 of title 49, United States Code, is 

18 amended— 

19 (1) in subsection (b)(2) by striking ‘‘(A) 

20 AMOUNT AVAILABLE’’ and all that follows through 

21 ‘‘A recipient of a grant under’’ and inserting ‘‘A re22 cipient of a grant under’’; 

23 (2) in subsection (c)(2) by adding at the end 

24 the following: 


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1 ‘‘(E) REALLOCATION.—Amounts appor2 tioned under section 5310(c)(1)(A) may be re3 allocated to projects in areas other than urban4 ized areas.’’; 

5 (3) by striking paragraphs (1) and (2) of sub6 section (d) and inserting the following: 

7 ‘‘(1) CAPITAL PROJECTS.— 

8 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in 

9 subparagraph (B), a grant awarded under this 

10 section for a capital project shall be 80 percent 

11 of the net costs of the project, as determined by 

12 the Secretary. 

13 ‘‘(B) EXCEPTION.—A State described in 

14 section 120(b) of title 23 shall receive a Gov15 ernment share of the net costs in accordance 

16 with the formula under such section. 

17 ‘‘(2) OPERATING ASSISTANCE.— 

18 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided by 

19 subparagraph (B), a grant awarded under this 

20 section for a operating assistance may not ex21 ceed an amount equal to 50 percent of the net 

22 operating costs of the project, as determined by 

23 the Secretary. 

24 ‘‘(B) EXCEPTION.—A State described in 

25 section 120(b) of title 23 shall receive a GovVerDate Sep 11 2014 20:21 Dec 15, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8859.IH H8859

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1 ernment share of the net costs that is equal to 

2 62.5 percent of the Government share provided 

3 for under paragraph (1)(B).’’; and 

4 (4) by striking subsection (e)(1) and inserting 

5 the following: 

6 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—To the extent the Secretary 

7 determines appropriate, the requirements of— 

8 ‘‘(A) section 5307 shall apply to recipients 

9 of grants made in urbanized areas under this 

10 subsection; and 

11 ‘‘(B) section 5311 shall apply to recipients 

12 of grants made in rural areas under this sub13 section.’’. 

14 SEC. 4. FORMULA GRANTS FOR RURAL AREAS. 

15 Section 5311(g) of title 49, United States Code, is 

16 amended— 

17 (1) in paragraph (1) by adding at the end the 

18 following: 

19 ‘‘(C) PROJECTS IN QUALIFIED OPPOR20 TUNITY ZONES, MEDICALLY UNDERSERVED

21 AREAS, OR AREAS WITH A MEDICALLY UNDER22 SERVED POPULATION.—A grant awarded under 

23 this section for a capital project in a qualified 

24 opportunity zone, a medically underserved area, 

25 or areas with a medically underserved popuVerDate Sep 11 2014 20:21 Dec 15, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8859.IH H8859

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1 lation shall be for 90 percent of the net costs 

2 of the project, as determined by the Sec3 retary.’’; 

4 (2) in paragraph (2) by adding at the end the 

5 following: 

6 ‘‘(C) PROJECTS IN QUALIFIED OPPOR7 TUNITY ZONES, MEDICALLY UNDERSERVED

8 AREAS, OR AREAS WITH A MEDICALLY UNDER9 SERVED POPULATION.—A grant awarded under 

10 this section for a capital project in a qualified 

11 opportunity zone, a medically underserved area, 

12 or an area with a medically underserved popu13 lation shall be for 62.5 percent of the Govern14 ment share provided for under paragraph 

15 (1)(B).’’; and 

16 (3) by adding at the end the following: 

17 ‘‘(6) DEFINITIONS.—In this subsection: 

18 ‘‘(A) QUALIFIED OPPORTUNITY ZONE.— 

19 The term ‘qualified opportunity zone’ has the 

20 meaning given such term section 1400Z–1 of 

21 the Internal Revenue Code of 1986. 

