II 

112TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 980 

To promote secure ferry transportation and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MAY 12, 2011 

Mrs. MURRAY (for herself, Ms. MURKOWSKI, Ms. CANTWELL, and Mr. 

BEGICH) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred 

to the Committee on Environment and Public Works 

A BILL 

To promote secure ferry transportation 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 TITLES. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘United States Ferry 

5 Systems Investment Act of 2011’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress finds the following: 

8 (1) Ferries are a vital part of the United States 

9 transportation system, transporting more than 


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1 100,000,000 passengers annually in at least 38 

2 States. 

3 (2) In many congested metropolitan areas, fer4 ries are 1 of the few remaining options for signifi5 cant transportation capacity expansion. 

6 (3) Ferries are the sole or primary transpor7 tation connection for many island and isolated com8 munities. 

9 (4) Ferries provide a critical emergency evacu10 ation alternative for both large cities and remote lo11 cations. 

12 (5) Ferries can be part of an interim solution 

13 when transportation infrastructure fails, for example 

14 after the terrorist attacks in New York on Sep15 tember 11, 2001, disrupted train service and after 

16 part of the San Francisco Bay Bridge collapsed in 

17 the Loma Prieta earthquake, ferries were used to 

18 provide interim transportation. 

19 (6) Ferries offer a relatively energy-efficient, 

20 environmentally friendly, and low-stress mode of 

21 travel. 

22 (7) Almost all of the largest and important 

23 ferry services are publicly owned or provide trans24 portation at public terminals, are integrated with 


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1 other transportation modes, and are operated in a 

2 manner to serve the public interest. 

3 (8) According to the Secretary of Transpor4 tation, nearly 25 percent of United States ferries are 

5 at least 40 years old and 5 percent of United States 

6 ferries are at least 60 years old. 

7 (9) Federal investment in the United States 

8 ferry system is necessary because— 

9 (A) ferries play a unique and important 

10 role in the United States transportation system; 

11 (B) there is a large and growing need for 

12 new and replacement ferry vessels and termi13 nals; and 

14 (C) ferries do not fit neatly into other Fed15 eral, mode-specific transportation programs. 

16 (10) The distribution of Federal ferry funds by 

17 formula is appropriate because this method of dis18 tribution would dedicate more funding to the largest 

19 and most important public ferry systems. 

20 (11) The distribution of Federal ferry funds by 

21 discretionary awards is also appropriate because this 

22 method of distribution would help initiate and ex23 pand ferry services throughout the United States. 


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1 SEC. 3. SECRETARY DEFINED. 

2 In this Act, the term ‘‘Secretary’’ means the Sec3 retary of Transportation. 

4 SEC. 4. CONSTRUCTION OF FERRY BOATS AND FERRY TER5 MINAL FACILITIES. 

6 Section 147 of title 23, United States Code, is 

7 amended by striking subsections (c), (d), and (e) and in8 serting the following: 

9 ‘‘(c) DISTRIBUTION OF FUNDS.—Of the amounts 

10 made available to ferry systems and public entities respon11 sible for developing ferries under this section in a fiscal 

12 year— 

13 ‘‘(1) 50 percent shall be allocated at the discre14 tion of the Secretary; and 

15 ‘‘(2) 50 percent shall be allocated in accordance 

16 with the formula set forth in subsection (d). 

17 ‘‘(d) FORMULA.—Of the amounts allocated pursuant 

18 to subsection (c)(2)— 

19 ‘‘(1) 50 percent shall be allocated among eligi20 ble entities in the ratio that— 

21 ‘‘(A) the number of ferry passengers car22 ried by each ferry system in the most recent fis23 cal year; bears to 

24 ‘‘(B) the number of ferry passengers car25 ried by all ferry systems in the most recent fis26 cal year; 


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1 ‘‘(2) 25 percent shall be allocated among eligi2 ble entities in the ratio that— 

3 ‘‘(A) the number of vehicles carried by 

4 each ferry system in the most recent fiscal year; 

5 bears to 

6 ‘‘(B) the number of vehicles carried by all 

7 ferry systems in the most recent fiscal year; 

8 and 

9 ‘‘(3) 25 percent shall be allocated among eligi10 ble entities in the ratio that— 

11 ‘‘(A) the total route miles serviced by each 

12 ferry system; bears to 

13 ‘‘(B) the total route miles serviced by all 

14 ferry systems. 

