II

105TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION S. 2113

To reduce traffic congestion, promote economic development, and improve

the quality of life in the metropolitan Washington region.

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

MAY 22, 1998

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

the Committee on Environment and Public Works

A BILL

To reduce traffic congestion, promote economic development,

and improve the quality of life in the metropolitan Washington region.

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 subtitle may be cited as the ‘‘Metropolitan

5 Washington Regional Transportation Act’’.

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

7 Congress finds that—

8 (1) congestion is a serious problem in the met9 ropolitan Washington region, as evidenced by recent

10 studies that have found that only the city of Los An-
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1 geles is more congested and that congestion costs

2 each man, woman, and child in the region more than

3 $800 per year in lost time, wasted fuel, and environ4 mental damage;

5 (2) in the past, regional leaders have success6 fully worked together to address important transpor7 tation needs, through such institutions as the Metro8 politan Washington Airports Authority, the Wash9 ington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority, and the

10 National Capital Region Transportation Planning

11 Board at the Metropolitan Washington Council of

12 Governments;

13 (3) even greater regional cooperation is needed

14 to prevent congestion in the metropolitan Washing15 ton region from worsening, in light of predictions

16 that, for the period of 1990 through 2020, there will

17 be a 43 percent increase in population, a 43 percent

18 increase in employment, and a 79 percent increase

19 in vehicle miles traveled, in the region;

20 (4) while transportation needs will grow signifi21 cantly over the next decades, spending is expected to

22 fall short of transportation needs by more than

23 $500,000,000 per year, even with expected increases

24 in Federal and State spending;
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1 (5) none of the existing metropolitan-wide

2 transportation agencies within the metropolitan

3 Washington region has the necessary powers, au4 thorities, and resources to meet the current and fu5 ture transportation needs of the region;

6 (6) the failure to meet the transportation needs

7 of the metropolitan Washington region will under8 mine the quality of life of the residents of the region,

9 degrade the natural environment, and adversely af10 fect the ability of Federal agencies and private sec11 tor businesses to operate effectively and efficiently;

12 (7) the transportation challenges faced by the

13 metropolitan Washington region are unique and de14 serve the attention of Congress because of the pres15 ence of the Federal Government within the region

16 and because of the intersection of 3 jurisdictions,

17 consisting of 2 States and the District of Columbia,

18 within a single metropolitan area;

19 (8) the National Capital Region Transportation

20 Planning Board at the Metropolitan Washington

21 Council of Governments, the designated metropolitan

22 planning organization for planning and program23 ming Federal transit and highway funds provided to

24 the metropolitan Washington region, is updating the
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1 long-range plan for the region to meet transpor2 tation needs in the coming decades; and

3 (9) with Federal assistance, the Board can

4 more effectively promote regional agreement on how

5 to finance and implement its long-range plan to

6 meet the transportation needs of the metropolitan

7 Washington region.

8 SEC. 3. PURPOSES.

9 The purposes of this subtitle are—

10 (1) to provide a new option to help the metro11 politan Washington region more effectively address

12 its transportation needs;

13 (2) to empower the National Capital Region

14 Transportation Planning Board to consult with the

15 metropolitan Washington region jurisdictions and

16 the public to achieve consensus on a list of critical

17 transportation projects and a funding mechanism

18 that are needed to address the growing congestion

19 crisis in the region but cannot be funded within the

20 current and forecasted Federal, State and local

21 fundings levels for such projects;

22 (3) to establish a Corporation with the power to

23 accept revenue and issue debt to provide short-term

24 funding for projects that have been agreed to by the

25 region;
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1 (4) to grant consent to the metropolitan Wash2 ington region jurisdictions to enter into an interstate

3 compact or agreement that would help meet the re4 gion’s long-term transportation needs; and

5 (5) to provide Federal matching grants to the

6 region to promote consensus on a regional funding

7 mechanism.

8 SEC. 4. DEFINITIONS.

9 In this subtitle:

10 (1) BOARD.—The term ‘‘Board’’ means the Na11 tional Capital Region Transportation Planning

12 Board at the Metropolitan Washington Council of

13 Governments.

14 (2) CORPORATION.—The term ‘‘Corporation’’

15 means the Metropolitan Washington Regional

16 Transportation Corporation established by section

17 6(a).