22 ‘‘(B) MEDICALLY UNDERSERVED AREAS; 

23 AN AREA WITH A MEDICALLY UNDERSERVED

24 POPULATION.—The term ‘medically under25 served areas’ or ‘an area with a medically unVerDate Sep 11 2014 20:21 Dec 15, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8859.IH H8859

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1 derserved population’ means an area or popu2 lations that are designated as medically under3 served by the Secretary of Health and Human 

4 Services pursuant to section 330(b)(3) of the 

5 Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 

6 254b(b)(3)).’’. 

7 SEC. 5. NON-EMERGENCY MEDICAL TRANSPORTATION. 

8 (a) RESEARCH PROJECT ELIGIBILITY.—Section 

9 5312(c)(2) of title 49, United States Code, is amended— 

10 (1) in subparagraph (M), by striking ‘‘or’’ at 

11 the end; 

12 (2) by redesignating subparagraph (N) as sub13 paragraph (O); and 

14 (3) by inserting after subparagraph (M) the fol15 lowing: 

16 ‘‘(N) access to hospitals and healthcare 

17 providers in areas underserved by transit or 

18 with limited public transportation options, as 

19 determined by the Secretary; or’’. 

20 (b) INNOVATION AND DEVELOPMENT PROJECT ELI21 GIBILITY.—Section 5312(d)(2) of title 49, United States 

22 Code, is amended— 

23 (1) in subparagraph (G), by striking ‘‘or’’ at 

24 the end; 


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1 (2) by redesignating subparagraph (H) as sub2 paragraph (I); and 

3 (3) by inserting after subparagraph (G) the fol4 lowing: 

5 ‘‘(H) public transportation projects that 

6 improve health care access and outcomes; or’’. 

7 (c) DEMONSTRATION, DEPLOYMENT, AND EVALUA8 TION PROJECT ELIGIBILITY.—Section 5312(e)(3) of title 

9 49, United States Code, is amended— 

10 (1) in subparagraph (B), by striking ‘‘or’’ at 

11 the end; 

12 (2) in subparagraph (C), by striking the period 

13 and inserting ‘‘; or’’; and 

14 (3) by adding at the end the following: 

15 ‘‘(D) the deployment of public transpor16 tation projects or practices that— 

17 ‘‘(i) achieve measurable improvements 

18 in transportation access to health care for 

19 medically underserved areas or popu20 lations, as designated by the Health Re21 sources and Services Administration pursu22 ant to section 330(b)(3) of the Public 

23 Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 

24 254b(b)(3)); 


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1 ‘‘(ii) implement transportation strate2 gies for addressing significant health needs 

3 as identified by a community health needs 

4 assessment pursuant to the requirements 

5 of section 501(r)(3)(A) of the Internal 

6 Revenue Code of 1986; or 

7 ‘‘(iii) eliminate or reduce transpor8 tation barriers to accessing health care 

9 that are identified and prioritized in the 

10 coordinated public transit-human services 

11 transportation plan described in section 

12 5310(e)(2)(A).’’. 

13 SEC. 6. INNOVATIVE MOBILITY AND TECHNOLOGY DEPLOY14 MENT GRANTS. 

15 (a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 53 of title 49, United 

16 States Code, is amended by inserting after section 5312 

17 the following: 

18 ‘‘§ 5313. Innovative mobility and technology deploy19 ment grants 

20 ‘‘(a) AUTHORITY.—The Secretary shall establish an 

21 innovative mobility and technology deployment grants pro22 gram to award grants to entities described in subsection 

23 (b) to assist in financing of public transportation projects 

24 that— 


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1 ‘‘(1) allow for the integration of mobility serv2 ices or technologies in public transportation services, 

3 including traveler information, trip planning infor4 mation, new or expanded reservation capabilities, in5 tegrated payment solutions, fare automation, or de6 livery designs to improve options in public transpor7 tation; 