15 ‘‘(e) FUNDING.— 

16 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—There shall be available to 

17 the Secretary from the Highway Trust Fund (other 

18 than the Mass Transit Account) $200,000,000 for 

19 each of the fiscal years 2012 through 2018 to carry 

20 out this section. 

21 ‘‘(2) PERIOD OF AVAILABILITY.—Notwith22 standing section 118(b), amounts made available to 

23 carry out this section shall remain available until ex24 pended.’’. 


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1 SEC. 5. ELIGIBILITY OF FERRIES FOR CLEAN FUELS GRANT 

2 PROGRAM. 

3 Section 5308 of title 49, United States Code, is 

4 amended— 

5 (1) in subsection (a)(2)— 

6 (A) in clause (i), by inserting ‘‘, or ferries’’ 

7 before the semicolon at the end; and 

8 (B) in clause (iii), by inserting ‘‘or ferries’’ 

9 before the semicolon at the end; and 

10 (2) in subsection (c)— 

11 (A) in the subsection heading, by inserting 

12 ‘‘AND FERRIES’’ after ‘‘BUSES’’; and 

13 (B) by inserting ‘‘or ferries’’ before the pe14 riod at the end. 

15 SEC. 6. FERRY JOINT PROGRAM OFFICE. 

16 (a) ESTABLISHMENT AND PURPOSE.— 

17 (1) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary shall es18 tablish within the Department of Transportation a 

19 Ferry Joint Program Office (referred to in this sec20 tion as the ‘‘Office’’) for the purposes described in 

21 paragraph (2). 

22 (2) PURPOSES.—The purposes of the Office 

23 shall be— 

24 (A) to coordinate Federal programs affect25 ing ferry and ferry facility construction, mainte26 nance, operations, and security; and 


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1 (B) to promote transportation by ferry as 

2 a component of the United States transpor3 tation system. 

4 (b) FUNCTIONS.—The head of the Office shall— 

5 (1) coordinate programs related to ferry trans6 portation carried out by— 

7 (A) the Department of Transportation, in8 cluding programs carried out by the Federal 

9 Highway Administration, the Federal Transit 

10 Administration, the Maritime Administration, 

11 and the Research and Innovative Technology 

12 Administration; 

13 (B) the Department of Homeland Security; 

14 and 

15 (C) other Federal and State agencies, as 

16 appropriate; 

17 (2) ensure resource accountability for programs 

18 carried out by the Secretary related to ferry trans19 portation; 

20 (3) provide strategic leadership for research, de21 velopment, testing, and deployment of technologies 

22 related to ferry transportation; 

23 (4) promote ferry transportation as a means to 

24 reduce social, economic, and environmental costs as25 sociated with traffic congestion; and 


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1 (5) develop energy efficient operating models to 

2 reduce carbon emissions associated with ferry trans3 portation. 

4 SEC. 7. NATIONAL FERRY DATABASE. 

5 Section 1801(e) of the Safe, Accountable, Flexible, 

6 Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users 

7 (Public Law 109–59; 23 U.S.C. 129 note) is amended— 

8 (1) in paragraph (2), by inserting ‘‘, including 

9 any Federal, State, and local government funding 

10 sources’’ after ‘‘sources’’; and 

11 (2) in paragraph (4)— 

12 (A) in subparagraph (B), by striking 

13 ‘‘and’’ at the end; 

14 (B) by redesignating subparagraph (C) as 

15 subparagraph (D); 

16 (C) by inserting after subparagraph (B), 

17 the following: 

18 ‘‘(C) ensure that the database is consistent 

19 with the national transit database maintained 

20 by the Federal Transit Administration’’; and 

21 (D) in subparagraph (D), as redesignated, 

22 by striking ‘‘2009’’ and inserting ‘‘2018’’. 