18 (3) METROPOLITAN WASHINGTON REGION; RE19 GION.—The term ‘‘metropolitan Washington region’’

20 or ‘‘region’’ means the area that is—

21 (A) located in the area including and sur22 rounding Washington, District of Columbia;

23 and

24 (B) under the jurisdiction of the members

25 of the Board.
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1 (4) METROPOLITAN WASHINGTON REGION JU2 RISDICTION.—The term ‘‘metropolitan Washington

3 region jurisdiction’’ means a jurisdiction represented

4 by a member of the Board.

5 (5) PROJECT.—The term ‘‘project’’ means any

6 effort to reduce traffic congestion or improve travel

7 options in the metropolitan Washington region, in8 cluding but not limited to: the design, construction,

9 and maintenance of facilities or services; the oper10 ation of such facilities; the provision of services; and

11 the deployment of demand reduction and traffic

12 management measures.

13 (6) SIGNATORY.—The term ‘‘signatory’’ means

14 a metropolitan Washington region jurisdiction that

15 enters into an interstate agreement or compact

16 under section 6(b).

17 SEC. 5. DUTIES OF THE BOARD.

18 (a) DUTIES.—

19 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Board shall—

20 (A)(i) propose a list of transportation

21 projects needed to address the growing conges22 tion crisis in the metropolitan Washington re23 gion;

24 (ii) propose a regional funding mechanism

25 to fund needed projects;
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1 (iii) manage the Corporation to provide

2 short-term funding for regional transportation

3 projects; and

4 (iv) propose an interstate compact or

5 agreement, including a list of regional transpor6 tation projects and a means of funding and im7 plementation of the projects, if necessary to ad8 dress the growing congestion crisis in the met9 ropolitan Washington region;

10 (B) provide notice and opportunity for

11 comment on its efforts under this title by met12 ropolitan Washington region jurisdictions and

13 the public;

14 (C) conduct outreach and education activi15 ties to promote public participation;

16 (D) promote cooperative action by metro17 politan Washington region jurisdictions on re18 gional transportation issues; and

19 (E) assist metropolitan Washington region

20 jurisdictions in developing an interstate com21 pact or agreement, if necessary, to better meet

22 regional transportation needs.

23 (2) LIMITATIONS.—The Board shall not have

24 the power to—

25 (A) impose a tax; or
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1 (B) preempt any Federal, State, or local

2 law (including a regulation).

3 (b) BOARD SUPPORT.—The Board may use staff of

4 the Board and employ such additional personnel and

5 agents as are necessary to carry out this subtitle, includ6 ing public outreach staff to meet the public participation

7 requirements of titles 23 and 49, United States Code.

8 (c) TIMETABLE.—The Board shall—

9 (1) develop and publish a first draft list of re10 gional projects and regional funding mechanisms not

11 later than 210 days after the date of enactment of

12 this Act;

13 (2) provide an opportunity for public comment

14 on the first draft proposal during the period begin15 ning on the date of publication of the first draft pro16 posal and ending not earlier than 90 days after that

17 date; and

18 (3) develop and publish a final proposal not

19 later than August 1, 2000, and provide an oppor20 tunity for ratification of the final proposal by metro21 politan Washington region jurisdictions.

22 (d) PLANNING PROCESS.—In carrying out this sub23 title, the Board shall—

24 (1) comply with the planning requirements of

25 titles 23 and 49, United States Code; and
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1 (2)(A) ensure that the public has a full oppor2 tunity to participate in the planning process; and

3 (B) work with citizen advisory committees rep4 resenting all points of view, including business, envi5 ronmental, transportation, senior citizens, youth,

6 disabled, and neighborhood associations.

7 SEC. 6. IMPLEMENTATION OF LONG-RANGE PLAN FOR THE

8 METROPOLITAN WASHINGTON REGION.

9 (a) METROPOLITAN WASHINGTON REGIONAL TRANS10 PORTATION CORPORATION.—

11 (1) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established the

12 Metropolitan Washington Regional Transportation

13 Corporation.

14 (2) GENERAL POWERS.—

15 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Corporation shall

16 be a body corporate and politic, and an instru17 mentality of the Board, having the powers and

18 jurisdiction described in this subtitle and such

19 additional powers as are conferred on the Cor20 poration by the Board, to the extent that the

21 additional powers are consistent with this sub22 title.