8 ‘‘(2) advance first-mile, last-mile, late night, or 

9 low density services that connect riders to public 

10 transportation, including— 

11 ‘‘(A) microtransit; 

12 ‘‘(B) commuter busing; or 

13 ‘‘(C) commuter highway vehicles; 

14 ‘‘(3) advance on demand complementary para15 transit services; 

16 ‘‘(4) provide accessibility and connectivity for 

17 rural areas not being adequately served by public 

18 transportation, as determined by the Secretary; 

19 ‘‘(5) expand high-performing public transpor20 tation business models that increase access to public 

21 transportation; or 

22 ‘‘(6) provide any other transit service that the 

23 Secretary determines appropriate to meet the pur24 poses of this section. 


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1 ‘‘(b) ELIGIBLE ENTITIES.—To be eligible for a grant 

2 under this section, an entity shall be— 

3 ‘‘(1) a State or local government; or 

4 ‘‘(2) a publicly owned operator of public trans5 portation. 

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

7 under this section, an entity described in subsection (b) 

8 shall submit to the Secretary an application in such form 

9 and contain such information as the Secretary may re10 quire. 

11 ‘‘(d) RULEMAKING.—The Secretary shall— 

12 ‘‘(1) issue such regulations as are necessary to 

13 carry out this section, and publish such regulations 

14 in the Federal Register, not later than 270 days 

15 after the date of enactment of this section; and 

16 ‘‘(2) in issuing such regulations, solicit and re17 ceive comments from stakeholders not later than 

18 180 days after the date of enactment of this section. 

19 ‘‘(e) GRANT REQUIREMENTS.—The Secretary may 

20 approve modified grant requirements for projects carried 

21 out using a grant under this section. 

22 ‘‘(f) LIMITATIONS.— 

23 ‘‘(1) PERIOD OF GRANT.—A grant under this 

24 section shall be for a 3-year period beginning on the 


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1 date on which the first payment of any amount 

2 under the grant is provided to an eligible entity. 

3 ‘‘(2) RURAL GRANT MINIMUM.—The Secretary 

4 shall award not less than 20 percent of the total 

5 amounts made available to carry out this section to 

6 support activities described under subsection (a) in 

7 rural areas. 

8 ‘‘(3) GOVERNMENT SHARE OF COSTS.—The 

9 Federal share of the total project cost of a project 

10 carried out under this section may not exceed 80 

11 percent. 

12 ‘‘(4) ALLOCATION.—Of the amounts authorized 

13 to be appropriated to carry out this section for each 

14 fiscal year, not more than 20 percent may be award15 ed under subsection (a) to a single entity. 

16 ‘‘(g) BEST PRACTICES.—The Secretary shall annu17 ally collect from, review, and disseminate to public trans18 portation agencies findings or best practices from projects 

19 funded under this section. 

20 ‘‘(h) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

21 ‘‘(1) COMMUTER HIGHWAY VEHICLE.—The 

22 term ‘commuter highway vehicle’ has the meaning 

23 given such term in section 132(f)(5)(B) of the Inter24 nal Revenue Code of 1986. 


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1 ‘‘(2) HIGH-PERFORMING PUBLIC TRANSPOR2 TATION.—The term ‘high-performing public trans3 portation’ means a public transportation service, 

4 whether provided by a public agency, private non5 profit, or for-profit organization, that is able to col6 lect all operating costs through fare-box revenue or 

7 other dedicated sources for an activity and increases 

8 access to public transportation. 

9 ‘‘(3) MICRO-TRANSIT.—The term ‘micro-transit’ 

10 means internet-enabled, public transportation serv11 ices that use dynamically generated routes calculated 

12 by algorithms developed to increase the occupancy of 

13 vehicles.’’. 

14 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The analysis for chap15 ter 53 of title 49, United States Code, is amended by in16 serting after section 5312 the following: 

‘‘5313. Innovative mobility and technology deployment grants.’’. 

Æ 


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