23 SEC. 8. NATIONAL FERRY TRANSPORTATION INSTITUTE. 

24 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—Not later than 1 year after 

25 the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall 


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1 award a grant to a college to establish a National Ferry 

2 Transportation Institute (referred to in this section as an 

3 ‘‘Institute’’) at the college. 

4 (b) ADMINISTRATION.—The Secretary shall award 

5 and administer the grant under subsection (a) in coopera6 tion with the heads of appropriate entities of the Depart7 ment of Transportation and of the appropriate State 

8 transportation department, public ferry transportation au9 thorities, private ferry operators, ferry builders, ferry 

10 transportation employees, and other colleges, universities, 

11 and research institutes. 

12 (c) FUNCTIONS.—The Institute— 

13 (1) shall conduct research and recommend de14 velopment activities on methods of improving ferry 

15 transportation programs in the United States, in16 cluding methods of reducing wake, providing alter17 native propulsion, integrating use of clean, renew18 able fuels, and testing advanced materials for use in 

19 ferry construction; 

20 (2) shall develop and conduct training programs 

21 for ferry transportation system employees, United 

22 States Government employees, and other individuals, 

23 as appropriate, on developments, techniques, and 

24 procedures pertaining to the construction and oper25 ation of ferries; 


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1 (3) shall encourage and assist collaborative ef2 forts by public and private entities to preserve, im3 prove, and expand the use of ferries as a mode of 

4 transportation; 

5 (4) shall preserve, utilize, and display historical 

6 information about the use of ferry transportation in 

7 the United States and in foreign countries; 

8 (5) shall develop models and recommendations 

9 to enhance security on ferries and in and around 

10 ferry facilities; and 

11 (6) may provide funds from a grant under sub12 section (a) to a contractor or other entity to assist 

13 the Institute in carrying out the functions described 

14 in paragraphs (1) through (5). 

15 (d) SELECTION CRITERIA.—In awarding the grant 

16 under subsection (a), the Secretary shall consider— 

17 (1) the extent to which the needs of the State 

18 in which the applicant is located are representative 

19 of the importance of public and private ferries to the 

20 region’s transportation system, including regional 

21 travel and long-range travel and service to isolated 

22 communities; 

23 (2) the historical importance of ferry transpor24 tation to the region in which the applicant is located; 


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1 (3) the history and diversity of the region in the 

2 maritime community, including ferry construction 

3 and repair and other shipbuilding activities; 

4 (4) the anticipated growth of ferry transpor5 tation and the building of ferries in the region; 

6 (5) the availability of public-private collabora7 tion in the region; and 

8 (6) the demonstrated research and extension re9 sources available to the applicant to successfully 

10 carry out the functions described in subsection (c). 

11 (e) REQUIREMENT FOR NON-FEDERAL FUNDING.— 

12 A college may not receive the grant under subsection (a) 

13 unless the college certifies that it will provide, from non14 Federal sources, 25 percent of the costs associated with 

15 establishing, operating, and maintaining the Institute, in16 cluding carrying out the research and development activi17 ties of the Institute. 

18 (f) REPORT.—Not later than 1 year after the date 

19 of the enactment of this Act, and annually thereafter, the 

20 Secretary shall submit a report to Congress that describes 

21 activities carried out under this section, including the ac22 tivities carried out by the Institute. 

23 (g) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

24 are authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary 


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1 $5,000,000 for each of the fiscal years 2012 through 2018 

2 to carry out this section. 

Æ 


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