23 (B) ADMINISTRATION.—The Corporation

24 shall be governed in accordance with this sub-
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1 title and shall be subject to such other provi2 sions as the Board determines appropriate.

3 (3) GENERAL LIMITATIONS.—The Corporation

4 shall not have the power to—

5 (A) impose a tax; or

6 (B) preempt any Federal, State, or local

7 law (including a regulation).

8 (4) DUTIES.—The Corporation shall assist in

9 the management of any initial funding and imple10 mentation plan agreed to by the signatories.

11 (5) PUBLIC ACCOUNTABILITY.—

12 (A) PUBLIC NOTICE AND PARTICIPA13 TION.—The Corporation shall be subject to the

14 requirements of chapter 5 of title 5, United

15 States Code, concerning public notice of, and

16 participation at, all meetings of the Corpora17 tion.

18 (B) FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT.—

19 The Corporation shall be considered to be an

20 agency for the purpose of compliance with re21 quests under section 552 of title 5, United

22 States Code.

23 (6) POWERS.—The Corporation shall have the

24 power—
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1 (A) to acquire personal and real property

2 (including land lying under water and riparian

3 rights), or any easement or other interest in

4 real property, by purchase, lease, gift, transfer,

5 or exchange;

6 (B) to apply for and accept any property,

7 material, service, payment, appropriation,

8 grant, gift, loan, advance, or other fund that is

9 transferred or made available to the Corpora10 tion by the Federal Government or by any other

11 public or private entity or individual;

12 (C) to borrow money on a short-term basis

13 and issue notes of the Corporation for the bor14 rowing payable on such terms and conditions as

15 the Corporation considers advisable, and to

16 issue long-term or short-term tax-exempt bonds

17 in the discretion of the Corporation for any

18 purpose consistent with this subtitle, which

19 notes and bonds—

20 (i) shall not constitute—

21 (I) a debt of the United States

22 (or any political subdivision of the

23 United States); or

24 (II) a general obligation of a

25 metropolitan Washington region juris-
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1 diction (or any political subdivision of

2 a metropolitan Washington region ju3 risdiction), unless consented to by the

4 jurisdiction (or political subdivision);

5 and

6 (ii) may be secured solely by the gen7 eral revenues of the Corporation or by

8 other revenues in the discretion of the Cor9 poration;

10 (D) to permit single-occupancy vehicles to

11 travel on high-occupancy lanes in the region,

12 if—

13 (i) the affected signatory or signato14 ries consent to charge tolls to single-occu15 pancy vehicles given access to high-occu16 pancy lanes;

17 (ii) the toll can be implemented in a

18 way that does not reduce the level of serv19 ice; and

20 (iii) the affected signatory or signato21 ries consent to use the toll revenues for re22 gional transportation projects;

23 (E) to enter into any contract or agree24 ment necessary or appropriate to the perform25 ance of the duties of the Corporation;
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1 (F) to enter into partnerships or grant

2 concessions between the public and private sec3 tors for the purpose of—

4 (i) financing, constructing, maintain5 ing, improving, or operating regional trans6 portation facilities in the metropolitan

7 Washington region; or

8 (ii) fostering development of a new

9 transportation technology;

10 (G) to obtain any necessary Federal au11 thorization, permit, or approval for the con12 struction, repair, maintenance, or operation of

13 regional transportation facilities in the metro14 politan Washington region;

15 (H) to adopt an official seal and alter the

16 seal, as the Corporation considers appropriate;

17 (I) to appoint 1 or more advisory commit18 tees;

19 (J) to sue and be sued in the name of the

20 Corporation;

21 (K) to carry out or contract with other en22 tities to carry out such maintenance of traffic

23 activities during construction of regional trans24 portation facilities in the metropolitan Washing25 ton region as are considered to be necessary by
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1 the Corporation to properly manage traffic and

2 minimize congestion, such as public information

3 campaigns, improvements designed to encour4 age appropriate use of alternative routes, use of

5 high occupancy vehicles and transit services,

6 and deployment and operation of intelligent

7 transportation system technologies; and

8 (L) to carry out any activity necessary or

9 appropriate to the exercise of the powers or per10 formance of the duties of the Corporation under

11 this subtitle and under any interstate compact

12 or agreement relating to the Corporation that is

13 consistent with this subtitle, if the activity is co14 ordinated and consistent with the transpor15 tation planning process implemented by the

16 metropolitan planning organization for the met17 ropolitan Washington region under section 134

18 of title 23, United States Code, and section

19 5303 of title 49, United States Code.

20 (7) STATE AND DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA AP21 PROVAL OF ACTION BY THE TRANSPORTATION COR22 PORATION.—Any exercise of the powers granted

23 under section 6(a)(6) of this title must be approved

24 by the state departments of transportation in Vir-
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1 ginia and Maryland, and the Department of Public

2 Works of the District of Columbia.

3 (8) No funds received nor debt issued by the

4 Corporation may be used to finance costs related to

5 the replacement of the Woodrow Wilson Memorial

6 Bridge.

7 (b) INTERSTATE COMPACT OR AGREEMENT.—

8 (1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to paragraph (2), 1

9 or more of the metropolitan Washington region ju10 risdictions may enter into an interstate compact or

11 agreement to finance and implement one or more of

12 the projects from the long-range plan of the Board,

13 if consent is granted by—

14 (A) the department of transportation of

15 each State that enters into the compact or

16 agreement; and

17 (B) if the District of Columbia enters into

18 the compact or agreement, the Department of

19 Public Works of the District of Columbia.

20 (2) REQUIREMENTS.—The interstate compact

21 or agreement shall—

22 (A) include a list of regional transportation

23 projects and a regional funding mechanism to

24 fund the projects; and
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1 (B) include a time limit of not more than

2 2 years for approval by the metropolitan Wash3 ington region jurisdictions.

4 (3) EXPEDITED APPROVAL.—An interstate

5 compact or agreement describe in paragraph (1)

6 shall be deemed to have the consent of Congress un7 less Congress enacts a law denying consent to the

8 compact or agreement within 60 days after the date

9 of approval of the compact or agreement by the sig10 natories.

11 (c) REPORTS.—The Secretary shall submit to the

12 Committee on Environment and Public Works of the Sen13 ate and the Committee on Transportation and Infrastruc14 ture of the House of Representatives—

15 (1) not later than 1 year after the date of en16 actment of this Act, an interim report on the

17 progress of the Board in developing cooperative

18 transportation plans and regional funding mecha19 nisms to meet transportation needs in the metropoli20 tan Washington region; and

21 (2) not later than 3 years after the date of en22 actment of this Act, a final report on the results of

23 the actions of the Board in developing cooperative

24 transportation plans and regional funding mecha-
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1 nisms to meet transportation needs in the metropoli2 tan Washington region.

3 SEC. 7. MAINTENANCE OF FUNDING AND EFFORT.

4 The funding provided under any regional transpor5 tation program developed under this subtitle shall supple6 ment (and not supplant) other Federal, State, and local

7 transportation funding for the metropolitan Washington

8 region jurisdictions. In using funds provided under this

9 subtitle, a metropolitan Washington region jurisdiction

10 shall maintain the expenditures of the jurisdiction for

11 transportation in the metropolitan Washington region, at

12 a level equal to not less than the level of the expenditures

13 maintained by the jurisdiction for the fiscal year preceding

14 the fiscal year for which the funds are received.

15 SEC. 8. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

16 (a) ADMINISTRATIVE COSTS.—There is authorized to

17 be appropriated to carry out this subtitle $300,000 for

18 each of fiscal years 1998 through 2000, of which not less

19 than—

20 (1) $100,000 shall be used by the Board for

21 salaries and administrative expenses of experts in fi22 nancing and developing interstate compacts or

23 agreements; and

24 (2) $200,000 shall be used by the Board to

25 support a collaborative planning process, to dissemi-
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1 nate information to the public, and to pay the sala2 ries and administrative expenses of public outreach

3 staff.

4 (b) INCENTIVE GRANTS.—There is authorized to be

5 appropriated $20,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2000

6 through 2002 to provide as much as 25 percent of the

7 cost of regional projects agreed to by the signatories under

8 section 6(b).

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